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Devoting generous space to the civil rights movement, the Red Scare, rock ’n’ roll and other sociopolitical foment of the ’50 and ’60s, Freedman can adopt the tone of an earnest YA author: “The kids were looking for fun, at this stage in their lives they weren’t looking to change the world. But change the world they would. There was no colour bar to their love of music.”

Is it fair to say that your films have changed since “Hereditary” and “Midsommar” and now they’re more accommodating of a larger swath of sociopolitical material?

Winning five Grammys and an Emmy during his lifetime as a comedian and actor, Pryor’s body of work was a master class of stand-up and acting that pushed the boundaries of discussion on race, class, drug addiction and sociopolitical commentary.

Conversant on seemingly every cultural and sociopolitical topic under the sun, he sees himself and his work in the category of “social scientist. I’m just documenting things I see. I do it in cartoons. I think I use a lot of cartoon imagery just because it makes me less angry with people if I can turn them into a cartoon, even myself, like down there,” he says, pointing to a rough-hewn self-portrait emboldened by a big clown nose and jutting-out ears.

These works typically offer sociopolitical commentary along with the fishing and sleeping bags — and “The Colony” is no different.