The Nerds Are Not Alright and Now It's Everybody's Problem
🖐 The Friday High Five #116
Before we get into it, a quick bit of business.
I’ve been toying with the format and function of this Friday edition since it started 2 years ago. Longtime readers may recall the first editions included header photos of prominent high fives from pop culture. Since then, I’ve tweaked the posts numerous times while maintaining the central spirit of 5 things I loved from the past week.
I’m trying something new this time. I call it: The Mullet Cut. It goes like this:
Business in the front: The 5 things that I loved this week. Also known as the Friday High 5, which is free for all to enjoy.
Party in the back: A deeper exploration of some topic that’s on my mind. The party is for VIPs (very important patrons).
Speaking of mullets—when I was 12 or 13, I had a mullet with racing stripes on the sides. Thankfully no photographic evidence remains of such horrors. But I proudly rocked that ‘do for at least a year. I’m 90% sure it made me run faster.
Business in the front…
Andor: Season 2
Vibe: The best Star Wars since 1980 returns.
Deets: I’m going to step lightly here because Disney+ is releasing Andor in 3-episode chunks and not everyone will be caught up on everything. I haven’t even finished the first 3 episodes, and Star Wars is kinda my brand. This is my way of revolting against the release strategy. Shows like Andor are meant to be savored.
Season 2 picks up 1 year after the events of the first season. Each of the four 3-episode releases will be a bit self-contained and represent a year in Cassian’s life, as we hurtle relentlessly toward the events of Rogue One. Cool idea, a bit unsure how cohesive it’ll feel in execution.
The first episode is a bit rough, narratively, as we’re introduced to a slew of new characters, places, and plots. That’s standard operating procedure for first episodes; it’s the story’s cost of admission. The idea of repeating that every 4th episode is a bit unexciting. But I trust showrunner Tony Gilroy.
Streaming on Disney+.
The Social Network (2010)
Vibe: Nerd uses girl as excuse for sociopathic impulses, also builds Facebook.
Deets: 2025 is the 15th anniversary of this film, a fact that has no bearing on anything other than it gave me an excuse to revisit one of my favorite films, a fictionalized account of Mark Zuckerberg starting Facebook. As a piece of cinema, The Social Network is exquisite. As ground zero for the sociopolitical divide that fractured America? It’s eye-opening. Even accounting for artistic license, the broad sweep of the film mirrors what actually happened.
More on this in a sec.
My First Substack Live Video Experience
Vibe: Chill, wide-ranging chat about movies and TV.
Deets: Big thanks to
and for hosting me on my first-ever Substack live video! This is something I’ve been thinking about trying for some time, but couldn’t bring myself to make the jump. Thanks guys for giving me a (gentle) push. :)I’m already making plans for my next video foray, delving into the first episodes of Andor: Season 2 and news coming out of Star Wars Celebration. Apparently you need the app to watch livestreams; here’s a helpful link.
Topics touched on in the video:
The mythology of Indiana Jones
Writing on Medium and Substack
The triumph of The Last of Us
Storytelling, video games, and adaptations
Why TV is more enjoyable than movies today
Marvel, DC, and the state of the superhero genre
The difficulty of watching old movies
Traumatic experiences in movie viewing
If you enjoy this, consider subscribing to Ben and Walter! They post videos like this regularly, and are also both great writers and thinkers.
The Morning Show: Season 3
Vibe: Listlessly coasting on vibes and star power.
Deets: Each season of The Morning Show has been progressively worse, which to me signals the show’s big idea—Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon on the Today show—was a one-and-done proposition. Once the show’s version of Matt Lauer was out of the picture, it felt like the show no longer had a reason to exist. How do you change lanes after going hard in the paint for #MeToo? Since concluding that storyline, the show has struggled to find anything interesting to say.
It’s still an enjoyable watch because the performances are good. But increasingly it feels like we’re rowing in circles here.
Streaming on Apple TV.
The Last of Us: Season 2, Episode 2
Vibe: Zombies are terrifying, but have you met humans?
Deets: Yowzers! I haven’t played through the second The Last of Us game and thus every plot twist remains a surprise waiting to send me careening. And this week’s was a doozy. I’ll say no more in the interest of preserving spoilers.
I remain almost mystified at how good this show is. It’s grounded in character and place to such an extent that it feels less like drama and more like you’re watching a horrific real-time documentary. Characters behave in realistic ways. Causation is a law of nature. There is humor, and great beauty, even in the bleakest of circumstances.
I try not to mention the same shows in this column every week because that’s kinda boring. But, like Andor, it’s gonna be hard not to talk about this show while it’s airing. Shows like this don’t come along often.
Streaming on HBO.
Party in the back…
I recently penned a piece defending nerds (which I self-identify as) from what I perceived to be an unfair accusation based on ugly stereotypes.
I’m thinking about nerds again, but in a less favorable light.
For most of my life, nerds have been social outcasts, either because of our interests or (more likely) because of how we looked or behaved. It was one of life’s inequities. We didn’t choose to have bad eyes. Obviously, we’d rather be charismatic, or at least capable of stringing words together in conversation. But when traits were being handed out, ours were of the less obvious variety.
For instance: I have the world’s largest bladder. I haven’t called Guinness to verify it yet, but I drink tons of water and rarely have to pee. I’ve never knew what privilege felt like until everyone was moaning about the runtime of Avengers: Endgame because they literally can’t sit through a 3-hour movie.
What’s interesting about America in 2025 is that much of what’s wrong is directly attributed to people who, for most of their lives, were nerds. The sort of people who very easily would’ve been my friends in another life. It’s troubling, frankly.