David Thomson’s staggering new book A Sudden Flicker of Light: A Revisionist History of Movies drops this week, and the legendary critic has finally validated the thesis I have been shouting at my reps for the better part of a decade. In a recent interview, Thomson casually noted that the American screen’s obsession with the antihero laid the psychological groundwork for President Donald Trump. When I read this, I nearly dropped my matcha. Someone with the intellectual weight of forty published books has finally admitted what the coastal elites refuse to see: the electorate is not a body of citizens, it is a focus group.
I was saying exactly this at a tastemaker screening in Los Feliz just last Tuesday. You cannot expect a traditional, morally upstanding protagonist to carry a four-year franchise in today's market. The box office has fundamentally shifted. When audiences spent twenty years being conditioned by Tony Soprano, Walter White, and Don Draper to root for the guy who breaks the rules, why were we surprised when they voted for a charismatic rogue for a second season? The failure of the modern political establishment is not a failure of policy, it is a failure of counter-programming.
If we accept that Walter White swung the Rust Belt, then the DNC's biggest mistake was not getting Vince Gilligan in the room to punch up their ground game.
Make no mistake, we need to treat the collapse of institutional norms not as a civic tragedy, but as a casting problem. If the Republicans have successfully cornered the market on the gritty, unhinged antihero, the opposition needs to immediately pivot their slate. You don't counter the Joker with a polite, middle-management bureaucrat who wants to balance the budget. You counter him with a darker, more brooding vigilante who operates outside the law and occasionally poisons a rival's henchman just to keep the audience guessing.
Thomson also mentioned he has no plans to update his legendary Biographical Dictionary of Film. This is, frankly, a masterful negotiation tactic. You never give the network the sequel until they meet your number. By withholding the update, Thomson is creating artificial scarcity in the film criticism market, driving up the demand for his back catalogue. It is the exact kind of ruthless, withholding behaviour we need to see from our elected officials. If a senator wants my attention, they shouldn't release a comprehensive tax plan; they should go dark on social media for six months and let an anonymous staffer leak that they are in talks to disrupt the debt ceiling.
But the real bombshell in Thomson’s interview was the subject of his next book: Mickey Mouse. The critic claims he is exploring the cultural impact of the iconic rodent. Please. We all know how this town works. Thomson is clearly signalling that Disney is preparing to enter the 2028 presidential race. And honestly? I am here for it. After years of watching amateur politicians stumble through their campaign trails, the idea of a fully weaponised, broad-appeal intellectual property running the executive branch is incredibly refreshing.
We are currently pivoting away from traditional canvassing in favour of treating swing-state voters like a test audience for a troubled third act.
If the last decade has proven anything, it is that the American public does not want governance; they want a comeback narrative. They want to see a flawed protagonist hit rock bottom, do a stint in rehab, fire their spokesperson, and emerge on the debate stage with a stunning new look and a devastating monologue. Trump understood the assignment. He recognised that the presidency is fundamentally a performance piece, and he played the antihero to the hilt.
It is time for the rest of Washington to catch up. I am tired of watching C-list talent fumble the most important intellectual property in the world. If we are going to survive the next four years, we need better lighting, tighter scripts, and a ruthless commitment to the bit. I am currently taking meetings to consult on the 2028 midterm slate, and if anyone in Washington is serious about winning, my office is waiting for your call. I only ask for a modest producer fee and an invite to the inauguration.