On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the myriad ways in which tariffs could hurt (and maybe in one very minor way help) the entertainment business. Then they review Warfare, the latest film from Alex Garland and co-writer/co-director Ray Mendoza. No bonus episode on Friday, but we’ll be back with a full episode on Monday where we’ll be reviewing Sinners. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
That movie makers are willing to comply with Chinese government demands is a natural consequence of capitalism because capitalists are concerned only with profit, not truth, not functional ecosystems, not the wellbeing or welfare of nonhuman animals or victims of trafficking, etc.
I had a wildly different reaction to the opening scene with the “Call on Me” video.
Around the time of the events depicted in this film I was in a sketch group and we used that song in a video. I thought back to how much goofing around I did at that point in my life and how these guys, who were my age, were doing the same.
I thought the film was showing us a) how young they are and b) how bonded they were to one another as “bros.”
I hadn’t really thought about the points made by Alyssa and Peter that a trade war often leads to much worse outcomes later. If the USA and China lose the cultural links they’ve established over the last 30 years and we continue to view each other as irredeemable enemies real conflict may loom.
That is a depressing, if not potentially inevitable outcome of Trump’s moronic policies. And of course, his acolytes think he’s some tough guy. But in reality he’s a complete coward who would be frozen in fear if hostilities erupted.
thanks Sonny, Alyssa, and Peter for keepin' it real!!!