![\"https---cdn.cnn.com-cnnnext-dam-assets-210629135339-the-forever-purge.jpg\"](\"https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ede7f2cc78f0e470c3af46a/1627318331579-I46C4S6TMUFG4DHGTNTD/https---cdn.cnn.com-cnnnext-dam-assets-210629135339-the-forever-purge.jpg\")
On the surface, the “Purge” movies are pretty ridiculous.
The five-film franchise that began with 2013’s “The Purge” takes place in a near-future America, which allows an annual 12-hour period in which all crimes are legal. According to the conservative New Founding Fathers party, the Purge helped the country recover from near-economic ruin by allowing Americans to release their negative emotions. However, the film quickly reveals this to be a mere rhetorical device, camouflaging the way the Purge lets rich (mostly White) Americans decimate poor (mostly non-White) populations.
For the first three movies, that premise served up more horror-action than any political commentary. But the franchise found its voice with 2018’s “The First Purge.” Released at the height of Trump-inspired racism, “The First Purge” is a blast of righteous anger, in which Black communities fight back against a government that wants to blame them for their own destruction.