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Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How narcissism became everyone's obsession
It's a testament of our time that one of the best movies of 2025, HBO's "The Mountainhead," has a "Dr. Strangelove" level of absurdity in its plotting, and yet feels almost understated in its satire of the ridiculousness of our era. (Short spoiler warning.) It follows four tech bros over a day in which the entire world literally falls into chaos and civil war, due to the release of disinformation-sowing social media tools, with the implication that millions of people are killed in 24 hours. But our billionaire protagonists — played by Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, and Ramy Youssef — are only interested in leveraging the situation to gather more money, power, and status for themselves. Throughout, the characters routinely name-drop philosophers and authors they've obviously never read while indulging bizarre fantasies of living forever and ruling the universe as benevolent dictators. Still, "The Mountainhead" can't compete with reality. After all, an allegedly ketamine-addled Elon Musk callously cut life-saving aid for hundreds of thousands of people by destroying USAID, all while continuing to claim he's humanity's savior because he will someday colonize Mars. (He will not.) The movie works only because it's ruthless in its portrayal of the ego delusion that fuels so much of Silicon Valley's C-suites, as the tech industry enters its snake oil phase. Writer and director Jesse Armstrong never indulges the urge to humanize his narcissistic main characters by giving them secret soft sides or limits on their self-regard. At one point, the Musk stand-in character even asks if other people are real, and concludes they are not. Everywhere you look online these days, people are talking about narcissism. TikTok is replete with advice, most of it questionable, on how to tell if someone is a narcissist. The subreddit /raisedbynarcissists has over 1 million members. Social media in general is a place where accusations of the disorder fly wildly, and often unfairly. But it wasn't always like this. A decade ago, narcissism was a little-discussed personality disorder, especially compared to more stigmatized diagnoses, like sociopathy or borderline personality disorder. I'd say many people weren't even aware that it is a psychological condition. Even still to this day, the word "narcissist" gets misused to describe people who are merely snobbish or egotistical. Still, there's value in all this discourse. It's raised awareness that narcissism is a real psychological disorder, and helped a lot of people make sense of abuse or other relationship issues they've dealt with in the immediate and obvious impetus for this trend is Donald Trump living the narcissist's dream of being an inescapable presence for the past decade. I am not a psychologist and cannot diagnose anyone. However, there is no denying that, regardless of what checklist of narcissistic traits you pull from whatever medical website, Trump fits every one to a comical degree. (This is also the case with sociopathy, which often comes along with narcissism.) For instance, narcissists insist they need the biggest or best of everything, and Trump insists he deserves a free private jet from Qatar because the one provided by the U.S. government isn't as "impressive." Trump routinely claims to be perfect. "I don't really believe I've made any mistakes," Trump declared in April. During his first campaign, he claimed he was a Christian, but he has never asked for God's forgiveness. When later asked why not, he clarified that because he believes he doesn't make mistakes. He's called himself a king and a messiah. He frequently brags about his looks in a way that is utterly out of touch with reality, calling his body "perfect." His supporters laugh at this, as if he's joking, but if you pay attention to his tone when he says these things, it's clear he is not kidding. But it isn't just Trump. The omnipresence of narcissists at the levers of power in our country is the direct cause of so much of our current political misery. Musk's messianic self-regard is not unique to him, but seems to be a quality binding the tech leaders who have taken a hard turn to the right in recent years, such as Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen. Liberals are right to be worried about this phenomenon because narcissists aren't just annoying, they're dangerous, especially when they have power and money. And yet there is little doubt that these dudes have sucked millions of Americans into validating their delusion self-regard. Trump's loyal supporters speak of him as if he were a messiah, often literally claiming God sent him to save them. Musk has an army of blind loyalists online, mostly young men who buy into the myth that he's a super-genius, not seeing that his only real skill is being a B.S. artist who takes credit for other people's work. These men's power depends on persuading millions to believe the narcissist's view of himself. It's a trick used by nearly every cult leader. YouTube essayist Lindsay Ellis released an intriguing video in 2021 about why narcissists are often such popular characters in movies and TV shows, with examples like Loki in the Marvel movies or Lucille Bluth in "Arrested Development." Narcissists are fun to watch in fiction because they act out in ways that most of us would occasionally like to do, if we weren't hobbled by concerns like empathy for others or facing accountability for our actions. We get a vicarious thrill from watching the narcissist run roughshod over people's feelings or exploit others without shame. But, as she notes, these characters