Rec
at the end of this movie, two of the younger characters (who just did the titular Big Short) go into the abandoned lehman brothers building hours after the great recession began. they have the following exchange:
"this isn't how i pictured it." "what did you think we'd find?" "i don't know. grownups."
for me, that exchange perfectly defined the existential horror of coming of age in modern america. the dark truth isn't that evil people are at the wheel, it's that *nobody* is at the wheel, and this movie does such a good job at showing how every layer of this infernal system is purpose-built to make the people in it believe that they have no responsibility for their own actions. everyone is just doing their job, everyone is just following orders, everyone is just responding to market trends. nobody knows what is going on and nobody has to, because they know that they won't feel the consequences of their failures.
i think of this movie often, especially lately. it has remained extremely relevant to american life since it came out and i suspect it'll continue to be relevant for the foreseeable future
"this isn't how i pictured it." "what did you think we'd find?" "i don't know. grownups."
for me, that exchange perfectly defined the existential horror of coming of age in modern america. the dark truth isn't that evil people are at the wheel, it's that *nobody* is at the wheel, and this movie does such a good job at showing how every layer of this infernal system is purpose-built to make the people in it believe that they have no responsibility for their own actions. everyone is just doing their job, everyone is just following orders, everyone is just responding to market trends. nobody knows what is going on and nobody has to, because they know that they won't feel the consequences of their failures.
i think of this movie often, especially lately. it has remained extremely relevant to american life since it came out and i suspect it'll continue to be relevant for the foreseeable future
Jun 9, 2025
Related Recs
Rec
This movie perfectly scratched the useless niche-information quadrant of my brain. Right above where the lobotomy scraped the feeling out of my frontal lobe.
This was really good dude! Like, not my favourite rise-and-fall business biopic, but a really solid entry into that world of movies. Best way I can describe this movie is โThe Social Network: An Amazon Prime Original Movieโ. Like itโs good, it ainโt winning any Oscars, but if I saw this on TV Iโd be like โaw hell yeah dude this movieโs great!โ
Itโs so interesting how this monolithic company which once controlled 45% of the smartphone market essentially shat the bed so hard the bed snapped in half, folded in on itself, and flattened the shitter like a pancake. Part of it was corporate greed, for sure, but a fair whack was just bad luck. Imagine having the biggest status symbol in the world, only for some turtle-neck wearing dickhead to turn around and say โnah Iโd winโ and completely body you in the span of an hour. If that sounds like your cup of tea, watch this movie.
The plot moves at a good clip, and it kinda reminded me of Steve Jobs, using three distinct periods in the companies history as the backdrop for each act. I will say that the start and end were easily the more interesting parts. At the start weโre watching a bunch of sweaty nerds crack the code of innovation, montages and needle drops galore. In the end weโre watching a multi-national corporation in a desperate attempt to sink its teeth into anything thatโll bleed, even if that means feasting on their own flesh. The middle is more about the slow corruption, the way that lofty ideals start to fall apart in the face of adversity and the desire to be the best. Itโs interesting, thematically and narratively speaking, but the real meat and potatoes are those opening and closing acts.
*puts on beret* This movie is a sound critique of capitalism, BUT NOT FOR THE REASON YOU THINK DEAR READER! Yes, this is about a company that started in humble origins and means only to blow up and become perverted by sweet sweet money, but itโs more than that. When a late-stage capitalist structure defines business success as โprofit line goes upโ, anything less than resounding profit is concerning if not fatal. What starts as a homegrown effort ends up outsourced, quality abandoned for quantity, SUPPLY AND DEMAND BUY BUY SELL. And hey, we all know this. You been to McDonalds recently? Big Mac my ass, that shits a Medium Mac AT BEST. I digress. While that factor is certainly touched on here, I also think it shines a light on the sort of person that world attracts. It takes a special kinda of bastard to run a BlackBerry, and those bastards all share a vice in pride (not the sucking-and-fucking fun kind either). You combine this personality type that needs to control, to dominate, to be the big swinging dick, with an unforgiving system that reduces accomplishment to โdoes the line go up?โ, and you end up with a company that changes the world and implodes within a decade. Hmmm maybe the system is flawedโฆ nah, me want Big Mac.
Stand out performance from Glenn Howerton, he is after all a Five Star Man. There was a feeling here that heโd just play Dennis from Sunny, only now in a suit, but his performance had subtle differences. Explosive, abusive, untethered, but doing a much better job of keeping the lid on. Jay Baruchel also did a very commendable job, taking a character from a weak-chinned autistic-coded savant who canโt hold eye contact for the duration of a swift fart, all the way up to a frazzled, desperate businessman grasping at straws to keep his kingdom from sinking into the sea.
