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Culture War Roundup for the week of December 26, 2022

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But, Knives Out wasn't even about that; the family members got their comeuppance at their own hands. They dispossessed themselves.

In the same way, the writers do not believe white people are worthy of the inheritance of the country, or "the estate." Of course they are going to depict the white people in the story of not being worthy of their inheritance, and the minority character does nothing wrong in the entire film. In fact, that's a plot twist of the first film: you thought the housekeeper made a big mistake but it turns out she was completely innocent and didn't make a mistake at all. In the sequel, too, they portray the success of the white man as having been stolen from the black woman. To say that this is about class and not about race is missing the mark.

Sometimes a cigar is, indeed, just a cigar.

I don't think you watched the film very closely. Rian Johnson slams this over the head of the audience. There were a lot of lines and scenes that put the film in a racialized context, i.e.:

Many of the main points in “Knives Out” are made during allegories like that game of Go.

During Harlan’s party, for example, Richard beckoned Marta towards the couch, where he was seated with a few family members while they discussed politics. Many of the Thrombeys are afraid of immigrants, and said things like “We’re losing our way of life and our culture,” “America is for americans,” and, most strikingly, “We let them in and they think they own what’s ours.”

Of course, the final shot of the film is Marta looking down from the balcony with a mug that says "My House." Even National Review picked up on it, for whatever that's worth.