are almost always villains. If they have a face turn towards the good, they get rewritten as people who have empathy — not narcissists at all, just people with high but non-disordered levels of self-centeredness. But the fun that movie audiences have with narcissistic villains goes a long way towards explaining the hold that men like Musk and Trump have over their fans. That they're evil is why their supporters love them. Their followers enjoy the fantasy of being able to treat people with shameless cruelty, without fear of reprisal. When Musk hops on Twitter to defame people with wild accusations, his fanboys thrill. When Trump mocks disabled people or victims of violence at his rallies, his audiences lap it up. Ordinary folks can't treat people like these two, for fear of being fired, sued or shunned. But they get a taste of the sadistic fantasy by rooting for the villains. Social media, unfortunately, makes the situation worse. It puts a gloss of entertainment on behavior that is not fictional. When Musk destroys life-saving programs or Trump deports innocent people to put them in foreign torture prisons, it's mediated for their followers through their screens and online jokes and memes. Many of them might not find it so fun to watch an innocent person be tortured if they had to see it with their own eyes. But watching Trump and Musk do it from afar makes it feel like a TV show. We see this in the increasing number of stories about Trump voters freaking out when family members or friends get deported. It's fun for them when they see it on Twitter, but in real life, it's harder to swallow. Yet they will continue to back Trump for the same reason that audiences line up to see Tom Hiddleston play Loki in the movies: The unreality of social media allows them to feel that real life is just a fun, if sadistic, fantasy. As for the rest of us, I think the fascination with narcissists isn't just about surviving an era where we're terrorized by them; it is also about our egos. The fear of being narcissistic understandably haunts so many of us in an era of social media, where the ability to get attention is treated as the measure of a person's worth. How many followers do you have? How many views can you make money for our tech overlords by increasing the engagement on the free content you provided on their platform? It creates a very real worry that we're becoming so self-obsessed we're losing touch with our humanity. On one hand, people shouldn't worry that they will develop clinical narcissism, which has causes other than "I spend too much time on Instagram." On the other hand, one doesn't need to be a narcissist to hurt people with your ego. Former president Joe Biden isn't a narcissist — he clearly has empathy for other people — but he does have an ego so large it veers into self-delusion. And that unwillingness to see his own weaknesses caused immeasurable harm, by convincing him to stay far too long in a campaign he could not win. Politics probably pushed Biden too far in the ego direction. For the rest of us, there is a real danger from the incentives towards egotism on social media. It is making us more callous and less thoughtful to others. It allows us to rationalize cheating and lying, which is why ordinary people who don't have psychological disorders all too often gleefully share disinformation. Social media was meant to connect people to each other, but it's encouraging people to turn inward in ways that harm them and others. It's probably why voting for Trump got easier for some folks after they spent way too much time online. So yeah, it's good to hate on narcissism. Maybe it will convince more of us to try a little harder to be less self-obsessed.
Axios
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Paramount Theatre's summer film series returns
The Paramount Theatre's annual summer classic film series kicks off Thursday for its 51st year with 100 films from every era in cinema history — all screening at the historic 110-year-old downtown theater. Why it matters: During the Texas summer, it's hard to beat sitting in the air-conditioned dark, munching on popcorn and staring up at the big screen. What they're saying: "This year's lineup offers something for every film lover, from rare 70mm presentations to beloved classics celebrating significant anniversaries," Stephen Jannise, senior director of film programming at the Paramount, said in a news release. The movies are as diverse as "Boogie Nights" and "Dr. Strangelove," "The Big Lebowski" and "Working Girl," "Selena" and "All the President's Men." Fun favorites include "Miss Congeniality" and "Clueless." On June 11, novelist Katherine Center will join Austin actors Jared and Genevieve Padalecki for a special "Rom Com Night" and conversation, followed by a screening of the Rob Reiner romance classic "When Harry Met Sally." What's next: The series begins with Thursday's double feature of "Casablanca" at 7pm and "Breathless" at 9pm. On Saturday, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez will offer an in-person introduction of two 40th anniversary favorites, Martin Scorsese's "After Hours" and the rarely seen gem "Into the Night" starring Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, and David Bowie. "The Empire Strikes Back," arguably the best Star Wars movie, screens Sunday at 3pm. Other movies earmarked as the family film series this summer include "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Matilda," "The Goonies" and "The Sound of Music." If you go: Admission is $15 — including a $3 preservation fee for the theater — which covers both films in a double-feature.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Eddington' Review: Ari Aster's Explosive, Satirical Neo-Western Takes A Big Swing At MAGA Culture
