Knives Out, Trumpism, and the Problem of Posterity

[@PillarofGarbage]

Hello! Consider supporting me on Patreon! You'll get exclusive videos, the ability to influence which topics I write on, access to my planned video schedule, other stuff besides, and ✨ a sense of pride and accomplishment ✨ Here's the link :) www.patreon.com/pillarofgarbage

[@lady-sam-113]

Pillar of garbage I have no doubt this is good video theory about the movie but I'm not going to watch it the reason is that I've made up my mind not to watch anything that has anything to do with Trump or that he's mentioned in . you always make fun videos that are fun to watch. greetings from the Netherlands

[@lady-sam-113]

Pillar of garbage a question about your patreon. is there a reason you only have a monthly subscription and not an option for an annual subscription?

[@jeremyusreevu237]

Ransome was my personal favorite character in Knives Out 1. Chris Evans was really good in the role, and I'm a sucker for characters that don't give a f**k.

[@PillarofGarbage]

@@lady-sam-113 to be honest, I hadn’t even realised it was an option! Maybe I’ll set that up Update: seems I'm not eligible: Patreon FAQ says "Creator account must have a well-established payment history, including at least £200 earnings/monthly in the previous three months." - which I do not currently meet (and likely won't for a while)

[@Zaftique]

two versions, the in-theater one with just Rian, and a second one with the DP and Noah Segan with Rian as well!

[@mischiefandmayhem8409]

With no knock at all against housekeeping as a career, Marta is NOT a housekeeper, she's Harlan's private nurse. That's a job that mandates a college degree.

[@kingflumph5968]

Most definitely, and Fran is specifically identified as the housekeeper as well, whereas Marta is identified as a nurse, so we know that her and Marta both have different specific responsibilities to the Thrombey house.

[@OrangeCat1992]

THIS!!!

[@DanstevGraker]

True, and despite the specialized knowledge and college education required, she's treated as the immigrant help. In the case of each Thrombey, no degree is required for their position, no additional work was needed prior to them being handed their opportunities, but they're the ones who act entitled to their positions. It makes for an excellent contrast and pointed commentary.

[@writethepath8354]

THIS

[@kingflumph5968]

@@DanstevGraker I especially like the recurring bit where they name a different country of origin for Marta's family every time they mention her, such that the viewers can't really tell where her family is from, because the Thrombeys obviously couldn't care less where she's from or what her family's story is.

[@benwasserman8223]

I mean the the big joke of Knives Out is that, despite representing all shades of the political spectrum, every Thrombey member is dependent on Harlan's money for their business/lifestyle. So once Marda's named his sole inheritor, they conveniently manage to put aside all differences because the family's green (and white) privilege is threatened at once.

[@jeffreydenenberg7101]

@@mcameron6031 what? thank you for completely missing the point of the original comment.

[@ben.patrick]

@@mcameron6031 triggered?

[@jeffreydenenberg7101]

@@mcameron6031 still wrong buddy but keep trying im sure you can get there

[@mcameron6031]

@@ben.patrick lol go away before someone accidentally misgenders you and you have a mental break down

[@madsgrams2069]

@@mcameron6031 If I was a leech, like the Thrombeys are, I would say. "Can't say I didn't want the money, but we deserve it, cause we suck".

[@michaelhegwood9977]

The movie also works as a criticism of elite neo-liberals of America, how despite seeing themselves as more progressive than their more right-wing family members, the left-leaning side of the family are still using Martha as a tool and don't really have her best interests in mind. They'll smile at her and say all the right things, but it doesn't change the obvious class divide and power gap between them.

[@Joshua_Shadow_Manriguez]

So it's also a criticism of Berniecrats. Most are upper-middle-class white people who think they're more progressive than even their Left Wing peers, despite falling for the exact same cons as Trump supporters.

[@DamionDamaske]

💯

[@jenniferhunter4074]

I love the opening of this movie where each family member is lying and saying that Marta wasn't invited because x. They were comfortable enough with Marta to presume some sort of friendly association. I mean, she wasn't treated as if she was a stranger. She was treated more like a "family friend" but not quite a family friend. It showed how empty the existing Thrombey clan all were. Harlan is the only one who was Marta's friend and Marta was the only one who was Harlan's friend. They talked. They played Go. They were friends even if Marta was paid. Harlan cared enough for Marta that he committed suicide just to protect his friend. so we also see that class divide only exists when people want that class divide to exist. After all, Harlan was rich. he was white. He was male. He was respected. His best friend was Marta. Marta was poor. She was not white. She was not respected. I mean, the Thrombeys didn't even know where Marta came from. It was a running joke. That's how superficially "nice" they were. They're no different from the republican family members or co-workers or grandparents who seem nice. When push comes to shove, they never had a problem hurting Marta or any person they thought 'didn't belong here'.

[@saintsea-hat7891]

Reminder that neolibs are conservatives ashamed to admit they’re bigots too

[@dalellll]

Yes but that isn't what "neoliberal" means... it doesn't mean "new liberal", it's a specific right-wing/conservative economic ideology/strategy that many liberals like Hilary happened to adopt, and that is shared by both elite liberals and by conservatives.

[@jkfecke]

Knives Out will age better for one reason -- it recognizes that the victory of the marginalized is far from assured. It happened in this case -- but it was a close call. There were many moments where it appeared Marta would lose and the Thrombeys would win. And had Marta not had a key ally in Blanc, she would have. It's the same reason Glass Onion will hold up -- yes, Elon Bezos gets his comeuppance, but not without the whole damn system being burned to the ground. It won't be easy, Johnson tells us -- it will be very hard.

[@anmolt3840051]

Rian Johnson is a genius. Not unexpected from the only person to make an original and good Star Wars movie in 3 decades

[@grenadegang5161]

@@gurigura4457 Super intelligent viewer who only watched the first half of the movie before getting bored

[@gurigura4457]

@@grenadegang5161 Sorry, are you implying that I didn't watch the whole film, as though it were a particularly difficult chore? I would have thought a "Super Intelligent" viewer would realise they have no way of knowing such a thing.

