Writer Ray Bradbury's 1953 novel, Fahrenheit 451, brings to life a dystopian American society where history is being rewritten and television reigns supreme, while literature is being forced to the brink of extinction by "firemen" tasked with burning books. When its protagonist, one such fireman named Guy Montag, starts to question his actions, the world as he knows it begins to unravel.
Unfortunately, Fahrenheit 451 feels more relevant today than anyone probably would've guessed upon publication. The White House and its right-wing media arm have, directly and tacitly, tried to silence journalists and, by crying "fake news" at every turn, set fire to the truth with misinformation and lies. In a literal sense, the book is even more absurdly on-the-nose, given our commander-in-chief's notorious disdain for the written word and unhealthy obsession with his Fox and Friends echo chamber. If Trump had it his way, I'm sure he'd be quite alright burning every damn book there is—that is, with the exception of The Art of the Deal.
Like the spike in 1984 book sales following the election and the popularity of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, this new adaptation (legendary French director François Truffaut directed the first, in 1966) appears to be another artful response to the culture's desire for more stories of dissent under what has become an increasingly authoritarian-leaning administration. The movie has no release date yet, but stars Michael B. Jordan (of Creed and Fruitvale Station) as Montag and Michael Shannon as his fire captain, Beatty. And judging by the style of this teaser, burning books, and subsequently deciding not to burn books because censorship sucks, is going to look pretty badass...