The Pop Culture Pyramid: Vol. 25

BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID

Brad Pitt’s Philosophy on Drinking!

I’ve never struggled with sobriety or addiction issues, but this doesn’t SEEM to be the most successful tactic in the history of combating addiction?

Death and Grief!

I was gone last week to Texas to support my friend Erin after the unexpected passing of her mother. Watching someone you care about endure tragedy like that feels a little like standing around with them on a sunny day and watching them get struck by a bolt of lightning.

A few of us at the PMG were able to attend the funeral and in doing so, we were able to witness Erin’s eulogy, which she posted if you want to experience it for yourself and I recommend you do.

If I had to summarize it, I would say that it was a meditation on a wonderful woman whose impact on the world and those around her is entirely unquantifiable.

But it was also something even rarer: an elegaic challenge to the tradition of how we mourn the people we love.

I’ve always believed that our traditions lose meaning when they are no longer considered or examined. Customs that are merely preserved out of habit are just hollow gestures flailing at something that was once poignant, but now is no longer because of our disconnection from its original intent.

Erin’s eulogy lives right in that tension. She honors her mother in the familiar language of grief and religious context, while refusing to ignore the heartbreak and anger.

MIDDLE OF THE PYRAMID

House of the Dragon Season 3

The hard part about this show is that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms also exists in the Game of Thrones universe, aired earlier this year, and is just much, much better.

Partially, this is because AKotSK doesn’t have to do nearly as much as HOTD given that HOTD has triple the characters, numerous CGI dragons, and no substantial source material, BUT STILL.

Season 3 of HOTD was mostly about warring factions of an Aryan ruling class who all have medieval versions of nukes (dragons), a strategic guy with a smelling hyperfixation, how Aegon got his groove back, and the slow suffocation of irrelevance for Olivia Cooke’s character.

Episode 3 was a high point, but also a bit of a tease, as it showed a stylistic ability to make a very compelling, psychological show, before quickly reverting to people talking in rooms, and another Targaryen bad boi stuck in Harrenhal with the witch lady.

Oh, and also, the final season won’t air until 2028.

TOP OF THE PYRAMID

The Dink

I’m full send on anything Jake Johnson does and this movie with him portraying a former tennis pro having to contend with the popularity of pickleball is an absolute joy to watch. Ed Harris and Mary Steenburgen also star and Aaron Chen steals every single scene he’s in.

Etna by Paul Yoon

It’s like the Odyssey, but instead of Matt Damon, it’s a dog. There are other dogs. And other animals. Humans too, some kind, some not, but this is mainly a story about a dog trying to find its way home after serving in a military conflict. Strangely sweet and heartwarming. I wasn’t crying at the end; there was just dust in my eye.