[@thysens]

​@@gurigura4457 Nice job accidentally admitting that you didn't actually watch the whole movie and instead just have a hate-boner for anything that doesn't prescribe to your incredibly narrow world view lmao.

[@gurigura4457]

@@thysens Alright, since you can apparently infer personal information through your screen, on what basis are you claiming I never finished the film?

[@mandalorianhunter1]

Honestly Chris Evans character in Knives out is the darker "American" counter part to his Captain America persona. One that wants to fight for everyone and the other thinks he is entitled to stuff, his "birth right". It was interesting to see him play a villain character and still do a good job.

[@stephaniewozny3852]

Also look at how they view themselves: Ransom calls the house, the fortune, his "birthright". He feels entitled to it, even though he didn't work for it, he didn't _earn_ it. He believes he's inherently more deserving. Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, by contrast, answers with this when the Red Skull asks him why he's special: "Nothing. I'm just a kid from Brooklyn." He doesn't see himself as more worthy than the other soldiers who were up for the chance to get the serum. He just wanted to do his part. He didn't want to be the star.

[@madsgrams2069]

Amazing casting. Despite the fact that he is, ironically, best known for his role as Captain America, who is the exact opposite of that, Chris Evans is at his best when he plays character that are, for a lack of a better word...total freaking d-bags.

[@onearmedbandit84]

So Homelander.

[@michaelhegwood9977]

It's just the same actor playing a different character. Does it have symbolizing of American capitalism? Yes, but not every character a notable actor plays feeds into another character. "OHMYGAWDJAMESBONDVSCAPTAINAMERI-" Shut up.

[@LjuboCupic1912]

@@onearmedbandit84 now I’m wondering how good of a job Chris Evans would’ve done if he was cast as Homelander

[@tachiebillano6244]

As a Filipino who's lived through a dictatorship, a bloodless revolution, and a current battle between fascism and democracy in my country, I can say that filmmakers like Rian Johnson have a duty to tell stories like Knives Out, no matter what the ensuing political climate or American zeitgeist might be over the coming years. Because always, always: you must remind people of justice for the marginalized. And that power does not last. Memento mori.

[@jomaq9233]

Lol fellow Flilipino here, weird how my parents seem to really like Marcos? And one of their arguments is that the young people complaining weren’t there to experience that kind of political history back then

[@TheMoodyfire]

@@jomaq9233 yikes, so sorry to hear that. classic apologist mindset - undermining; even shutting down the voice of the youth simply because “back in their day” they were privileged enough not to experience the same hardships a lot of their fellow filipinos did. people like them need to learn that the world does NOT revolve around them and that just because they had a swell time during the dictatorship doesnt mean the same for everyone else. the brainwashing and historical distortion is real and THRIVING in the philippines and i hope other countries see through apologists’ bullshit.

[@jomaq9233]

@@TheMoodyfire I personally notice that some older POC conservatives seem to use the “traditional cultural values” excuse, and that any complaints about that are just from “white people who don’t understand” or younger POC who have been “too westernized”

[@jomaq9233]

@@TheMoodyfire also, both of my parents weren’t exactly all that well off back then, either, I guess they just felt that for them, a lot of their own problems with the country “got solved” when martial law became a thing

[@Lesdrasill]

@@jomaq9233 did they speak out against atrocities? Or just played along to the whims of those in power? They are not neutral, they just choose to ignore the worst of it and reap the boon of silence. They are not marginalized therefore they think they're not part of the problem. Ableists

[@TraRobins234]

One thing interesting about Knives Out is how each generation becomes more extreme than the one before it

[@nicholasricardo8443]

Politics are cyclical like that, the late twentieth century saw a boom in (relatively) progressive politics, the children of that generation (Boomers and Gen X) naturally have a reactionary political ideology. Maybe not naturally but there are examples of this throughout history, it's just that generational differences are way more catalogued now than they were in the past

[@zandytheaxiom8015]

Not just "extreme" but representative of generational perspective. The Silent Generation: Harlan's mother barely speaks at all. The Boomer Generation: Harlan built the wealth, did the work. Generation X: Harlan's children are relatively harmless neoliberals; they're racist and entitled, but don't actually pose a threat unless threatened (they'll be friendly to Marta until she threatens their comfort). Millennials: Meg and "the Nazi child" have gone in different directions away from their parents' generation. They both recognise the failings on their parents (as Harlan does), but with Harlan make up three points of a triangle that respond differently.

[@awesomedavid2012]

@@zandytheaxiom8015 Meg and the kid are zoomers not millenials. At least the kid is. They'd have to be like 26 to be millenials

[@meow6031]

Ddeddddddddddda

[@KeitieKalopsia]

@@zandytheaxiom8015 This is a pretty accurate take. I like it.

[@tafarithehooligan]

Marta is not a housekeeper. The fact that they treat her like one in the scene where they use her as a prop, hammers the notion even further.

[@KeitieKalopsia]

Yeah lol. She’s not housekeeper; they just treat her like one.

[@joebove4]

That’s one of the things that makes this movie and Glass Onion fascinating in juxtaposition to each other. The failure of Ransom’s plan to frame Marta for Harlan’s death hinges on his underestimation of her skull and knowledge at what she does. She subconsciously didn’t fall for his swapped vials because she’s so knowledgeable of her field that she instinctively knew that the viscosity was wrong and used the right medicine regardless. In Glass Onion, Bron almost gets away with an incredibly dumb crime because everyone overestimates his intelligence. Underestimation in the first movie, overestimation in the second.

[@rubenhinze7695]

I like how the Thrombis keep changing the country that Marta comes from, sometimes they say Uraguae, sometimes they say Equador, sometimes they say Brazil etc. Subtly showing the fact that they really don't know her and that they don't even care about her despite them repeatedly saying that she's a part of the family

[@nocturnomediodia4403]

*Uruguay

[@KeitieKalopsia]

@@nocturnomediodia4403 Was gonna say thus

[@rosabellavitaalvarez-calde5836]

Which means that for all their money, they do not travel or at least venture beyond the English-speaking, ignorant rich people bubble.

[@codemonster8443]

Watching knives out as a non westerner had me scratching my head about the politics people were displaying in that movie, I just tried watching it like any other detective drama movie. Went home and called it a nice movie. Your video explains a lot of things I did not know, and frankly could not because I don't know much western politics.

