Michael Foust

There's been a lot of talk in recent days about "conservative movies." I wrote a long piece for @NRO on this earlier this year. You're welcome to read it. Link below. Some quick thoughts: A "conservative movie" doesn't need to be politically right-wing or made by right-wingers. It can be made by anyone. What it must do is point us toward the Permanent Things or mourn their absence. Here are some tests: 1) Is anyone in the movie answerable to an order higher than their own preferences? This is perhaps the most crucial one. 2) Does the film stir gratitude for civilizational inheritances? A shared enemy alone doesn't cut it. What's the movie actually for? 3) Did the film earn its moral vision, or does it only announce it? Setting a movie in a barrack or a church doesn't mean it's conservative. Some other reminders: If you're looking for a movie to tell you how to vote, what you really want is a campaign ad. If you pick movies by the politics of the people behind them, you're curating a voter guide, not engaging in aesthetic discernment. If the only movies you recognize as conservative are those that address hot-button political issues, you may need a more generous understanding of what conservatism seeks to conserve.