Steve Bannon's Cultural Narrative

Steve Bannon's screenplay, The Thing I Am, creatively adapts Shakespeare's Coriolanus to reflect the tensions during the 1992 L.A. riots, showcasing Bannon's early attempts to merge politics and entertainment. This artistic endeavor reveals his frustrations as a failed Hollywood creative, illustrating how his resentment and contrarian attitude towards mainstream media shaped conservative narratives. Bannon's insistence that the right owed its successes and failures to external forces, rather than acknowledging inherent flaws, reinforced the notion that failed conservative strategies were mischaracterized as 'moderate.' This narrative trajectory contributes to his portrayal as a mastermind of right-wing populism, despite being rooted in insecurity and mediocrity within the media landscape.