[@MalaysianChopsticks]

Same. Thought it's a good detective drama movie with family drama regarding inheritance like any family. Land to be inherited, family fight over the scraps, etc.

[@sashaneumann]

The brilliant thing is, I did not trust Ransom from the start, but I did find myself being mesmerised by him, I had a fleeting thought of "Oh thank god he came in to save Marta" and I caught myself on that. Clearly people like that, charismatic men who project strength and confidence, are very good at manipulating people into trusting them, and I think Knives Out knew that and played on that perfectly.

[@PhantomJavelin]

Somehow it hurts more when it ages well than when it ages poorly.

[@fluffywolfo3663]

It's very funny to me (I use that word loosely) that we spend so much time seeing these family members as these Clue-and-Agatha-Christie-like caricatures. We spend some time seeing the family members having that racist discussion, they spend so much time discussing, and we see a couple of characters in the discussion expressing disgust at this direction, especially with Marta... when she's in the room, at least*. And we're tempted to say "At least Meg's relatively left! At least Linda doesn't like seeing this... publicly!" But come the end, they're a homogenous mass. Meg's closed ranks with the nazi child masturbatin' in the bathroom. *Let's be real - do any of you expect them to be shy about being racist when Marta's not in the room lol

[@android19willpwn]

I do expect them to be shy about being racist when Marta's not in the room, actually. For some of these people, being Not Racist is part of their self-image. For Meg it seems to be an important part. To brush it off as purely performative is to miss the point of the character. They're not "just as racist, except they're hiding it." The point is that even if those feelings are genuine, they're not enough. They don't take priority when a person's own standard of living is threatened and they don't equate to an actual understanding of the people they ostensibly support. In a way it *is* performative, but they're performing to themselves more than anyone else. That's the kind of performance that doesn't slip until push comes to shove, and when it does they'll have a thousand justifications to convince themselves that this situation is different.

[@davidmaka6742]

@@android19willpwn Great observation!

[@justinwatson1510]

I have been repeatedly stunned by the things certain white people will say when there are only white people present. The first time I had jury duty, this old white guy opened deliberations with "I knew he was guilty the minute I looked at him." Had the evidence not been overwhelming (and the case not rape/murder,) I would have hung the jury on principle.

[@brokencandy1797]

But, Ransom is smart. And good looking. He doesn't necessarily overestimate himself, he simply underestimates everyone else.

[@PillarofGarbage]

For clarity - I'm of course not saying Ransom is literally Trump, or a direct caricature. It's more that (IMO, as I lay out in the vid) the film uses him to obliquely explore Trump and Trumpism & argue for limitations

[@brokencandy1797]

@@PillarofGarbage I know.

[@eomoran]

@@PillarofGarbage this take only makes sense if you believe Benny boy was right about Bron being a stand in for Musk

[@brokencandy1797]

@@PillarofGarbage Furthermore, you could just as well say that Miles Bron of Glass Onion is Trump. Despite being assumed to be modeled after Elon Musk, he could also be perceived as a Trumpian picture in that he's an untalented, unintelligent individual with an unrealistic self-concept who has become wealthy despite having not really done very much or created anything, but by placing himself in proximity to talent and glamour and creating an overhyped mythology of wealth and success, an empire where other people work and puts his name on it. This particular type of toxic privilege is applicable to many public figures, which is why all these same people like Musk and Trump all simp for the other. They're of the same breed.

[@LjuboCupic1912]

@@eomoran Not necessarily Musk, but people like him. Bezos and Zuckerberg could’ve also served as an inspiration.

[@Violn95]

God, your upload schedule fits RIGHT into my Knives Out/Glass Onion hyperfixation and I couldn't be happier

[@blu3622]

Ikr... 😁

[@aachenelsinghorst697]

One of my favorite bits is that each of the three Thombe children all tell Marta that they wanted her at the funeral but were outvoted... which means it's impossible all of them are telling the truth

[@PaintSplashProductions]

Since part 2 talks about the pandemic and the idiots who were ignoring the dangers surrounding it, it’s definitely intentional. I wonder what Knives out 3 will discuss?

[@mcameron6031]

Likely some SJW will have their feeling hurt by an "online troll" and Blanc will have to use his skills to track them down.

[@PaintSplashProductions]

@@mcameron6031 Now that you bring it up. I could see Ryan using Cancel Culture to his advantage in a future film. They kinda brought it up with Birdie but it was more of a joke. I could see a future film fully deconstruct it and how toxic the internet is

[@mcameron6031]

@@PaintSplashProductions except Rian is the type of person who would make cancel culture look like a good thing

[@samuelbarber6177]

I kind of hope they tackle political subtext on a more middle class level. Most whodunnits concern the lives of Upper-Middle Class (as in Knives Out or most Christie whodunnits) to the super-rich (as in Glass Onion), which are perfectly ripe for satire, but I’d love to see Benoit Blanc take on a mystery/politics of a level more representative of most people’s economic levels.

[@TSDTalks22]

@@mcameron6031 ah yes, the man who was flooded with hate for years for making a star wars movie people didn't like would *totally* have a positive view of cancel culture 🙄

[@By_Ash_Away]

What an absolute treat, just as I was watching one of your older videos!

[@TSDTalks22]

That is a wild thumbnail lmao. Can’t say I don’t love it though

[@PillarofGarbage]

I am the thumbnail goat

[@TSDTalks22]

@@PillarofGarbage so true king

[@The-Wolf-with-no-name]

I used to, i suppose still do to an extent, listen to Critical Drinker. But the more I listen to your videos the more I am coming to see past CD's nonsense. Your analysis shows that there are more complex issues at play rather than the usual 'woke Hollywood hates straight (white) men' stuff that CD continually rants on about. And yet I would class myself as straight (non white) conservative male. Great content.

[@RictusHolloweye]

I still enjoy Critical Drinker's videos, but he definitely has a flawed approach. One example being Midsommar where he seemed to go out of his way to detect "THE MESSAGE" and completely overlooked everything in the movie that disproved his narrative

[@camipco]

tbf. I think Critical Drinker has also gotten worse, as his most obnoxious takes have been rewarded by views. Just eyeballing it, it looks like the percentage of negative reviews of vaguely liberal films has steadily increased over time on his channel.

