I went to see The Social Reckoning last week.
asserted
I → go → Reckoning
In the great tradition of Aaron Sorkin productions, the movie was mainly scenes of people moralising to each other at double speed and doing brave things and then grand orchestral music arriving to play them all out.
asserted
music → moralise → them
It was a completely infuriating watch because (and this is not a spoiler) THERE IS NO SOCIAL RECKONING.
asserted
this → be → ?
Also because I suspect Sorkin genuinely believes we are only ever a rousing speech away from righting every wrong in the world.
asserted
we → suspect → world
I left the cinema irritated that a subject so compelling had been translated so poorly to screen and yet simultaneously appreciative of the cinematic earnestness of it all.
asserted
subject → leave → it
The Social Reckoning had so many speeches.
asserted
Reckoning → have → speeches
There were so many times Mikey Madison proclaimed variations of “I love working at Facebook” and “I believe in Facebook”.
asserted
I → be → Facebook
When the real world is glib and unserious, when terrible people make dumb jokes and do hurtful things just because, seeing people act on genuine conviction feels like a revelation.
asserted
people → make → revelation
I realised I needed more of this is my life.
asserted
this → realise → more
Indeed, we all do!
asserted
we → do → ?
Sincerity is due for a comeback but it needs to be in a way that offers simplicity and resolution and tells me explicitly who the baddie is (my phone has ruined my brain).
asserted
phone → need → brain
And I can think of no better candidate for Earnest 2.0 than the superhero movie.
asserted
I → think → movie
I know you are probably thinking about the recent disasters that were Supergirl and The Fantastic Four and Masters of the Universe, and how they were as unexciting and culturally irrelevant as “Sharon” and “Claire” found my most recent novel (I read the Goodreads reviews).
asserted
I → know → reviews
After years of box-office dominance, there is a narrative that we are collectively suffering from Marvel fatigue.
asserted
we → be → fatigue
The superhero movie is what we need and deserve right now.
asserted
we → need → what
You know how, at the moment, it is totally normal for people to say and do horrible things?
asserted
people → know → things
There is a glibness in the culture, a collective assumption that nothing much means anything, so we can all just do whatever we want.
asserted
we → be → whatever
It’s like the world is run by first-year arts students trying to read Nietzsche for an essay but getting distracted by r/shitposting.
asserted
world → ’ → shitposting
If we are mocking politicians for having prolapses, and the leader of the free world is planning live executions, does anything even matter any more?
asserted
anything → mock → executions
You know where this doesn’t happen?
asserted
this → know → ?
You know where every thought and action is imbued with planet-saving significance?
asserted
thought → know → significance
Superhero movies will never be too sly, too quippy or too jacked-up on peptides to save the world, and they will always tell you how important it is to come together, stand up for what’s right and do the fighting.
asserted
what → jack → fighting
I am sick of stories that focus on the complex reasons people do the things they do.
asserted
they → focus → things
I am sick of stories about normal people making bad decisions or becoming evil.
asserted
people → make → decisions
Superhero movies will always make the bad guy explicitly evil.
asserted
guy → make → ?
He will always have horns, or scales, or be a billionaire with a mysterious lab.
asserted
He → have → lab
We don’t need to contemplate whether he destroyed the Earth because he would have been more suited to a Steiner school or should have been hugged more as a child.
asserted
he → need → child
We can simply see and accept evil.
asserted
We → see → evil
The baddies do the bad things and are punished.
asserted
baddies → do → things
The superhero movie has no moral ambiguity, no hard questions – just clearly delineated lines between good and evil.
asserted
movie → have → good
The absence of any real resolution in The Social Reckoning was one of the things that bugged me about it.
asserted
that → bug → it
It is bizarre to have a story end with a brave deed that goes nowhere.
asserted
that → have → deed
You know where this wouldn’t happen?
asserted
this → know → ?
In superhero movies we know that good will prevail over evil before we even buy the ticket – it is just a case of what famous city will almost be destroyed in the third act before the villain is neutralised.
asserted
villain → know → act
So let’s do away with Oscar-bait in these dire times and engage with the world of capes and tights and cool cars.
asserted
’s → let → capes
Let’s bask in the simplicity of good being good and bad being bad, while actors in hilarious costumes speak with earnestness and sincerity about how destroying the Earth would actually be a net negative.
asserted
destroying → let → Earth
We deserve this.
asserted
We → deserve → this
- Barenaked Ladies: This ‘novelty act’ belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
- In praise of the queue: Why we stan standing in line
- Radiohead: Anyone else think this beloved band kinda sucks?
-
asserted
band → belong → line
Next Gen NYC: This Bravo reality show achieves the impossible
asserted
show → achieve → impossible
Jeopardy!: In a time of global peril, a TV quiz show hosted by a Mormon brainiac can save us
-
asserted
show → host → us
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