Final Rating - 3.5/5 Stars
Watch this if you like - The Social Network, Steve Jobs, The Founder, The Big Short
have you seen this movie? what did you think? letโs talk about it
This was really good dude! Like, not my favourite rise-and-fall business biopic, but a really solid entry into that world of movies. Best way I can describe this movie is โThe Social Network: An Amazon Prime Original Movieโ. Like itโs good, it ainโt winning any Oscars, but if I saw this on TV Iโd be like โaw hell yeah dude this movieโs great!โ
Itโs so interesting how this monolithic company which once controlled 45% of the smartphone market essentially shat the bed so hard the bed snapped in half, folded in on itself, and flattened the shitter like a pancake. Part of it was corporate greed, for sure, but a fair whack was just bad luck. Imagine having the biggest status symbol in the world, only for some turtle-neck wearing dickhead to turn around and say โnah Iโd winโ and completely body you in the span of an hour. If that sounds like your cup of tea, watch this movie.
The plot moves at a good clip, and it kinda reminded me of Steve Jobs, using three distinct periods in the companies history as the backdrop for each act. I will say that the start and end were easily the more interesting parts. At the start weโre watching a bunch of sweaty nerds crack the code of innovation, montages and needle drops galore. In the end weโre watching a multi-national corporation in a desperate attempt to sink its teeth into anything thatโll bleed, even if that means feasting on their own flesh. The middle is more about the slow corruption, the way that lofty ideals start to fall apart in the face of adversity and the desire to be the best. Itโs interesting, thematically and narratively speaking, but the real meat and potatoes are those opening and closing acts.
*puts on beret* This movie is a sound critique of capitalism, BUT NOT FOR THE REASON YOU THINK DEAR READER! Yes, this is about a company that started in humble origins and means only to blow up and become perverted by sweet sweet money, but itโs more than that. When a late-stage capitalist structure defines business success as โprofit line goes upโ, anything less than resounding profit is concerning if not fatal. What starts as a homegrown effort ends up outsourced, quality abandoned for quantity, SUPPLY AND DEMAND BUY BUY SELL. And hey, we all know this. You been to McDonalds recently? Big Mac my ass, that shits a Medium Mac AT BEST. I digress. While that factor is certainly touched on here, I also think it shines a light on the sort of person that world attracts. It takes a special kinda of bastard to run a BlackBerry, and those bastards all share a vice in pride (not the sucking-and-fucking fun kind either). You combine this personality type that needs to control, to dominate, to be the big swinging dick, with an unforgiving system that reduces accomplishment to โdoes the line go up?โ, and you end up with a company that changes the world and implodes within a decade. Hmmm maybe the system is flawedโฆ nah, me want Big Mac.
Stand out performance from Glenn Howerton, he is after all a Five Star Man. There was a feeling here that heโd just play Dennis from Sunny, only now in a suit, but his performance had subtle differences. Explosive, abusive, untethered, but doing a much better job of keeping the lid on. Jay Baruchel also did a very commendable job, taking a character from a weak-chinned autistic-coded savant who canโt hold eye contact for the duration of a swift fart, all the way up to a frazzled, desperate businessman grasping at straws to keep his kingdom from sinking into the sea.