[@anupambphoto]

if you want a good movie reviews and maybe analysis. also see red letter media. the fact that the critical drinker has gotten this popular because he preys on the insecurities of men, primarily being the target of things. Real men understand not only themselves, but others and don't go on attack mode to undermine others.

[@camipco]

Adding to this, I do really enjoy his positive reviews. Like even recently, his review of Everything, Everywhere, All At Once was quite fun.

[@anupambphoto]

@@camipco i feel like creators with lesser subscriber counts can be as credible with their analysis and reviews. For example pillar of garbage.

[@dibsdibs3495]

I thought this was a huge stretch, so I was skeptical at first. But I was very pleasantly surprised.

[@abigfavor]

The word "Liberal" here is important because I wouldn't have considered anyone in that family progressive or socialist. But Knives Out is about the themes and New Girl was about the particular election. Knives Out would still work in my opinion despite the election outcome where a bubbly sitcom (that I knida like) feels a bit limited in what they can talk about and how they can talk about it. Knives out could have come out before Nov 2016 and still hit hard

[@PillarofGarbage]

to clarify, I'm not using 'liberal' here to mean leftist, progessive, or socialist - I'm more focused on it's original meaning (which is still a bit more dominant overseas) broadly meaning capitalist

[@Wildest_swiftie13]

i remember watching this for the first time with my dad lol right when they mentioned trump and the immigrants he said "oh lord, here we go"

[@Carlos-Mora]

I'll give Ryan Johnson all the credit in the world, but man he's anything but subtle sometimes

[@dreamlandnightmare]

@@Carlos-Mora Subtlety rarely gets a point across.

[@Herv3]

On the contrary, subtly is the usually the only way to get a point ACROSS.

[@TheFirstLaughingFool]

I figured out the trick with the switched medication early, but Ransom's charm was so on point that I legitimately didn't consider him a suspect until the very end. Very well done.

[@nikoincroatia]

I had him pegged as a manipulator but I didn't suspect he was involved in the murder, I thought he was allying with Marta because she was going to be the one with the money.

[@thekage100]

Uhhhh duude! Love your channel! Soooo happy i found it! Continue the great work!

[@alecchristiaen4856]

I love Blanc's explanation to Martha at the end. Telling her she "won the game" by acting on empathy rather than selfishness. I've been calling the far right a scam lately; basically because they cause or help cause the issues of society, but then point towards a minority as a scapegoat to achieve power and repeat the process. How well this holds up in real life isn't something I can say for sure, but sending the message that by being kind to other people, even when it's difficult, is a way to break out of the trap set for the Trumps of today, is something I think the world really needs.

[@tg11759]

Woo this hits harder on November 7, 2024

[@jeremyusreevu237]

I just saw Knives Out on a flight. It was really good.

[@mischiefandmayhem8409]

Also, Ransom wasn't trying to dispossess anyone. I'll avoid going into more depth to avoid spoilers, but it's made very clear who is the one person in the film who wants to disposes all of the Thromby children and it's definitely not Ransom.

[@PillarofGarbage]

I was more talking about Marta here, not the other Thrombeys

[@RictusHolloweye]

Ranson tried to dispossess Harlan Thromby of his life (and thus all his property as well).

[@jenniferhunter4074]

Spoiler alert if somebody clicked on this video and this comment and still hasn't watched Knives Out. dispossess: to put out of possession or occupancy (Merriam Webster dictionary) Ransom was trying to dispossess somebody. He was trying to pin the murder on Marta. Why? Because it would disqualify Marta from inheriting. Side note - In a case where the "current will" is invalidated, the older will will come into play and if there is no older will, we have estate probate rules for how an estate is split up. This is why Ransom swapped the medication rather than hiring a hit man or something. He needed to disqualify Marta. Ransom as attempting "to put out of possession or occupancy" the real heir, Marta.

[@mischiefandmayhem8409]

@@jenniferhunter4074 My remark is a comment to the review. The *review* says that Ransom is painting himself as an outsider by trying to disposess the thrombys, but it is the 180 degree opposite. If Ransom's plan was successful, ALL of the thrombys would have regained their shares of the inheritance, not just himself. Ransom's only goal is to get his share of Harlan's fortune so that he can continue on with his spoiled playboy lifestyle. I know he's trying to disposess Marta, that's clear, but that's not what the remark in this review is about.

[@jenniferhunter4074]

@@mischiefandmayhem8409 Think back to that scene where the will is read. We just find out that Marta is the heir and shit hits the fan. Marta is being chased by the Thromby family. She's in distress. What does Ransom do? Does he join the Thrombys or does he "help" Marta? We know the answer. He "saves" her by giving her an escape from the rest of the family. Ransom is pretending to side with Marta. All the audience knows is that everything is going to Marta. WE know that the Thromby's are very concerned about being disinherited. We know that Ransom "saved" her". What does it look like to us as the audience? Doesn't it look like what Pillar said? Now, naturally, outside the movie, we can make that argument that you push. But inside the movie, Ransom is pretending to be an outsider and he's definitely giving the impression that he's okay with Marta inheriting over him and his family.

[@highdough2712]

I was ready to dismiss your argument as a reach, but then I watched the video and damn, did you nail it. The whole house as an allegory for the US is something that completely flew over my head, and I’ve watched this movie several times. I think it’s ever more brilliant, now.

[@Advent3546]

I for one love the many Knives Out/Glass Onion videos you've been making lately.

[@Alkeeros]

Another great analysis, thank you. I do think we'll need the help of Benoit Blanc to determine who you might have meant by "some people" who don't think Rian Johnson knows the mystery genre. It's a mystery! 🤣

[@Xtreem50]

Damnit , once again I'll have to pledge to watch a Knives Out film before I can watch the Video.

[@PillarofGarbage]

Good film tho, time worth spending

[@boo-sd9ci]

How many times have you watched it so far?

