Christopher Nolan/Matt Damon Accidentally Supported a Dictator?, Red Pill Lied--Rich Men Marry Women Their Own Age, Chris Pratt's "Terminal List" Spinoff Best Show of 2025?!, (The Five for 08/01/25)
Plus, Gen Z pop punk band could have existed in 1997,
Hey, welcome to The Five, a publication about the stories that matter, but don’t always make the front page.
Before we begin, my friend Steve Taylor (a musician and filmmaker who’s credits include directing the brilliant indie comedy Blue Like Jazz) produced the upcoming movie Sketch, about a girl facing the monsters she drew in her notebook, after they come to life. It’s being distributed by Angel Studios (The Chosen, Cabrini, I Can Only Imagine)…but it’s not what you expect. Starring Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Veep), it’s in theaters next week. Tickets (including some free ones) here.
With that being said, let’s dive into Culture & Commentary.
[one]
The upcoming Christopher Nolan take on the classic Greek tale The Odyssey isn’t out for another year, but has already sold out in IMAX. However, the most unexpected controversy has popped up.
From The Guardian.
The organisers of the Western Sahara international film festival (FiSahara) have criticised Christopher Nolan for shooting part of his adaptation of the Odyssey in a Western Saharan city that has been under Moroccan occupation for 50 years, warning the move could serve to normalise decades of repression.
The British-American film-maker’s take on Homer’s epic, which stars Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o and Anne Hathaway, is due to be released on 17 July 2026.
But the decision to film in the Western Saharan coastal city of Dakhla has provoked fierce criticism from Sahrawi activists and those who were forced to live under occupation or to go into exile after Morocco annexed the country following the withdrawal of its former colonial power, Spain, in 1976.
The UN classifies Western Sahara as a “non-self-governing territory”. In a report last year, the UN secretary-general noted that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had not been granted access to the territory since 2015, adding that OHCHR “continued to receive allegations relating to human rights violations, including intimidation, surveillance and discrimination against Sahrawi individuals particularly when advocating for self-determination”.
In its most recent country report, Amnesty International said that the “authorities continued to restrict dissent and the rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly in Western Sahara”. Reporters Without Borders has described Western Sahara as a “desert for journalists” and said that “torture, arrests, physical abuse, persecution, intimidation, harassment, slander, defamation, technological sabotage, and lengthy prison sentences are daily fare for Sahrawi journalists”.
Last month the UK suggested it supported a proposal for Western Sahara to remain under Rabat’s sovereignty but with a degree of self-rule.
There are two ways to view this story.
A). Hollywood should not be in the business of pumping money into economies run by brutal dictators. Full stop.
But…
B). I write about a lot of international news, and I’d never even heard of this issue. I’m not sure how we could have expected Christopher Nolan or Universal to know about this regional conflict that only takes up a tiny peninsula.
If a movie was shot in Afghanistan, with the Taliban benefitting, I certainly wouldn’t go see it. And maybe it makes me a hypocrite…but I don’t see how a boycott of the film could help any of the people of Dakhla who are being persecuted by Moroccan military forces.
The best outcome here…is that international attention comes to Dakhla because of the strange situation with Nolan’s latest film.
[two]
For the past few years on social media, there’s been a strong discourse claiming that young men can’t find mates, because young women are all scooped up by older, rich men.
The data says that’s not true at all.
From the Institute for Family Studies:
If you have read any internet discourse about dating and relationships at all, you are probably familiar with a common argument: men would prefer an attractive, younger woman over an ambitious woman close to their age. This argument suggests that, at least when given a choice, men don’t prefer to marry women with career ambitions, but instead just select for physical attractiveness or fertility. But is this true?
Using data on 1.4 million married men in the 2019-2023 American Community Survey and their wives, I find that the answer is no. Overwhelmingly, it turns out that the men with the most relationship options (wealthier, higher-social-status men) marry women similar in age to them and with high educational attainment. That elite men are going to “marry a Waffle House waitress” (as the pejorative online stereotype puts it) because she’s pretty is a myth. Instead, relationships with large age gaps are more common for low-income men than for high-income men. Far from being a sign of wealth, marrying a much younger woman is associated with men who struggle to find a partner until later in life.
