The End of the World with Michael and Stu
The Apocalypse is Everywhere. The End of the World with Michael and Stu is a (hopefully) insightful and (hopefully) humorous exploration of the rise of apocalyptic news, apocalyptic thinking and apocalyptic culture. Each week, we’ll be looking at a work of art, a piece of media, or an historical event related to the (hopefully not) impending End of the World.
The End of the World with Michael and Stu
86: How Can I Bring You to the Sea of Madness
This week we are talking about 2022's Triangle of Sadness. Directed by Ruben Östlund, the movie looks at class divisions in three stages, zooming out from the troubles in an individual romantic relationship, then looking at class as it works on a luxury cruise, before finally depicting a kind of post-apocalyptic, Lord-of-the-Flies-with-adults situation on a seemingly deserted island. Beautifully made and at moments hilarious, we both felt there were times when the film was a bit heavy-handed, and we both had trouble deriving a "thesis" from what the picture depicts. How are we meant to understand the depths of its ironies? Is it completely black-pilled?
We open the episode by discussing the media reaction to the recent, murderous events in Utah. What does this bode for the future of political relations in the United States?
This episode contains spoilers for Triangle of Sadness.
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