Hollywood’s Latest ‘Masterpiece’ *Eddington* Is Just More Elite Fearmongering (But With Cowboys)

Oh, great. Another Hollywood "masterpiece" that wants to tell us how terrible America is while sipping $20 lattes in their gated communities. A24’s Eddington—because of course it’s A24—has arrived to lecture us about the "American fracture" of 2020, as if we didn’t already live through the nonstop fearmongering of masks, lockdowns, and the sudden realization that your neighbor might actually be a secret government plant.

Joaquin Phoenix is back, this time playing Sheriff Joe Cross, a man who—shockingly—doesn’t trust the government. Sound familiar? It should. Because according to Hollywood, anyone who questions authority is either a dangerous extremist or a tragic hero who just needs to see the light. Meanwhile, Pedro Pascal plays the progressive mayor pushing for an AI data center—because nothing screams "small-town values" like replacing human jobs with machines controlled by Silicon Valley elites.

But here’s the real kicker: the film dives into QAnon conspiracies, with Emma Stone playing a woman who falls down the rabbit hole of internet paranoia. Because, you know, nothing says "balanced storytelling" like portraying half the country as brainwashed cult members while ignoring the fact that maybe, just maybe, people have legitimate reasons to distrust the institutions that lied to them for years.

And let’s not forget the obligatory George Floyd protest subplot, because no modern Hollywood film is complete without reminding us how racist we all supposedly are. Sheriff Joe asks his Black deputy why people are protesting—because apparently, in Aster’s world, no one in rural America has ever heard of police brutality before.

Eddington is being hailed as a "dark mirror" of America, but let’s be real—it’s just another smug, self-congratulatory lecture from coastal elites who think they understand the heartland because they watched a few YouTube documentaries. If you want a real horror movie, try watching your property taxes go up while Austin’s city council wastes millions on bike lanes no one uses. Now that’s terrifying.