The real story is much simpler: what almost everybody wants in a marriage partner is someone who shares their outlook on the world. If you’re an ambitious striver, you’re probably interested in marrying an ambitious striver—or somebody complementary to one! Because people tend to match not only on traits like social class or education but also drive and ambition, it isn’t very likely that the high-income men of America will marry lower-income or less-educated women at high rates.
It’s much more likely that directionless, porn and weed addicted 20something men complain on the internet that there’s no one to date, and are highly uncomfortable with the reality that a job, gym membership, decent grooming and some social skills are the real answer….so they seek an outside force to blame.
[three]
At this point, you know about the fashion ad from Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You, The White Lotus), but if you’re not on Twitter, you may not have seen the more…out there reactions.
Should we be surprised that a company whose name is literally American Eagle is making fascist propaganda like this? Probably not, but it's still really shocking. Like a blonde haired, blue-eyed white woman is talking about her good jeans like that is Nazi propaganda.
Let’s break that down:
A). The extreme authoritarian right are not using corporate ads to spread their beliefs…they’re just coming out and saying they want a dictator (I covered it last week).
B). The Eagle as a symbol of Nazis? Well, I can guarantee the Nazis would have hated an AMERICAN eagle, because they hated and wanted to destroy AMERICA.
C). Let’s hang with the Eagle imagery for another second…you know who else used it? The Azteks, Romans, Byzantines, French, Persians, Seljuks (modern day Turkey), Mongols, Timurids (later Mongol), Aksumites (modern day Ethiopia), Malis, and Zimbabwe…the eagle has been used MORE in South America, Asia and Africa than in Europe.
D). “Blond haired, blue eyed white woman.” So, we reduce people to their physical characteristics now? Sweeney (who I’ve only seen in one thing—Anyone But You, which isn’t a bad rom-com with her and Glen Powell of Twisters and Top Gun: Maverick fame—so I don’t have enough data to give an opinion on her acting), grew up in Idaho in a middle class family, before relocating to LA to pursue acting in high school.
She earned a 4.0 GPA and graduated as a high school while doing TV work, took every role possible because her family went through bankruptcy and moved into her one-bedroom apartment, excelled in wakeboarding, grappling and soccer…and apparently restores a 1969 Bronco herself on TikTok, a hobby she picked up from her father and brothers.
If you want to throw rocks at someone for “White Supremacy,” hop on any social media platform…those people exist, and they’re not hiding the ball. For example, there are “whites only” communities being planned in Central Missouri after setting up shop in Arkansas.
But perhaps bullying a smart, scandal-free actress for hawking Demin to high school kids isn’t the play here. Hollywood is full of Nepo Babies…and maybe it’s ok that someone from the working class actually breaks through now and again.
There's a fair argument to be made that American Eagle's customer base skews as young as 12, and the messaging here is could certainly be interpreted as a net negative for the jr. high crowd…but that would be something a reasonable person thought about. And we don't really have any of those left on the Internet in 2025.
If you want to go take on some actual Nazis and White Supremacists…go for it. Go harass the ones moving into my state—I’ll thank you. But whining about a teen fashion campaign is just crying wolf, and making people less likely to pay attention when a real psychos come along.
And the real psychos are already in Missouri—and all anyone can talk about is teenage fashion.
[four]
Before we begin, I missed the President’s Fitness award three years in a row because of that stupid box stretch, and still went on to be a college athlete (just not a very flexible one…or a very successful one). I still hate that blue box.
An important part of gym class has been restored.
President Donald Trump on Thursday reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, a fixture of public schools for decades that gauged young people’s health and athleticism with 1-mile runs, sit-ups and stretching exercises.
“This is a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back,” Trump said of the fitness test that began in 1966 but was phased out during the Obama administration.
