Tim Grierson’s interview with Fyre director Chris Smith is a great look behind the scenes of 2019’s early favorite for documentary of the year. And Smith, to his credit, refuses to play the schadenfreude game on scene-y millennials shelling out thousands to some greasy New York flimflammer simply because they watched a hype video with a bunch of half-naked models in it.
But c’mon — don’t we deserve it? Personally, I felt little sympathy for the cash-rich masses stuck going all Lord of the Flies over FEMA tents. You deserved it, folks, for buying tickets sight unseen — to a glorified Blink-182 concert, no less — because Kendall Jenner told you to.
Let’s face it: ya done goofed.
Must Read
“Eating Myself to Death at Golden Corral”
No one gives a shit about personal narratives, but Oliver Lee Bateman’s account of sneaking food off of customers’ plates for the #gains while working at Golden Corral needs to be read to be believed. As a broke college student with an insistent voice in the back of his mind that urged him to build mass, it’s only natural that the buffet became the hub of the wheel around which his life turned. READ MORE
We Didn’t Start the ‘Fyre’
Any documentary about Fyre Festival would seem to be a great excuse to engage in weapons-grade schadenfreude, but Netflix’s superb Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened mostly resists the temptation. Tim Grierson spoke with director Chris Smith about Fyre and Fyre Festival, the Instagram-ification of modern life and what he thinks the media coverage got wrong about those who attended.
Disabled? Screw That, I’m a Pilot
Living with a disability can make a lot of what the able-bodied take for granted feel completely out of reach. But some disabled guys are doing something that puts “normal life” to shame: Piloting an airplane. The fact that it’s in a simulator is of no matter; it’s the freedom to do the antithesis of what their bodies say they should be able to do that makes it all worthwhile.
Just ‘John’ Problems
“Johns” aren’t just sleazy dudes cruising Time Square anymore. In 2019, clients may be anyone and everyone, considering all the ways someone can pay for sex — be it on the phone, in person, and most importantly, online. So what’s it like being a john these days? Domino Rey talked to three men about the stigma of being a contemporary client of a sex worker.
Basic Dad Advice
As Madonna sagely put it, we are living in a material world, and she is a material girl. But what if we don’t want our kids to be? We asked a psychologist, a bonafide Mrs. Claus, a Buddhist monk and others for advice on how to raise immaterial little girls and boys — here’s what they told us.
Spoiler Alert: Gym Equipment is Fucking Gross
It doesn’t take a genius to understand that, from the sauna to the elliptical machine, the gym is covered in some repugnant shit (like literal shit). But what does that mean, specifically? Let’s get into the nitty gritty of exactly which super-scary bacteria you’ll likely encounter in your average gym.
*Heavy Breathing*
It’s right up there with “cuck,” “snowflake” and “neckbeard” for the most oft-used insult of the last few years: “Mouthbreather.” That said, mouthbreathing, on its face, doesn’t scream “I’m a dumb ape, worthy of your slings and arrows,” as it’s come to connote. It’s actually the manifestation of some very normal respiratory and nasal issues — for example, a deviated septum — of which many suffer, and have little control over. So how did it morph into a pejorative? Tierney Finster investigates.
Jeff Gross
Jeff Gross is MEL’s senior editor for social media and content marketing. His daily ICYMI column, which chronicles all things meta on the site, is the quickest way to catch up on MEL, and the funniest thing you’ll read all day. Follow him on Twitter.
