Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Plot
Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the writer-director features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood's golden age.
Overall Series Review
Categorical Breakdown
The narrative is rooted heavily in cis-gendered whiteness, centering on two white male protagonists whose careers and bond drive the entire plot. Character merit, professional skill, and personal loyalty are the central themes, not intersectional hierarchy. The film avoids forced diversity. A point of controversy is the depiction of Bruce Lee as an arrogant figure who is easily subdued by the white protagonist, a portrayal criticized as perpetuating racial stereotyping.
The film acts as a 'lush paean' and love letter to late 1960s Hollywood and its Golden Age, directly contradicting civilizational self-hatred. It offers an 'anti-woke' critique of the emerging counter-culture, personified by the Manson Family, which represents the destructive, chaotic forces of the era. The narrative celebrates the 'old-school' American values of the protagonists and their institutions (the film industry of the past) as a defense against moral decay.
The core relationship is a 'hymn to masculism,' celebrating traditional, protective masculinity through the character of Cliff Booth. The main female characters are not depicted as 'Girl Boss' tropes; Sharon Tate is a symbol of innocence and hopeful femininity. Male characters are the competent heroes of the story, though Rick Dalton struggles with insecurity. Women are largely secondary to the male friendship, but the primary female antagonists (the Manson girls) are depicted as violent, manipulative nihilists, reinforcing a positive/negative dichotomy that is not aligned with modern feminist ideals.
The narrative maintains a normative structure, with the main characters operating within traditional male-female pairings (marriage, dating). Sexual identity is not a relevant theme, and there is no presence of 'queer theory' lecturing, deconstruction of the nuclear family, or focus on gender ideology. Sexuality is treated as private or a secondary characteristic of the characters.
There is no overt hostility toward religion, specifically Christianity. The film is largely secular, focused on the 'religion' of Hollywood and its own moral code. The final confrontation with the Manson family establishes a clear moral framework where nihilistic evil is violently punished, reinforcing the concept of an objective moral law and right action, which runs counter to moral relativism.