The curators behind the Smithsonian's 'Entertainment Nation' exhibition have careers marked by a focus on themes such as racial injustice, gender inequality, sexuality, and progressive social causes. The exhibition, which opened in December 2022 at the National Museum of American History, explores how popular culture has influenced American life through artifacts from music, film, television, theater, and sports.
A review by Fox News Digital revealed that each member of the seven-person curatorial team has incorporated these themes into their academic work, public commentary, or previous museum projects. Some have expressed support for communist-linked figures and aligned with progressive activist movements, explicitly connecting their museum work to social justice.
John Troutman, the exhibit's lead curator, stated in 2023 that the project aimed to do more than present a conventional history of entertainment. Instead, he explained, it was intended to examine broader social movements reflected in popular culture. His colleagues have similarly analyzed entertainment through the lens of racial exclusion, gender stereotypes, homophobia, and other social conflicts often emphasized by the political left.
For instance, curator Kenneth Cohen's 2017 book, "They Will Have Their Game," examines how the development of sports in the U.S. simultaneously fostered a sense of democracy while reinforcing racial, gender, and class divisions, contributing to the "creation of the white male republic."
Curator Krystal Klingenberg has focused her scholarship on music, race, social justice, and the Black Lives Matter movement. For a 2022 Smithsonian project, Klingenberg stated her goal was to "connect history with the ongoing fight for civil rights and social justice in American society." Her scholarly interests include facilitating discussions like "Black Lives Matter: Music, Race, and Justice" and examining "American Hate: How Do We Respond?"
Ryan Lintelman, another curator, was instrumental in acquiring a costume from the Hulu adaptation of "The Handmaid's Tale" for the exhibit. He noted that popular culture serves as an accessible way to introduce audiences to complex narratives involving race, sexuality, gender, identity, representation, economics, migration, social change, and power. The Handmaid's costume gained prominence during the 2017 Women's March, seen as an early expression of resistance to the Trump administration.
Theodore Gonzalves, also an Entertainment Nation curator, approved of the 2017 Women's March in a 2018 essay praising Barbara Dane, a socialist musician who visited Cuba and produced songs supporting figures like Mao Zedong. Gonzalves, whose scholarship addresses historical abuses against Asian Americans, also uses the gender-neutral term "Filipinx."
Ashley Mayor, specializing in "Latinx and Afro-Latinx music and culture," frequently shares posts from left-wing organizations on social media. Eric Jentsch, the seventh curator, has written about race and racism in American sports history.
The controversy surrounding the exhibit intensified in July amid a congressional hearing and the release of a White House report alleging ideological bias across the Smithsonian. The White House report stated that the institution "no longer treats the American story as a shared national inheritance to be taught or celebrated, but as a political instrument to divide, dispirit, and discourage our citizens."
Previously, a senior White House official accused "Entertainment Nation" of promoting "fringe or activist ideologies masquerading as history." The White House has asserted that "American taxpayers should not be funding institutions that undermine our country or promote one-sided, divisive political narratives."