Final Rating - 3.5/5 Stars
Watch this if you like - The Social Network, Steve Jobs, The Founder, The Big Short
have you seen this movie? what did you think? letโs talk about it
Jan 17, 2025
Rec
"๐๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐ถ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ"
cassius green, upon getting a new job as a telemarketer, is encouraged to use his "white voice" in order to do well at the company. as he continues mounting successes, he eventually gets promoted to "power caller," getting caught in the middle between his fellow workers trying to unionize and the higher ups trying to further drive a wedge between them
absolutely insane, stellar performances from the entire cast, particularly lakeith stanfield and david cross as cassius. you may have been spoiled for one of the twists in this movie, watch it anyway. it will be an absolute roller coaster regardless
i'm genuinely surprised this didn't massively blow up. i know i'm biased bc i love absurdism and it's not for everybody, but especially in light of a lot of anticapitalist/eat the rich media that made waves in recent years (parasite, the menu, triangle of sadness, etc.) it feels like the only reason this one didn't reach more ubiquity is that boots riley probably didn't want to play ball with the "hollywood" of it all (related, u should watch maggie mae fish's video essay on the movie as well lol)
anyways, this movie is great, one of my all time favorites. peep "i'm a virgo" too if you wanna watch more of riley's stuff
cassius green, upon getting a new job as a telemarketer, is encouraged to use his "white voice" in order to do well at the company. as he continues mounting successes, he eventually gets promoted to "power caller," getting caught in the middle between his fellow workers trying to unionize and the higher ups trying to further drive a wedge between them
absolutely insane, stellar performances from the entire cast, particularly lakeith stanfield and david cross as cassius. you may have been spoiled for one of the twists in this movie, watch it anyway. it will be an absolute roller coaster regardless
i'm genuinely surprised this didn't massively blow up. i know i'm biased bc i love absurdism and it's not for everybody, but especially in light of a lot of anticapitalist/eat the rich media that made waves in recent years (parasite, the menu, triangle of sadness, etc.) it feels like the only reason this one didn't reach more ubiquity is that boots riley probably didn't want to play ball with the "hollywood" of it all (related, u should watch maggie mae fish's video essay on the movie as well lol)
anyways, this movie is great, one of my all time favorites. peep "i'm a virgo" too if you wanna watch more of riley's stuff
Rec
I knew I was going to love this movie just because of the concept and the fact that itโs Kieran culkin and Jesse eisenberg but right now itโs the morning after I saw it and Iโm sitting in bed crying thinking about certain things different characters but especially David, Jesse eisenbergs character said
Iโll tear up at a movie every once in a while but this movie really hit me because it is so relevant to how im feeling recently like literally every element of David and Benjis (Kieran culkin) emotional characteristics and their relationship with each other is relevant
My aunt passed away in September and I have been weirdly impacted by it since then and I have been working on controlling anxiety and depression for four years now with minimal progress and those two things, (Davidโs OCD and anxiety/Benjiโs grief) are essentially what lead David and Benji to take this trip together so as we learn more and more about their relationship with each other and their personalities themselves it kept getting more and more personal to an almost unbelievable degree
Theres a point where something happens and David sort of opens up and what he says about not actually being okay but just presenting that heโs okay because he takes his medication and runs and meditates and goes to work then comes home then does it all again that really really hit me
It is such a perfect blend of funny but also deeply serious and emotional so even if itโs not as relevant to you right now I think everyone should see this movie
Iโll tear up at a movie every once in a while but this movie really hit me because it is so relevant to how im feeling recently like literally every element of David and Benjis (Kieran culkin) emotional characteristics and their relationship with each other is relevant
My aunt passed away in September and I have been weirdly impacted by it since then and I have been working on controlling anxiety and depression for four years now with minimal progress and those two things, (Davidโs OCD and anxiety/Benjiโs grief) are essentially what lead David and Benji to take this trip together so as we learn more and more about their relationship with each other and their personalities themselves it kept getting more and more personal to an almost unbelievable degree
Theres a point where something happens and David sort of opens up and what he says about not actually being okay but just presenting that heโs okay because he takes his medication and runs and meditates and goes to work then comes home then does it all again that really really hit me
It is such a perfect blend of funny but also deeply serious and emotional so even if itโs not as relevant to you right now I think everyone should see this movie
Nov 15, 2024
Top Recs from @dotmatrices
Jun 26, 2025
Rec
๐กit is your civic duty to mercilessly mock generative ai users as much as possible
Jan 18, 2025
Rec
๐spent the last two weeks working on an interactive guide, recommendations database, and digital library (link depot) to help get people off of social media. the first draft is done now, and it's at the link to this post.
it's still very much a work in progress (the library is especially thin atm) - which is why i wanted to share it here before unleashing it upon my IRL friends and the general public. i welcome any and all feedback, bug reports, and suggestions for things to add. i will be pushing updates to it out like a madman in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back every so often to see new additions to the database and library.
additionally, i am still on the hunt for newsletters from local venues / community organizations / magazines / newspapers, etc. the only cities i have remotely covered so far are nyc, orlando, denver, brisbane, and little bits of worcester and chicago. if you know anything in your area that fits the bill, send it my way!
it's still very much a work in progress (the library is especially thin atm) - which is why i wanted to share it here before unleashing it upon my IRL friends and the general public. i welcome any and all feedback, bug reports, and suggestions for things to add. i will be pushing updates to it out like a madman in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back every so often to see new additions to the database and library.
additionally, i am still on the hunt for newsletters from local venues / community organizations / magazines / newspapers, etc. the only cities i have remotely covered so far are nyc, orlando, denver, brisbane, and little bits of worcester and chicago. if you know anything in your area that fits the bill, send it my way!
Jan 27, 2025