culture
February 21, 2026
Why the 'Wuthering Heights' Movie Is Infantilizing
A few months ago, the musician Patrick Cosmos shared a “new unified theory of American reality” that he called “everyone is twelve now”—an attempt to explain an executive branch that endorses AI-generated videos of the president dropping poop on protesters from a shiny jet, and that replies to official press queries with the words your mom. Everyone is 12 is a strikingly effective summary of contemporary politics, but it also helps us understand why a good amount of popular culture feels as brain-numbingly dense as it currently does. Why is Nicki Minaj throwing insults at one of Cardi B’s children and generating images of her as the purple dinosaur Barney? Everyone is 12. Why is Kim Kardashian the star of a fur-swaddled drama about Bentley-driving divorce lawyers with seven-figure clothing budgets? Everyone is 12. Why has Emerald Fennell adapted one of the more chasmic and ambitious tragedies in English literature into a poppy, gooey, thuddingly literal work of sexy fan fiction? Everyone is … you get it.
TL;DR
- Emerald Fennell's adaptation of "Wuthering Heights" is criticized for its simplistic and literal interpretation, akin to "sexy fan fiction."
- The film removes complex themes of class, racism, and domestic violence present in the novel.
- Instead, it focuses on explicit imagery, "one-ply provocation," and a superficial understanding of romantic obsession.
- The narrative relies on characters explaining events, neutralizing tension and subtext.
- Stylistic elements are present but lack a coherent narrative to anchor them.
- The adaptation casts a white actor as Heathcliff, ignoring the novel's ambiguous "dark" characterization and his origins as an outsider.
- The film's marketing and commercial partnerships further emphasize a juvenile approach to desire and consumption.
- Fennell's work is framed within a broader cultural trend of "everyone is twelve now," suggesting a lack of maturity in contemporary politics and popular culture.
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