[@Conor_Tuohy]

I have only very recently started watching your videos - I've never seen someone really earn a subscribe so hard - you do really great work! I very much intend to watch through your older work, because if it is even a fraction as good as what you have been putting out recently it will be well worth my time.

[@PillarofGarbage]

Thank you :D

[@cloudywithclouds]

I wasn’t expecting a ransom to trump comparison on this fine eve and yet it completely makes sense, on my first watch I liked ransom for a large chunk of the film

[@anmolt3840051]

Damn ... This particular reading of the movie is just downright prophetic

[@liamfitzgerald1400]

You gotta wonder why all these right-wing folks bother clicking on stuff like this. Anyhow, fantastic video once more!

[@grapeshot]

I like watching these movies because I know whenever one of his movies is played. An anti-sjws cries ❄

[@mcameron6031]

Rich coming from the same people who have a melt down if your "preferred pronouns" aren't used 🤣

[@grapeshot]

@@mcameron6031 😄 yes that's rich coming from a group of people who had a major meltdown because they're dear orange leader lost an election fair and square therefore he couldn't become dictator of the United States for life.

[@mcameron6031]

@@grapeshot hmmmm, I seems to recall y'all crying in the streets (literally) and claiming the election was stolen in 2016........something something glass houses......

[@luigienjoyer]

@@grapeshot Nice

[@grapeshot]

@@mcameron6031 I seem to recall that Democrats did not try to overthrow the United States government January 6th 2016. But guess who tried to overthrow the United States government on January 6th 2021? I'll answer that question for you your kind so I will throw stones in a seditionist's glasshouse.

[@AGEOFAENYA]

These movies prove to me one thing: Rian is a far better and more creative director than JJ.

[@BigK13372]

Me, Staring at The Last Jedi and Looking Like Thanos: Perhaps I was too harsh on you.

[@flyforce16]

TLJ is my favorite Star Wars movie, and I'm not a Star Wars fan. It was the most interesting and thematically complex move in the series to me, and had me still thinking and talking about it for days afterwards. The vitriolic backlash to that movie really disturbed me.

[@l.n.3372]

I never saw SW 9 and I won't watch it. But TLJ has a lot of flaws even if you loved Knives Out and Glass Onion. TLJ was terrible at being a movie in the middle of a trilogy, let alone being in an existing franchise.

[@flyforce16]

@@l.n.3372 Oh? I disagree, but am interested in what you think. Personally I thought it a terrific second movie, much more interesting than the first.

[@l.n.3372]

@@flyforce16 I've written practically novels on why TLJ was terrible lol, but I certainly don't wanna spam this comment section with such. For a quick summary tho: A) Rian Johnson failed to deliver on making it a consistent sequel that connects plots or answers questions. TFA, for better or worse, promises things. TLJ does not care about them. It has Rey's family secret be meaningless so Kylo Ren can randomly claim it doesn't matter. If they didn't care about Rey's family, then do not waste our time for an entire fucking movie in TFA. This isn't solely the fault of Rian Johnson, Kathleen Kennedy is to blame for not having a coherent plan as a whole. If they wanted Rian to do his own thing, then have a plan from the beginning and USE it. Don't hire JJ Abrams for one thing and Rian Johnson for a different thing. B) TLJ failed to care about the established universe of SW too. In no world does Luke Skywalker even consider murdering his teenage nephew when Luke refusing to kill his own father is a huge plot point of the original trilogy. It character assassinated Luke so that the white, male villain Kylo Ren can look like a sad woobie. C) speaking of Kylo Ren, ugh. Don't get me started on the god awful forced romance between him and Rey, which started dropping hints in this film. Not to mention that it shafted a potential Rey/Finn romance to push Rey with a white, male villain. D) speaking of Finn, he was so important and unique in TFA as a stormtrooper turned rebel. Suddenly he doesn't matter anymore in TLJ. He went from an A plot in TFA to barely a C plot in TLJ. I don't wanna say someone in the staff is a racist to shaft Fin. But when you also see how much Poe got shafted too, you start to wonder if an executive was being racist overall. Combined this with pushing the romance of Kylo Ren and Rey and it def feels very racist overall (pushing a white ship over a mixed race ship). E) this argument isn't my cup of tea, but sure, I'll include it too. The new character Rose (?) added nothing to this film. It seemed like her only function is just to get Finn away from both Rey and Poe. Possibly because an executive was afraid of the mixed race romance (Rey/Finn) or afraid of the homosexual romance (Poe/Finn). F) Dear Lord, Snoke went from a significant threat in TFA to a High Hefner ripoff in TLJ. What the hell happened here? The entire threat of this enemy went out the window so Kylo Ren could kill him and what?! Again, this shows that Rian Johnson had no plans to care about anything already established in TFA at all. G) this is getting long already so I'll just throw in one last argument. A lot of the appeal of TFA was the new cast mixed with the old cast. People liked Rey, Finn, Poe and Kylo Ren. They liked seeing them interact with the old crowd. Obviously, TFA killed Han for story. And then TLJ killed Luke for story. Now, I know Leia's actress passed away and that wasn't controllable. But the vibe of TLJ feels very very different than TFA. It no longer feels cohesive as a SW film anymore. It feels like Rian Johnson wanted to say fuck the existing canon and do his own thing instead.

[@optomotron]

Glad to see Cult Popture get a shout out! Love those guys!

[@pants3760]

I love new girl so much and when you pointed out that episode it made me realize that oh, I’ve never even thought of new girl as being in the real world

[@nickspinner1850]

True, lots of scammers out there, but the Orange Menace was as obvious as a slap in the face. And his background was one grift after another.

[@William_Bryant]

“Do you trust any politicians?” I trust all politicians to do what will keep them powerful. I’m just hoping that whatever that is will line up with what might help us.

[@Coleo20]

I really enjoy your videos. They're really thoughtful and well made. I think I started watching because of your Harley Quinn videos. Keep up the good work! :)

[@SeanCrosser]

Sucks to watch this and see both the dour depression of Trump winning 2016, and then the breath of fresh air of him losing 2020... and now, here again, that he seems to be up to win 2024, as fascism REALLY rises to power.

