Celine Song Critiques 'Classist' Views on 'Materialists'

Filmmaker Celine Song has voiced her displeasure over the classist interpretations surrounding her latest film, "Materialists," which stars Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal. Song, who garnered widespread acclaim for her debut film "Past Lives" in 2023, described the claims that her movie promotes what some critics label as "broke man propaganda" as "very cruel." The term "broke man propaganda" is part of online discourse, used by some to critique narratives where women choose emotionally compatible but financially unstable men over wealthier partners. In an interview with Refinery29, Song expressed her concern regarding such interpretations, stating, "It makes me feel very concerned that anybody would talk about my movie and my characters and to really think about it in such classist terms. The whole movie is about fighting the way that capitalism is trying to colonize our hearts and colonize love." "The Materialists" tells the story of Lucy, portrayed by Johnson, a high-profile matchmaker embroiled in a love triangle with a wealthy financier, Harry (played by Pascal), and John, a struggling actor and her past love. Much critique of the film stems from Lucy's decision to choose John over Harry. Song shared that she doesn't find the "broke boy propaganda" jokes circulating online to be humorous, believing her film is being misrepresented. "I find it very cruel to talk about John as a character who loves Lucy, and who is a beautiful character being played beautifully by Chris, to talk about him in such cruel terms as ‘broke boy’ or ‘broke man’," Song remarked. "There is something about the classicism of that, the kind of hatred of poverty, the hatred of poor people... it’s not their fault that they’re poor." She conveyed her disappointment with the movie's discourse, stating, "So much of feminism has been about anti-corporate and anti-capitalist, and it was always at the forefront of fighting capitalism, so I’m very concerned about the way that we talk about people who are poor." Song reflected on the broader societal implications, noting, "I think that is a very troubling result of the way that the wealthy people have gotten into our hearts about how it’s your fault if you’re poor, you’re a bad person if you’re poor."