The impact of the changing political climate in a country and globally is beginning to be reflected in works of art, especially cinema. One example of this change is supposedly observed in the series The White Lotus, created by Mike White. Carrie Coon, one of the show's principal actors, has cited Donald Trump's win influencing some writing choices, such as the omission of a "non-binary, maybe trans" child in the story of her character Laurie.
Coon, in an interaction with Harper's Bazaar, has opened up about her character development was slightly altered as a result of Trump coming to power. "There was a bit more context to her home life. You originally found out that her daughter was actually non-binary, maybe trans, and going by they/them," said the actor known for films such as Gone Girl and the acclaimed series The Leftovers. "You see Laurie struggling to explain it to her friends, struggling to use they/them pronouns, struggling with the language, which was all interesting."
Coon, who plays one of the trio of women friends going by the name 'Blonde Blob' in Season 3 of The White Lotus, said creator Mike White was concerned about writing trans or non-binary characters given the hatred towards them and how the Trump administration has "weaponised the cultural war against transgender people."
The writing choice was significant given that one of the friends of Coon's character was a Trump supporter. “But the season was written before the election. And considering the way the Trump administration weaponised the cultural war against transgender people even more since then, when the time came to cut the episode down, Mike felt that the scene was so small and the topic so big that it wasn’t the right way to engage in that conversation.”
