The One Streaming Giant Wes Anderson Won't Let His Daughter Watch
Acclaimed director Wes Anderson is known for his unique cinematic vision, a sensibility he's trying to pass on to his young daughter. But one cultural phenomenon, amplified by a popular streaming platform, is proving to be an unexpected challenge for the filmmaker in his own household.
Wes Anderson is more than just a celebrated filmmaker; he's an artist whose very name evokes a distinct aesthetic and narrative world. While his signature style has garnered both critical acclaim and sharp criticism, his work is undeniably his own. Now a father to his young daughter, Freya, he is attempting to impart his own curated sense of cinematic history to the next generation.
A Curated Film Education
In a conversation with Letterboxd, Anderson shared his preferred method, saying he likes “to show her a Blu-Ray of a movie.” He takes pride in the fact that one of Freya’s favorite films is the 1944 Judy Garland classic, Meet Me in St Louis. While it's quite a feat for a young child to be captivated by a Golden Age Hollywood musical, he admits it has been much harder to steer her away from more mainstream entertainment.
“I like that she likes Meet Me in St Louis, but when I was her age, the most important movie of all time was Star Wars,” Anderson noted. He acknowledged its unavoidable presence in today's culture, adding, “It’s the least-hidden movie of all time, but it’s relevant to my life right now.”
The Unavoidable Galaxy
The filmmaker's reservations about the sci-fi saga's dominance are nothing new. For decades, critics and academics have debated the impact of George Lucas’s space opera since its 1977 debut. While it was a revolutionary cinematic event that inspired countless future artists, many also credit the franchise with ending the New Hollywood era of gritty, adult-focused filmmaking and kicking off the age of the modern blockbuster.
These discussions have only intensified since the Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm, leading to an explosion of content. Between the numerous films and TV shows, Disney has also made sure that the characters and imagery from a galaxy far, far away are a constant presence in its theme parks, merchandise, and advertising.
An Ironic Standoff
Shielding a child from such a cultural juggernaut is a tall order, even for a director like Anderson. He recognizes the difficulty, especially with the series so deeply embedded in the Disney+ streaming service. While he couldn't completely hide the platform from his daughter, he has tried to establish clear rules around its use. “My daughter is seven, and she’d heard about Star Wars and kept asking me about it,” he explained. “So I said, ‘Well, we have Disney+, and we don’t use it’, but it’s there.”
There's a layer of irony to Anderson's stance, given that two of his own animated films, Fantastic Mr Fox and Isle of Dogs, are available on the service. Furthermore, he has frequently collaborated with actors who have appeared in the space-faring franchise, including Natalie Portman, Jude Law, and Benicio del Toro.
Trying to block out the entire phenomenon might be a futile effort. However, it's worth remembering that Anderson himself was only eight years old when the first movie premiered, and it didn't seem to derail his own artistic path. For now, he can likely keep his daughter’s cinematic palate aligned with his own tastes.