| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Great Cultural Revolution |
| Primetime Is Hollywood's Attempt To Normalize The Disordered Evils Of Pedophilia |
| 2026-10-06 |
| [Federalist] 24’s new movie, Primetime, is a fictionalized drama inspired by the popular 2000s real-life investigative television show To Catch A Predator. Hosted by journalist Chris Hansen, the original program famously led to the arrests of 256 alleged child predators, about half of whom were convicted. This new film takes a controversial approach. It shifts the focus away from the perpetrators, using clever framing and narrative choices to portray the pedophiles as victims and to frame Hansen’s pursuit of justice as a morally grey crusade driven by a quest for fame. Primetime, which debuted on Sept. 25, earned nearly $20 million on its opening weekend, putting it fourth in domestic rankings. The film is alarming because it is beautifully shot, well acted, and has a tight script. It has earned its artistic merits. It is such a well-made film that it has moments of being terrifyingly persuasive. But ultimately, audiences must confront the question: Why are we creating art that makes us question whether pedophilia is wrong? Primetime follows Hollywood’s trend of undercutting heroes and empathizing with villains. This has become a notable feature of modern cinema, such as with films like Maleficent and Steps, which try to vindicate villains. Primetime cunningly borrows the subversive tropes from those films. Hansen’s actions are easy to call into question when the film’s creators place him in dimly lit backrooms or ominously shoot him reading the perverted chat exchanges from the child predators. The creators treat cops like absent-minded idiots, having one officer locking himself out of his car for laughs. NBC gets portrayed as "evil corporate suits," instead of the company whose programming helps expose and arrest pedophiles. On the other hand, Primetime gently insinuates that the pedophiles aren’t bad guys who are responsible for their own actions. Rather, it pretends that these monsters are tools Hansen and NBC are using to get higher ratings. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #2 |
| Posted by: SteveS 2026-10-06 16:17 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2026-10-06 07:00 |