The subtext to the subtext of The Purge is more disturbing than the text or the subtext

The Purge franchise takes place in a not-too-distant future where once a year, all crime is legal. It began as a low-budget home invasion concept. And inspired three sequels and a TV series that are equal parts Walking Dead-style gore and 24-style ticking clocks.

The government's rationale for the Purge is that twelve hours of anarchy allows America to release all its angry impulses. But over the course of the films, the real motive becomes clearer and clearer until, by the fourth installment, the text disappears and is replaced entirely by the subtext: the Purge exists to eliminate those that weigh the economy down - the poor, the suicidal, the addicts, the criminals, the crazy.

For this reason, the franchise has been hailed as a bit of left-leaning social satire. The New Founding Fathers of America are an extreme vision of where MAGA logic could lead. But there's one thing this line of thought seems to overlook.

In the series, the Purge works. Unemployment and crime have both dropped below 1%. And that, to me, is the most disturbing idea of all.

The idea we'd all act out our violent impulses if we could? That's scary.

The idea we could be used as weapons against each other? That's even worse.

But the idea America'd be better off if we killed the poor? That's just terrifying.