How do you make a satirical movie about modern America when the news that comes out of there every day is quite literally beyond a joke? Ari Aster is one of the rare directors willing to go there, and his new film Eddington is extraordinary not only for that but for depicting a slice of history that we have yet to see properly shown on film, even though it happened only five years ago. Dressed up as a neo-noir Western, this pandemic saga drips with the kind of biting, dark political humor hardly seen much since the heyday of screenwriter and novelist Terry Southern, author of Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. The setting — late May 2020 — is crucial: Covid-19 has just become a thing, and the residents of Eddington in Sevilla County are getting used to life with masks and social distancing. Most comply, but others are skeptical, including Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix), who, in the film's opening scenes, is pulled up by cops from the neighboring district of Santa Lupe Pueblo. Cross is a maverick cop, but one with a good heart; instead of enforcing the law, he subverts it, letting the locals get away with minor infractions, on the grounds that the town is tiny and the virus won't be getting there anytime soon. More from Deadline 'Eddington' Cannes Film Festival Premiere Photos: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler & More 'Eddington' Cannes Premiere Gets Nearly Seven-Minute Ovation That Moves Joaquin Phoenix To Tears Kristen Stewart's 'The Chronology Of Water' Flows To 6½-Minute Ovation After Cannes Premiere His views collide with those of the town's mayor, Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), a local bar owner who briefly dated Joe's wife Louise, now recovering from a nervous breakdown. Her rehabilitation is going slowly, not helped by the fact that her mother, Dawn (Deidre O'Connell), is staying with them and shows no signs of leaving. Dawn is a conspiracy nut and, as such, has been 'doing her own research' into the genesis of the pandemic. This, though, is just the thin end of the wedge; Dawn spreads all kinds of misinformation in the town, from the speculation that the wrong boat sank instead of the Titanic to the fact that Hillary Clinton has been arrested and is already languishing in Gitmo. RELATED: In this respect, the subtext of Eddington is that the devil will find work for idle hands to do. In ordinary times, the likes of Dawn would be dismissed as crackpots, but in pandemic limbo, with everyone bored and at a loose end, her weird suppositions start to get traction, sending everyone down internet rabbit holes. She even gets to Joe — who took over the role of sheriff after Louise's father died seven years before — when Dawn taunts the pair of them over the breakfast table. 'Where's your anger, Lou?' she says. 'Where's your anger, Joe?' Joe's anger isn't immediately apparent, but it does prompt him to stand for mayor against Garcia, a move he announces over social media. This piques Garcia's concern, and the pair meet for a High Noon-style showdown scored with a suitably Western sting courtesy of composer Daniel Pemberton. Affronted by what he sees as Garcia's condescension, Joe doubles down on his bid for mayor and turns his squad car into a campaign vehicle, complete with anti-lockdown signs with slogans that say, for one example, 'Your (sic) being manipulated.' The outside world, meanwhile, is about to boil over with its myriad lockdown frustrations, and, in a very bold gambit, Aster uses the real-life killing of George Floyd as the catalyst that brings bitter chaos to the middle of nowhere. The local college kids form their own branch of Black Lives Matter and stage a protest, which Joe does his best to tamp down in his so-far perfectly serviceable way (he is, after all the kind of man who says 'super-duper, thank you very much'). But the rebellion is real, and it starts to dawn on Joe that the regular tools of small-town politicking are woefully inadequate in this strange new world, where news spreads more like a malignant virus than wildfire. RELATED: Although less confrontational than Aster's last film Beau Is Afraid, Eddington is certainly going to divide audiences with its ambitious mix of genres — without spoiling the first of several shocking twists, he pivots midway from gentle Western pastiche to bloody neo-noir, with a middle section that resembles the stylish early '90s westerns of American director John Dahl. But more explosive is its approach to American politics; from Bitcoin to Pizzagate, TikTok to vaccine denial, Eddington takes aim at all the quirks and absurdities of President Trump's administration and how its compliant MAGA zealots have radicalized whole generations of a country once known for its compassion. At the film's first screening in Cannes, the largely international audience seemed nonplussed with its blending of fiction and reality, not quite grasping the significance of the references that pepper the screen, from Dr. Fauci to George Soros, Tucker Carlson, Kyle Rittenhouse and, God save us all, even Marjorie Taylor Greene. But though all its parts don't quite knit together, Eddington is what you might call a big swing, a film that's more serious than it first seems, seeing Covid as the Big Bang that landed us right where we are now. It's about the elephant in the room: the emergent likes of QAnon, 4Chan and the Proud Boys, things that did more damage than Covid ever did, leaving a raw, still-festering wound. Without ceremony or mercy, Eddington rips the Band-Aid off, and not everyone is going to want to look at, or think about, what's there underneath it. Title: EddingtonFestival: Cannes (Competition)Director-screenwriter: Ari AsterCast: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Luke Grimes, Deidre O'ConnellDistributor: A24Running time: 2 hr 25 min RELATED: Best of Deadline Broadway's 2024-2025 Season: All Of Deadline's Reviews Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Winners Through The Years Deadline Studio At Sundance Film Festival Photo Gallery: Dylan O'Brien, Ayo Edebiri, Jennifer Lopez, Lily Gladstone, Benedict Cumberbatch & More
