One of Ratatouille’s most memorable, widely lauded scenes is Remy’s discovery of the haute cuisine kitchen. Stranded from his family after an intense escape through the Parisian sewers, Remy emerges alone into the city above and climbs to a rooftop, where he first glimpses the illuminated grandeur of Gusteau’s restaurant. This moment, a seemingly innocuous turning point for the movie, cannot help but resonate intimately with its viewers. After all, we see this as part of the film’s authentic portrait of talent and merit, undergirded by the aspirations of a rat who seeks his footing as a cook in a high-end restaurant. Yet, what brews beneath the surface of this simplistic children’s movie offers so much more than what meets the eye: a sardonic, uncomfortable reflection on classist poverty. These parallels cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence. Subtle politics in film dominate society, whether we are cognisant of its existence or not. In this article, I contend for the timeless influence that subtle politics in film holds, as it still speaks truth to the events that pervade our lives today. Most saliently, the very nature of the films themselves also serves as a breeding ground for political theories and ideals to grow. In particular, the unique position of Ratatouille lies in its ideological struggle, where anti-capitalist critique somehow finds its place within corporate production. Lastly, I maintain the position that the features of subtle politics are not incorrigible; in fact, when mobilised to educate, these films can incite the contesting of norms and unethical behaviour as we read against the grain of subtle politics. 

Covert politics in film?

The concept of “subtle politics” itself petrifies. How can we detect political theories that hide behind a film’s smokescreen? The chasms between subtle and blunt politics are dependent on their respective ability to trigger a viewer’s intellectual defences. When we watch a film that is beset by turbulent circumstances, from the upfront, violent policing in “A Taxi Driver” to the consumerist upheaval in “Wolf of Wall Street”, we unconsciously acknowledge their direct and blatant ideology. Our intuition encourages us to connect films to their historical context or fictional characteristics, hence drawing a line between what we believe in and what the film pushes for. In fact, films that explicitly state political intentions or offer didactic lessons often risk becoming propaganda, trivialising political reality, or conforming to ideology. In contrast, other forms of political art have “migrated into autonomous art, and nowhere more so than where it seems to be politically dead.” A foundational critique stemming from this perspective would dismiss a mass cultural product, such as a Disney film, as a vehicle of the cultural industry. This view thus similarly dismisses Ratatouille as merely affirmative culture, incapable of offering a genuine negation of reality and designed to reinforce the status quo. However, recognising the contradiction between the film’s nature as a corporate product and the anti-capitalist ideals it champions is exactly what makes such films so interesting to dissect. By implicitly critiquing existing social conditions from the structure in which the film is accessed, they can compel a change in attitude without resorting to didacticism or overt political slogans.