Production Update #9

28 May 2025

I’m having what you might call a crisis of confidence.

“Socks” is not an overtly political story. However, its message unavoidably touches on both economic and social policies.

I feel that we have a very solid story and script. I’m proud of what has been developed. But of late, I’ve been concerned that the story cannot rise to meet the occasion that is our current political climate.

The story assumes that the audience has a basic capacity for compassion and empathy, even if we differ in how we apply it… It assumes a shared sense of justice, even if we interpret it differently.

Over the past several months, it has been evident that a segment of our population takes perverse pleasure in outright cruelty and a much larger segment is indifferent toward casual cruelty. Fundamental American principles such as due process, separation of powers, and checks and balances have been tossed to the side because they represent an inconvenient obstacle toward political goals. Corruption is not just tolerated – it’s celebrated.

Certainly not all Americans feel this way. I don’t even think that a majority of Americans feel this way. But the number of Americans who do feel this way is disturbingly high, and this minority has been granted power by the indifference and ignorance of many more Americans.

I always knew that “Socks” would be somewhat controversial. But now – as we near the end of the Development phase and inch closer and closer toward Pre-Production, I am forced to wonder if our nation doesn’t need to have a reckoning first before a story such as this can resonate with a general audience.