Axios
13-05-2025
- Health
- Axios
Which states have the most — and least — access to fluoridated water
Nearly 63% of the U.S. population was served by fluoridated community water systems as of 2022, per the latest CDC estimates. Why it matters: Fluoridation is once again becoming a political flashpoint, with Utah and Florida recently moving to ban the practice — a step encouraged by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The big picture: Dental and public health experts have long argued in favor of community fluoridation, wherein fluoride is added to public water supplies to help prevent tooth decay. "If I have new patients come into my practice, I can guess probably eight or nine times out of 10 if they've grown up in a fluoridated community" because "they don't have cavities," one pediatric dentist recently told CNN. Yes, but: Fluoridation has long been controversial among detractors who view it as a form of government making a personal health choice. It's even been the subject of conspiracy theories dating back to at least the Cold War, famously ribbed in Stanley Kubrick's 1964 satire "Dr. Strangelove." What they're saying: Fluoride is "an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease," Secretary Kennedy claimed last year — an assessment refuted by many experts. "The facts are that it's an enormous public health innovation and achievement over the past century in reducing dental disease, especially in children and especially in populations that don't have access to regular dental care," Diana Winters, deputy director at the Resnick Center for Food Law & Policy at UCLA School of Law, previously told Axios' Sareen Habeshian. By the numbers: Washington, D.C. (100%); North Dakota (90.6%) and Kentucky (89.8%) had the greatest shares of residents served by fluoridated community water as of 2022, per CDC estimates. Hawai'i (8.2%), New Jersey (14.4%) and Oregon (22.3%) had the smallest. Stunning stat: "A 2015 Hawaii Department of Health study found the state has the highest rate of tooth decay in the nation among third graders," Honolulu Civil Beat reported in 2020. Between the lines: States have a range of policies affecting their fluoridation stats. Some (like Kentucky) make it largely mandatory, while others (like New Jersey) leave it up to localities. What's next: Lawmakers in several states, including Louisiana and Tennessee, are also pushing fluoridation bans, per ADA News. Utah public health officials are now advising residents to consider fluoride supplements amid the statewide ban on community fluoridation, Axios' Kim Bojórquez reports. The bottom line: People without easy access to fluoridated water can still get fluoride through other means — by using fluoridated toothpaste, for example (though Texas is now investigating toothpaste manufacturers over how they market such products).
Sydney Morning Herald
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Masterly chaos as Steve Coogan stars in stage reboot of Dr Strangelove
DR. STRANGELOVE ★★★½ CTC. 150 minutes. In cinemas Armando Iannucci's latest excursion into the wackiest regions of the political world is here. The man who brought us The Death of Stalin has revived Stanley Kubrick's absurdist classic, Dr. Strangelove or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb, judging quite rightly that its particular brand of insanity is in tune with our times. He and director and co-writer Sean Foley have produced it as a play for Britain's National Theatre and the filmed version of one of its West End performances is in the cinemas as part of the NT LIVE series. Steve Coogan, Iannucci's collaborator on the satirical British TV series featuring Alan Partridge, is cast in the roles originally played by Peter Sellers, including both Strangelove, a former Nazi scientist, and the US president, whom Strangelove likes to call 'Mein Fuhrer'. Old habits die hard. As you can tell, subtlety was never part of the film's appeal. Its caricatures are broad, as are its jokes, but it presents a masterly display of choreographed chaos set in motion by Jack D. Ripper (John Hopkins), a deranged American general who is about to send a squadron of B-52s off to Russia with orders to drop a nuclear bomb. A man of many obsessions, General Ripper strikes a contemporary note with his belief that water fluoridation is a Russian plot aimed at robbing him and other similarly macho males of their 'natural bodily fluids'. Ripper is in charge of a US Air Force base in Britain when he makes his momentous decision and the first person to hear about it is Group Captain Mandrake (Coogan again), a mild-mannered and very English Englishman who manages to contact the Pentagon. A clutch of five-star generals then start falling over one another in their competing efforts to find the nuclear recall code and avert the end of the world. Filmed theatre is a strange hybrid. No matter how artfully it's shot, it leaves you feeling rather remote from the action. Nonetheless, Strangelove is, in essence, so overblown that theatricality is all part of the experience. We move between the British base, the Pentagon war room and one of the B-52s and in each place, the craziest person present is getting the upper hand. The B-52 has a gung-ho pilot set on carrying out his mission despite the protests of his crew. Loading