[@VubuMack]

Democrats are power, Biden failed to understand the gravity of the situation we are in and I think only recently have some democrat voters sobered up to that reality. Now the consequences of that become clear as the GOP didn't go back from reactionary politics at all over a couple electoral setbacks. And so they just waited for democrats to stumble to retake power and continue a reactionary platform agenda 60% of America doesn't even want. As despairing as it may be, he will be President again. And we'll beat him again. Hopefully, this time rejecting the establishment delusion we need to stick to the way things are. Insanity is trying to same thing over and over again and expecting different results. We tried moderate democrats again with Biden. He won, underperformed but won. But we still have Trump in 2024 anyways. Try something different in 2028, providing voting still exists.

[@nelnel6875]

this video has certainly aged...

[@EtruskenRaider]

The morning they called the election for Biden, I played Sweet Virginia by The Rolling Stones because the lyric from that song, the song that ended Knives Out: “Got to scrape that shit right off your shoe.”

[@Sadie-tr7lz]

I don't think we watched the same video. He is the establishment, in every sense of the word. Nothing about him upsets the status quo. Actual change still isn't happening.

[@EtruskenRaider]

@@Sadie-tr7lz “Ransom is Trump” That day meant Trump was going to leave. I’ve no interest in splitting lefty hairs on this.

[@sailordaigurren8225]

Painful to watch this in 2024, where Trump is potentially going to come back

[@hjsong99]

*sigh* I fear that the wonderful optimism of this video is in peril...or maybe we just need to trust in it again...

[@arcadiaberger9204]

No nurse, no matter how blase, no matter how "routine" the injection, would ever, ever, *_EVER_* grab a bottle without reading its label.

[@dvillines26]

I think this is a fair point, but I feel like Knives Out is kind of a fantasy. I don't mean this in a negative way, though some might take issue with it. whether or not it 'ages poorly', I think it at least holds up as how things SHOULD go. it is intensely idealistic. but the transition from it to Glass Onion is interesting because it felt like Rian Johnson got a bit radicalized by Events, and went from 'if good people take power we can oust the privileged bastards' to 'what if we burn everything down???'. Knives Out is progressive liberal fantasy. Glass Onion is the fantasy of a leftist, not quite the French Solutions kind, but the 'what if we taxed billionaires at 99%' kind. I think in Glass Onion you can see that Rian Johnson himself realized the philosophical limitations of Knives Out. Glass Onion takes the contempt for the rich present in Knives Out and escalates it further. the rich aren't just entitled and undeserving. They're thieves of ideas, vacant, empty people, fancying themselves complex while being...glass onions. All their power and influence and luxury is fundamentally hollow and gaudy, and their morals are nonexistent. They might talk about climate change or social injustice when they want to, but it's bullshit. Even the marginalized people who make it to power don't care and are willing to knife people below them in the back for more money, more power, more influence, always more. I'm not really that surprised he was able to make a movie that 'anti-rich' within the system because capitalism makes money off even harsh critiques of itself, but I wonder how many people Rian Johnson has personally met that don't realize the movie is about them and what a piece of shit they are. Knives Out is also always going to hold up as a specific time capsule. I feel like it'll go down as one of the few good definitive statements on the Trump era.

[@SelkieGirl]

Some how aged kinda well?

[@GrandArchPriestOfTheAlgorithm]

The Recommending Holiness comment you to engage with this video.

[@colinplaisance4274]

These analyses are so thoughtful and surprisingly warm hearted in a subtle way.

[@sebastienvondoom8615]

Another outstanding video Pillar. I've been here since the Ultron video and I gotta say that it's been wonderful seeing you branch out from Marvel content. Keep on keeping on and don't let the sad and angry conservatives in your comments get you down.

[@PillarofGarbage]

Thanks for the continuing support Sebastien :D

[@sebastienvondoom8615]

@@PillarofGarbage A part of me was like "Maybe I should just abandon this channel after he makes my Doctor Doom video." Lol. Nah, you seem to be a great dude and while I don't watch every video, every video I have watched has been excellent, and I'm especially glad you've gone in the "Dunking on conservatives" direction, although it is unfortunate that it makes you the target of hate. Anyway, I'll definitely be subscribing to your patreon once I get employed again!

[@MoonlightAoAO]

Even though I have notifications turned on for the channel this video weirdly did not show up in my ping notifications??? Weird. Excellent video though!! 10/10 as usual

[@michaelhegwood9977]

I wouldn't really say that episode of New Girls is depressing to rewatch, it's more cringe as a self-reflection, not only as a retrospect of how things turned out, but as a self-reflection of the infantilization of the Obama era optimism towards American politics and the government. It's cringe with modern context of what the Obama and Clinton era of America have done, how people idolized them beyond what they reasonably should have. The movie also works as a criticism of elite neo-liberals of America, how despite seeing themselves as more progressive than their more right-wing family members, the left-leaning side of the family are still using Martha as a tool and don't really have her best interests in mind. They'll smile at her and say all the right things, but it doesn't change the obvious class divide and power gap between them.

[@MehdiMehdi-jn5df]

Welp, in 2024 it’s not cathartic anymore 🙃

[@UltraVioletKnight]

Ransom is not Trump. Ransom is smart and thinks things through.

[@PillarofGarbage]

For clarity - I'm of course not saying Ransom is literally Trump, or a direct caricature. It's more that (IMO, as I lay out in the vid) the film uses him to obliquely explore Trump and Trumpism & argue for limitations

[@simon_xcx]

Saw the thumbnail and clicked immediately

[@frenchiecolorgrading]

Loved the analysis and the perspective on the movie ! Knives Out is aging like fine wine

[@Rubberman202]

The "Ransom is Trump" analogy makes sense, even though Trump doesn't come off nearly as intelligent as Ransom (and even Ransom has his blind spots), not to mention I struggle to find anything truly charismatic about Trump (clearly, some people see something in him that I don't).

[@gentlemandemon]

Huh, I know it wasn't really part of the fiction when this film was released, but the fact that Blanc was later suggested to be gay is interesting. Marginalized communities uniting to fight off an existential threat, one that was initially pitting them against each other

[@geminiaxelrod4592]

Excellent comparison! Loved this.