In the test, children had to run and perform situps, pullups or pushups and a sit-and-reach test, but the program changed in 2012. It evolved into the Youth Fitness Program, which the government said “moved away from recognizing athletic performance to providing a barometer on student’s health.” Then-first lady Michelle Obama also promoted her “Let’s Move” initiative focused on reducing childhood obesity through diet and exercise.
The reality is that after you turn 18…you’re tasked with keeping yourself alive. If you want to smoke two packs a day and never clock another minute of exercise, nobody’s going to jump in with a referee shirt on and blow the whistle to get you to change.
Offering kids an award for leveling up their fitness in 5th grade doesn’t guarantee a lifelong habit…but it’s not a bad start.
[five]
As always, let’s head into the weekend with a pop culture roundup.
[movies] The Liam Neeson led Naked Gun reboot of the 80’s comedy series is getting really good first reviews. // Arnold Schwarzenegger will return to the Predator franchise that he launched 38 years ago. No details on the future movie yet. // A sequel to The Social Network is currently casting, with the red-hot Jeremy Allen White (The Bear, Shameless) expected to play the lead. Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, Molly’s Game) is returning to write the script.
[shows] Every X’er/Elder Millennial can stand up and cheer as Murder She Wrote is getting rebooted with Jamie Lee Curtis in the lead, stepping in for the late Angela Lansbury, who kept you company in 5th grade while home sick with chicken soup and no Netflix or internet invented yet.
[music] A documentary about the all-female-artist 90’s traveling festival Lilith Fair will release on Hulu in September. // Luke Combs made history as the first country headliner in Lollapalooza history in Chicago this week. //
[gaming] “The story of killing Nazis is evergreen.” And just like that…one of the greatest video game IP’s ever, Wolftenstein, is getting a TV show on Prime Video, thanks to the success of The Last of Us and Fallout. // Also in the console-to-show pipeline, Playstation’s God of War is moving forward and working to match the “tone of the game.” Look for it in 2026.
“My father used to tell me some men will go to war to fight the enemy, but others will seek war to fight themselves.” If you’re not already hyped for Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights, American Primevil) getting a Terminal List spinoff…then go watch the original show if you like military/action/espionage stuff. Can’t wait. 08/27.
Well, it’s an interesting premise anyway. Eternity sets up Miles Teller (Whiplash, Top Gun: Maverick) and Elizabeth Olsen (Avengers: Endgame, Wind River) as two people who must pick their person, and their place to spend forever. The only problem? Olsen’s character was widowed, and her slain-in-combat first husband shows up.
It’s from A24, the studio that produced Civil War and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, so this one will almost certainly wrestle with some big questions. Out this fall.
“My first ticket of the morning is a beheading.” As the weather cools, the Oscar bait heads to theaters. Lili Reinhart (Riverdale) stars in a “thriller for the doomscrolling age” about a social media network moderator who can’t help but try to solve a crime she’s seen on a video. In theaters 09/19.
[new music]
Austin native Dylan Gossett has made some waves with singles and EP’s, but finally steps out with a proper debut. It’s a pretty stripped down affair, that leans into Dylan’s vocal strengths along with loads of harmonies and acoustic guitar out front. So, it’s not “radio friendly,” but very raw and real.
Highly recommended if you love Childers, Bryan, Turnpike etc., even if not everyone will connect with this one.
The kids are….playing 90’s pop punk. The Paradox are a Gen Z crew that could well exist in 1997. The fact that they’re collaborating with Blink 182 (more on them below) drummer Travis Barker probably has something to do with that.
Add to your workout playlist immediately.
[read & learn ]
Former Mumford and Sons member turned podcaster Winston Marshall hosts a deep dive into the ongoing unrest in Syria…a country that the “free Palestine” people don’t really care about, apparently, because it’s not a trending hashtag.
If you’re a Millennial (or Gen Z that picked the band up on the 2nd wave of their career), go read Mark Hoppus’ stand out memoir about Blink 182. It’s funny, because the band are Gen-Xers themselves, but broke later onto the mainstream than their contemporaries like Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana (who started around the same time) and wound up being iconic to a generation below their own.
Until the next one,
-sth