Adam McKay directed this new Netflix release which everyone is talking about and I know of him because of ‘The Big Short’.

It was quite refreshing to watch ‘The Big Short’ insofar as it called out the evil self centred bankers for who they were. Greed, corruption and short sightedness that crashed the entire global mark, explained in a way that is digestible for the majority of people who are willing to pay attention.

And it makes sense that the same director would have the courage to take on a film that catches the modern day zeitgeist.

From a critical perspective, the film does feel heavy handed and sometimes disjointed and I can underside why some critics would have a problem with it but the core of the film and it’s intention overrides that. It’s also rather funny and outright bonkers at times.

Modern life can be inane and feel like utter insanity.

One of the biggest issues is ignorance. I may be omitting tact here but ignorance is a huge problem and it’s viscous cycle is caused by the fact that being ignorant means one thinks they are right when they are wrong and cannot see otherwise! The best metaphor I’ve heard to describe this is ‘tail wagging the dog’.

Trump was a symptom of a decline of democracy. The ride towards authoritarianism is a problem and it’s happening now.

People are so polarised. It’s as if you go online and no one on opposing spectrums can agree on anything, not least the basic facts! Leonardo Decaprios rant is a primal scream of rage at humans inability to accept objective principles, never mind the mass media’s obsession with trivialising everything. You speak the truth and then you get marginalised and shut down.

And the news would rather entertain and excite than inform. Virality supersedes reality.

Opinion is easier to sway through the voice of a celebrity than the actual experts working behind the scenes. And money and celebrity status doesn’t equate to their voice necessarily being the right ones to listen to! There are plenty of self proclaimed messiahs out there who think they know better.

It’s a case of belief falling into illusion vs. reason finding truth. Philosophy should be taught in schools more prevalently so people can tell the difference and think about the way they think a bit more.

It’s perfectly fine to say I don’t know and there’s a better voice out there than mine to speak about this.

It should also be acceptable and respectable for people to concede they are wrong.

Instead, we vote in narcissistic lunatics unfit for their roles and bury our heads in national pride whilst they rig the system for their own selfish needs.

If you want to dig further, listen to Gaslit Nation. What Sarah Kendzior and Andre Chalupa cover is uncomfortable and makes your blood boil but it’s necessary to confront the reality.

The main allegory here is climate change. Greta Thunberg gets tonnes of flack for telling the truth whilst leaders promise everything, deliver the bare minimum and now greenwash us.

I’m glad a cultural exposé is out there to be talked about. McKay and his actors and crew took their art form and used it to show what they see.

Amidst the chaos we are in, what do you see?