Terry Gilliam, the legendary director and one of the creators of the cult film “Brazil,” has openly spoken about how Donald Trump destroyed his new film project and satire as an art form. At the 29th Umbria Film Festival in Italy, Gilliam stated that the Trump era has changed the world so much that satire has lost its meaning. “People no longer know whether to laugh or be afraid, and now they mostly laugh less,” Gilliam said.
Gilliam was working on a film called “The Carnival at the End of Days,” a satirical dark comedy featuring a star-studded cast including Jeff Bridges, Johnny Depp, Adam Driver, and others. However, due to the bizarre political shifts brought by Trump, the script had to be rewritten, and work on the film has stalled. “He destroyed my film. How do you parody something that is already a caricature of itself?” the director asked.
He criticized modern political correctness and woke activists who, he says, stifle humor and satire, especially when jokes are made at others’ expense. “If you joke, you are immediately accused of attacking the weaker. I am just finding humor in human nature,” Gilliam added.
This problem is not just personal for Gilliam but reflects a broader decline of satire in an era when reality becomes so absurd that it is hard to make an ironic comment. “When reality becomes a parody, art loses the space for ironic commentary,” the director concluded.
If you thought satire was dead, maybe it’s just in a deep coma thanks to the Trump era. What do you think? Is satire really dead or just waiting to wake up? Drop a comment, maybe together we’ll find the answer!
