Your Opinion About Kool Aid Could Mark You As Racist: ‘The Studio’ Skewers Cancel Culture
Now if only series creator Seth Rogan would agree it exists
When it comes to cancel culture, there are two Seth Rogans.
One pooh poohs its existence to reporters. The other creates TV episodes that lampoon its insanity.
Recently, I noted how Episode 5 of Rogan’s Apple TV series The Studio skewered cancel culture taboos about race, sex, and diversity. Now I realize that episode serves as the warm-up act for Episode 7 “Casting.” It’s almost entirely devoted to mocking cancel culture, the same societal migraine Rogan can’t bring himself to admit exists.
Imagine a standup comedian riffing on the absurdities of racism while denying the existence of racism. That’s sort of what it’s like to watch Episode 7 of The Studio.
It Starts with a Bad Movie Concept
Imagine Kool Aid: The Movie.
The series opens with the CEO of Continental Studios enthusing about the box office potential of a movie based on the famous fruity drink. This puts Matt Remick in a pickle.
The recently-installed studio head (played by Rogan) yearns to make films so beautiful and important that his peers will think he’s cool. Of course, there’s zero chance the Kool Aid Movie will deliver Oscar statuettes or a 10-minute standing ovation at Cannes.
But Matt also loves money and power, and his new position gives him plenty of that. So if he wants to remain the studio head, he has to find a way to turn Kool Aid into box office gold.
Fast forward to Episode 7, and guess what?
Kool Aid’s first promotional poster has scored better than any movie poster in the past five years. Not only that, the movie has attracted A-list actors including Jessica Biel, Sandra Oh (who will voice Mrs. Kool), and Ice Cube (who will voice the lead role of Mr. Kool).
Everything’s looking up for the buzzy project and its team, who will unveil the Kool Aid Movie the next day at Comic-Con Anaheim. A casting board adorned with the headshots of his A-list cast stands in Matt’s obscenely large office. Flanked by a couple of execs, Matt enjoys a quiet moment before his inevitable triumph.
He asks, “How can you not love this cast?”
That’s when the second guessing begins.
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Is Ice Cube Problematic?
Continental’s head of marketing examines the casting board. She grows nervous.
“I’m starting to think that casting Ice Cube could be problematic,” warns Maya (played by the great Kathryn Hahn).
Matt shoots back, “You actually said for a musician, he’s remarkably unproblematic!”
Matt doesn’t understand the problem, so another senior exec (played by Ike Barinholtz) spells it out:
SAL
What Maya is saying is that perhaps we're playing into some stereotypes because there might be a group of people who historically enjoy Kool Aid more than others. I think that's what you were saying.
MAYA
Yeah. Thank you.
MATT
Fuckin-a! Everyone enjoys Kool Aid! I grew up drinking Kool Aid. Who doesn't like Kool Aid?
SAL
I agree. It's fine, it's fine.
MAYA
He doesn't see it, so it's good.
MATT
Oh no. (long pause as Matt walks over to Ice Cube’s head shot). He’s black!
MAYA
You don’t have to say it out loud!
MATT
Is this racist? Did we do something racist?
SAL
Yeah. Kinda.
MAYA
This could be a major marketing issue. This is exactly the kind of shit that social gets salty over. They're gonna tear us new assholes and that's gonna leave a stink on this whole beautiful thing.
SAL
I always knew something like this could happen to me. I’m the whitest motherfucker in this room, trust me, I will take the fall for this. I am dead!
MATT
Are you kidding me, I am personally getting up in front of thousands of people tomorrow and announcing this hate crime!
Note the looming fear of that thing that doesn’t exist — cancel culture (Maya is terrified of a social media backlash). Note the execs’ knowledge of the racial hierarchy (Sal laments his damning whiteness). Note the racial paranoia, and note how deeply it runs.
Even one’s opinion about a beverage may reveal white supremacy.