Nicholas Cage Movie Shows Where Cancel Culture Is Heading

Nicholas Cage lives in the hearts of many as the history nerd Ben Gates, who goes through extreme lengths to steal–in order to protect–the Declaration of Independence in National Treasure. But in one of his latest films Cage plays a vastly different role. 

Dream Scenario, which came out at the end of 2023, offers a refreshing critique of cancel culture as told through the bizarre story of a man who is exiled from society for his unsavory behavior … in other people’s dreams.

Cage portrays Paul Matthews, a boring, tenured biology professor who has watched all his colleagues do something great with their academic research. He dreams of writing a book about his research, but does absolutely nothing to make it happen. He lives in your typical suburban home with his wife and two daughters, meanwhile, he feels his life passes him by.

But Matthews is thrust into the spotlight after it is discovered that he has been appearing in people’s dreams all over the country. Much like his life, he plays no significant role in these dreams. He’s just a bystander watching events happen to other people. But the fact that so many people keep seeing him–people he has never met–turns into a cultural phenomenon. Suddenly, he’s all over the news and is even approached by a hipster GenZ PR firm that has grand plans to make him the face of Sprite.

Matthews feels like his time has come. Finally, he is being invited to events and intimate dinners from his peers who never wanted anything to do with him. People stop him in public and want to talk to him. Sure, he isn’t being recognized for his academic achievements, but he’s being recognized nonetheless. His classes, which usually have only a few students, are suddenly packed to the brim. 

This turning point our hapless professor has been waiting for. Unfortunately, this turning point takes a turn for the worst.

Famous or Infamous?

Matthews suddenly goes from being a harmless bystander in dreams to an active villain. 

Dreamers begin having nightmares where they are brutally attacked and even murdered by Matthews. Attendance in his class starts dwindling and those coveted invites to intimate academic dinners are rescinded. 

Suddenly, people are dreaming of violent deaths all at the hand of Cage’s character.  Attendance in his class starts dwindling and those coveted invites to intimate academic dinners are rescinded. He is not only shunned by society, but publicly ridiculed online. 

Keep in mind, Matthews has done nothing wrong. In fact, he hasn’t done anything at all. But that doesn’t matter. Once he is viewed as a threat he becomes public enemy number one without cause. Once this negative image is planted into the psyche of the masses, there is no stopping it.

Things go from bad to worse quickly.

The dean of his university calls him in to tell him the students don’t feel safe around him. A “safe space” expert is called in to help counsel the students and teach them to separate dreams from reality. But it is to no avail. They feel emotionally attacked and want Matthews gone. They act out, spray painting his car and even protesting to get him removed from campus. 

The school administrators eventually capitulate to the mob and the tenured professor is asked to take a paid “vacation.”

The Destruction of An Innocent Man

Matthews begins to spiral. He can’t comprehend how he went from celebrity to demon so quickly through no fault of his own.

The situation escalates when he and his family attempt to have dinner in a restaurant and are subsequently asked to leave because restaurant patrons don’t feel safe around him. His mere presence offends them. 

The last straw of this public ostracization comes when his daughter’s school bans him from seeing her school play. He goes anyway and a physical altercation breaks out between him and some other fathers. While his anger is understandable, the fight now gives credence to the fears people are experiencing. 

The facts don’t matter to anyone but he feels the need to make a statement online.

With tears in his eyes and overcome with emotion, he tries to explain his side of the story and apologizes, even though he has done nothing, but it does nothing to improve the situation.

His wife, who had been supportive up until this point, then scolds him for his “insincere” apology and tells him she is embarrassed to be married to him. 

Dreams and Reality 

The fact that this plot is centered on dreams is interesting because dreams aren’t real and thus, assure Matthew’s innocence.

In the real world, even when allegations are false, it’s a lot harder to prove innocence once the 

cat is out of the bag. And even when apologies are made, the woke mob often deems them “unacceptable.” In the end, many lives are ruined for things that either never happened or that were taken out of context.

The timing of this film is especially interesting. We are now over a decade into the cancel culture hysteria and people are starting to get sick of the constant witch hunts. The progressive majority in Hollywood has typically led the charge when it comes to cancel culture. But the fact that this movie was even made signals a changing of times.

When even liberal Hollywood critiques cancel culture and highlight the horrific consequences it has on innocent people’s lives, you know that the hype has run its course. Perhaps I am being too optimistic, but after watching the movie, I cannot help but feel hope that the days of  widespread cancel culture are finally coming to an end.