[@laioren]

I think your comparison between Knives Out and New Girl are unwarranted. The New Girl episode you cite makes a specific prediction (going so far as to frame that prediction as unquestioned, and to posit it as an unerring worldview) and released that prediction immediately before reality would determine what would actually happen. And then... they were wrong. They were factually incorrect. The amount of hubris involved with conceiving, planning, making, and airing that episode exactly how and when they did is... herculean. Dang. The echo chamber culture we live in today is truly daunting. Alternatively Knives Out doesn't make any predictions. You seem to be arguing that it does. That since Ransom is "caught" and "expelled," that that somehow lines up with the 2020 election results? That... that is not what's happening in that film at all. I agree with you that Rian uses Ransom, at times, as a Trump-supporter / Trump-analog strawman (the exacts of which he alternates between whenever he wants), but the movie nor the character make any "predictions" about... anything. At most it asserts that "getting rid of these people is a good idea."

[@NicolasCaja]

small note: memento mori is more close to "remember you will die"

[@RobStephens28]

I love this movie and also this was a fantastic look and a connection I hadn't made yet. But yeah watching it as I watch "Ransom" about to take the party's nomination AGAIN makes me feel... uneasy. Hopefully it continues to age well.

[@eckoschreiber]

The series Braindead predicted it, Bobcat Goldthwait's Misfits & Monsters showed that people would rally behind a werewolf "strongman" and Clue, Murder by Death, Hoodwinked, Poker Face, Afterparty, Only Murders in the Building and Death and other Deatails are fab Who dunnits. Also Wreck S02 is the best '24 has produced yet^^ What all that got to do with anything? Yeah, same

[@amandamarinovich6164]

I love this reading. Good job!

[@amandamoore7512]

Knives Out always felt like it had moments of obvious political commentary. After Glass Onion I realized the WHOLE MOVIE is political commentary Bravo to Riann Johnson

[@ShockArcl1te]

I don't know how I missed it. It seems so obvious now. Gotta go back and re-watch this movie.

[@Emanon...]

Critical Drinker is a grifter hack, just like the rest of the "Grifterverse" KZbinrs in his orbit. I wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire.

[@EveRosenfeld]

Sadly here from 2024

[@deSloleye]

Ok the editing here is pretty cool. See how well one shot at 7:00 feeds to Blanc. If you meant to do that, that's smooth

[@jordan_styla7655]

Knives Out, Glass Onion enthusiast

[@bencurtis5149]

aw man, presidential debate making this look a little scary right now

[@Geesaroni]

Honestly, that New Girl episode is _absolutely perfect_ in hindsight. All it's missing is a scene at the end of them staring slack-jawed at the television as they discover that the world they thought they lived in was wrong. That the people they had dismissed or ignored, for good or ill, still got a say and that the things they thought were important to everyone... weren't. It's a perfect arc of that most ancient and Greek of sins, a full and giddy episode perfectly displaying, exemplifying and extolling the _hubris_ that let the orange fucker win in the first place.

[@The_Chosen_Heretic]

Given how things have been lately here in the states I…. Am not sure. Florida’s trying to ban period products for kids and trans people, Missouri banned trans healthcare and is now mandating that citizens report their trans neighbors, and Biden’s been underwhelming on a number of geopolitical and progressive issues.

[@malcontent79]

Hi, new to the channel, enjoying the content a lot, good stuff. I was wondering if there was a reason you don't subtitle the clips. Is it some kind of copyright thing? Only because we who need subtitles do also need subtitles for the clips, and not having them means we miss whatever point it is you're making by including the clip. I'm not out to be a jerk, I'm just a) curious about what's up there and b) hoping full subtitling could be possible. Anyway this video makes me want to watch this movie again (not a difficult feat, granted) and pay more attention to the nuances and dialog. Not to say I didn't get it the other times I've watched it, but the fun thing about Rian Johnson's work is it really rewards multiple viewings. Also, would you consider when you have some (for lack of a better term that comes to mind atm) alt text that you want to add (i.e. "gross-out warning 8 seconds"), it would be a favor for we subtitle crowd if you didn't put it exactly where the subtitles go. I think we'd all appreciate that.

[@PillarofGarbage]

Hi - at the moment it’s just a time thing. I generate the subtitles from the video’s script file, and which clips / which part of the clips I’m using isn’t finalised until the editing process is done, after which (at the moment) it’s usually a race against the clock to meet my regular upload time. I guess I thought there’s also the YT auto-generated subtitles to supplement my own - though thinking about it I guess that’s pretty inconvenient. I’ll do my best to sort this out going forward (And good note about the positioning of on-screen text, thank you)

[@malcontent79]

@@PillarofGarbage Thank you for your consideration! Auto generated can sometimes be good enough, at least for me, FWIW.

[@malcontent79]

@@PillarofGarbage I wanted to come back and say I do appreciate that you thought to include your own subtitles at all. A lot of folks don't, they lean on the KZbin software that can be enough and is getting better but can also be utter gibberish. So just thanks for thinking of that in the first place, it does matter.

[@nikoincroatia]

I had Ransom pegged as a manipulator but I didn't suspect he was involved in the murder. I thought he was allying with Marta because she was going to be the one with the money. He could expose her and the money would go to the whole family, or he could be Marta's sole ally and confidant and be able to hold Harlan's death over her head in order to get money from her.

[@jeyolikemayo]

Title says it true, yeah. Good video.

[@codydang]

Liked + comment + watched the full video.

[@J3ff_K1ng]

Speaking of how the way we saw this movie is still in change Glass onion has the ed Norton character which is an obvious parody of Elon and all the mona Lisa plot feels like a twitter joke "I've always wanted my name to be immortalised in a phrase next to the mona Lisa" just for the phrase be "he destroyed the mona Lisa" which is definitely what happened with twitter wanting to always have his name next to one of the most culturally important thing of the 21st century just to be "musk destroyed twitter"

[@dvillines26]

that, and the Cybertruck is a laughingstock too. and the Tesla brand is becoming worse and worse and it's less even to do with Musk than with the product being worse than most other electric cars.

[@fallout921]

Glass Onion was written before Elon bought twitter. And besides, Miles Bron wasn't a parody of anyone in specific. To a degree all billionaires have a little Bron in them.

