Another Thanksgiving means another Black Friday. For many, it's a time to catch up on Christmas shopping and splurge on all those shiny, new gadgets that tend to drain wallets. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, it's also a reminder of America's consumer-heavy culture and not-so-subtly tendency to exploit holidays for capital gain. As the "black" in Black Friday suggests, the biggest shopping day of the year comes with dark undertones.
It's easy to get lost in the chaos, but these movies seek to remind audiences of the dangers of excessive consumerism. Some criticize mindless consumers, but most acknowledge the predatory nature of big corporations and manipulative marketers as the real villains. Want to do something else on Black Friday besides shop? Then, I suggest watching these eight anti-consumerism movies instead. Most are available on streamers like Netflix and HBO Max.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
King of the Zombie Movie, George A. Romero, followed up 1968's Night of the Living Dead with another certified banger in Dawn of the Dead. The apocalypse started in Night of the Living Dead is now in its early beginnings, and a group of survivors find themselves barricaded in a shopping mall. However, the undead almost seem to be pulled there—and that's where the metaphor comes in.
The dead return to what they did in the living: consume. Honestly, watching Romero's zombies mindlessly wander around a mall doesn't feel that different from reality in some ways. Online shopping might be more popular now, but that mindless consumerism is still rampant. If you want an action-packed zombie flick with some of the finest practical effects in the biz, check out Dawn of the Dead. Anyone wanting a more modern setting can also find that in Zack Snyder's 2004 remake.
Gremlins (1984)
A movie about little, rambunctious creatures taking over a town during Christmas Eve might not seem overly deep at first glance. Yet, it packs plenty of commentary on consumerism, predatory capitalism, and holiday exploitation into its 106-minute runtime. It also has something to say about America's fear of immigrants, but that's for another article.
Gremlins is a horror comedy, but it's also a clever satire. The neat part is, though, you don't have to engage with it in that way if you don't want to. Those just wanting a fun, almost turn-your-brain-off comedy filled with dark humor and '80s nostalgia can undoubtedly get that. At the same time, the anti-consumerism message is right below the surface. After all, the spur-of-the-moment Gremlin gift offers a cautionary tale about getting someone something just to check a box.
They Live (1988)
Honestly, it might not get more anti-consumerist than They Live. The John Carpenter masterpiece chronicles a drifter's (Roddy Piper) encounter with a bizarre pair of sunglasses that reveal dark secrets about the world. For starters, aliens control the government, and they manipulate humans into subservience through marketing and the media. While the movie takes aim at Reagan-era policies, it, unfortunately, remains just as relevant today.
At this point, saying companies are using ads to manipulate consumers isn't a conspiracy; it's a fact. If you've ever been frustrated by the amount of commercials on the expensive streaming service you pay for, or the intrusive nature of pop-up ads while you're scrolling the web, They Live offers a cathartic watching experience. Tense, thought-provoking, but also a little cheesy, it's one of John Carpenter's best movies.
Fight Club (1999)
Fight Club is so famous that you don't even need to watch it to know its most famous line. Still, I encourage everyone to watch it at least once. Director David Fincher puts his usual melancholic spin on Chuck Palahniuk's novel about a dissatisfied, disconnected narrator (Edward Norton) finding solace in a "fight club" that he forms with the rebellious Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt).
Gritty psychological thriller fans, you'll love the twist here. But, more importantly, you'll get plenty of strong messaging along the way. Fight Club shines a light on the dark side of consumerism, explaining how it creates disconnection and disillusionment in society. It also offers a critique of masculinity from both ends of the spectrum. After visiting this bleak, edgy world, you'll probably think twice about adding those extra items to your Amazon cart.
WALL-E (2008)
Unlike Fight Club, which almost points the finger at the consumer, WALL-E shoots its commentary arrow at big companies. Here, the titular robot lives on an uninhabitable Earth where he literally picks up garbage that once belonged to a thriving civilization. In case the message wasn't already clear, WALL-E spotlights how corporate greed and excessive consumerism can lead to the destruction of our planet.
For a kids' movie, it's indeed chilling. However, Pixar injects its usual dose of heart and humor to balance things out. You might cry in the end, but that's part of the charm. If you like the studio's other thought-provoking, emotional movies like Up (2009) or Ron's Gone Wrong (2021), WALL-E will also steal your heart.
Parasite (2019)
Parasite didn't just win Best Picture for no reason. The Bong Joon Ho movie released with a tight, thrilling plot that also screamed, "Hey, you're going to think about this story and what it means." The story in question involves a low-income family infiltrating the house of a wealthy family by posing as staff and secretly living in their basement.
The movie itself is expertly shot and almost crisp in presentation. It sucks you in and doesn't let go for its entire two-hour and twenty-minute runtime. Parasite isn't so much anti-consumerism as it is anti-capitalism. Both families, wealthy and poor, become easy metaphors for the class divide. The rich hoard their wealth, while the poverty-stricken scrabble in a system designed to work against them. As dark as Fight Club, but as thought-provoking as They Live, Parasite is really the best of both worlds.
The Platform (2019)
Like Parasite, The Platform centers its messaging around the "haves" and the "have-nots." In this dystopian prison, a large platform filled with food descends each level of the prison. To probably no one's surprise, those at the top take too much, leaving those on lower levels with nothing but scrapes… if they're lucky.
Brutal, gory, and disturbing, this one isn't for the faint-hearted. Still, The Platform makes for a thoroughly engaging political allegory about class divide, greed, and consumerism. Horror and dark thriller fans, you'll love this one. Like Cube (1997) and Circle (2015), the unique setting gives it an edge over the usual genre fare. It's also a Netflix staple, which makes movie night that much easier.
Thanksgiving (2023)
As someone who watches a lot of horror, Thanksgiving has one of the most effective openings in the genre—seriously. As a mob of shoppers gathers outside a Walmart stand-in, you know things will go bad. However, the degree to which the events unfold is truly jaw-dropping. Tense, chaotic, and gory, the Black Friday massacre sets up a larger plot about a masked murderer dressed like a pilgrim.
While it sounds wild, Thanksgiving actually is a lot of fun. The dark humor and copious violence should be a sure hit for slasher fans, especially those with grindhouse sensibilities. Director Eli Roth is arguably at his best here. Also, of all the entries on this list, Thanksgiving is the only one to tackle Black Friday directly, making its anti-consumerist message all the more blatantly clear.