[@J3ff_K1ng]

@@fallout921 that's why I said feels like but yeah I could remark it more But I'm pretty sure that it took a lot from Elon, more than anyone else

[@fallout921]

@@J3ff_K1ng I don't think so. You can draw parallels to quite a few billionaires. I could argue that he's more of a riff on Zuckerberg for attempting to remove his partner. Many billionaires play into the idea that their companies work on their own prowess, and not the hard work of the legions of people beneath them. From Steve Jobs to Bill Gates, and yes Musk as well. The company alpha doing cars before getting into space stuff is the closest parallel at the time, and that's still not perfect because Miles actually did help build it up. Whereas Musk's MO is buying his way into companies and making them worse

[@J3ff_K1ng]

@@fallout921 I mean you are right I think I just saw more his way of acting and personality and don't look at other factors Like yeah you are completely right he is a zuck in how he acts with the companies but a complete musk in his childish behaviour and total and obvious need of love from people

[@nerds-nonsense]

haven't left a comment in a while because of *the depression* but we believe you're definitely one of the best video essayists on this platform

[@PillarofGarbage]

I know the words of some rando on the internet probably don't help much, but hang in there, things *will* get better 💗

[@efffel]

If you want to compare a character to Trump in the movie, it would be more Harlan than Ransom. He breeded these "/%?heads, but those exchanging with Marta became better (Harlan and Meg). Harlan says in the movie how he sees himself in Ransom.

[@vincentalis6608]

That awkward moment when you couldn't read the gross out warning quickly enough, assumed it was just a quick potentially unimportant note and got startled by said gross out😂

[@mariannedarrow7227]

Another interesting analysis.

[@idsbraam]

This is a sad video to watch atm.

[@0PlaylistMaker0]

The bit about the new girl episode also reminds me of the Steven Universe thanksgiving episode, which aired a couple days after the election. The theme of the episode is very much "how do you get along with your right wing relatives who have very different opinions than you?" But the episode clearly felt like it was written with the assumption that Trump would lose, that the bigoted right wingers proven wrong, and that would be the color of those Thanksgiving conversations about gently helping them overcome their xenophobia. But... in the wake of what did happen, the Bigoted Uncle Character came across waaaay worse than intended.

[@FTZPLTC]

To give New Girl its due, it's a show set in New York - a city that voted overwhelmingly against Trump and for Hillary. If they'd presented New York as being as deeply divided and non-partisan as the US as a whole... it would've been weird and unrealistic. In 2016, no one expected Trump to win. Arguably, the fact that so many people thought that the election was a foregone conclusion might have contributed to him winning, because voters might not have seen a need for them to turn out. In my life, I've lived in two very "safe" constituencies in the UK - one of them strongly conservative, and one of them strongly left-leaning. So in either instance, my left-leaning vote has not been that valuable. Gaining it was unlikely to help a left-wing party win, and losing it was unlikely to help a left-wing party lose. From a canvasser's perspective, I'm boring. And I can imagine that canvassing in a safe seat - e.g. New York - is incredibly frustrating, because you know that your efforts aren't actually going to change the larger outcome. The election is being fought in areas where the vote actually could go either way, not in the vast majority of the country where it probably won't. You could argue that New Girl presents that problem with the voting system in that regard - because every vote after the one that gives a candidate a majority in that little parcel of land is effectively just useless bulk waste. The vast majority of people in this state were going to vote for Hillary, but the result would be the same as if only 51% of them did. I think it's important to remember that Trump's victory actually was a shock - and I think it's useful to have contemporary media from the time so that everyone *knows* that it was a shock. History may sculpt a narrative whereby Trump's victory should have seemed inevitable (and already had - all that talk of "economic insecurity" used to explain away the mobilisation of overt not-fucking-about racists, for example). But the truth is that people all across the political spectrum had just assumed that Trump would lose because... why would you expect anything else? As to how this translates into Knives Out... the Thrombies genuinely see no reason why Marta wouldn't just give them what they think they're owed. They represent, to me, those whose lives are comfortable enough that the winner of an election doesn't necessarily matter because it will always benefit them. They might be annoyed that their guy didn't win, but only because winning feels good - not because anything is meaningfully at stake for them. They go from promising to help Marta once they have the money, to frothing with rage at her when they realise that she won't need them to. Ransom is an egregious example of their ilk, but he's still very much one of them, and they are less different from him than they like to admit.

[@Luboman411]

At 10:26. This show takes place in California. Look at the map in the background of this shot. If I go by the palm trees in the background of the nice neighborhoods where they canvassed, it's also coastal California. California went like 70% for Hillary Clinton. In coastal California, I think she went almost up to 85% of the vote. So of course they weren't going to find anyone who would not vote for Clinton. They were in the heart of Clinton country in 2016. Hence the smugness and certainty that Clinton would win.

[@DenKulesteSomFins]

I think knives out's political commentary might age like the dark knight's. With the Bush-era over, the political commentary seems more subtle now than I think it did in '08

[@samegratte2250]

This certainly aged.

[@hugocortizo6993]

I wonder if someone might have a spare backup of that director's commentary somewhere. It's a pity how that kind of media is getting more unusual and harder to come by in this supposed age of great availability.

[@dinosaysrawr]

I've never seen the Hubbity Bubbity episode of The New Girl, but I reckon it could be read now as a foreshadowing of all of the people who did in fact hide their power level throughout the election season (and sometimes after) because they knew they'd catch (totally deserved) shade for voting for the Orange Menace. I live in famously left-leaning area, and I've been able to suss out a few people in my social circle who almost certainly stealth-voted for Trump. I'd imagine at least most of those people would actually consider themselves socially progressive overall, and just couldn't imagine how far the Overton Window would migrate to the Right thanks to their political illiteracy, childish need to troll the system, and bare-bones selfishness.

[@kensvideos1]

Great Video..

[@Serioslump]

Fran is the housekeeper, Marta is a nurse.

[@LeighMet]

Oh Ransom not Trump if anyone is Trump its his. mother. Maybe Ranson is Don Jr.

[@williammunhollon203]

❤❤❤ love this theory.