Join the Club
On books, movies, gaming, and things other than politics.
The singular semi-good piece of dialogue in Ash, a cosmic horror movie I reviewed over the weekend, was delivered by Aaron Paul’s character Brion. He’s talking to his colleague, one of the six researchers who took a trip to Kepler-442b in search of a habitable home for humanity.
This person has lost their memory and spends much of the film attempting to reconstruct what went wrong with the mission.
A while back on the way out here. You and I. We were talking about why we joined the program? There’s something about the way you spoke. Like, it wasn’t about making a sacrifice. It was about needing answers. Like what was out there. Wasn’t enough for you. See, you don’t remember who you are. But somehow you’re still exactly the same. Get some rest.
I said semi-good.
The movie fails because it’s basically just built on vibes. It has the aural and visual indications of cosmic horror but little of the substance. Still, vibes speak to things that are swirling in the ether, and Ash tries—in a half-hearted way—to appeal to an otherworld yearning I’ve seen simmering for a while now.
I don’t think there’s a singular cause. It seems to stem from dissatisfaction with politics, culture wars, with the endless uphill grind. I noticed an uptick in this at the beginning of last year, around the time I started playing PC games again in my free time on some evenings. Almost everyone I play with is married, has kids, a career, or is at least in college. Pretty much exclusively men. Call it a kind of escapism, and you wouldn’t be totally wrong. But these settings are male pressure-release valves, and I would often and still do hear people express a longing for something else.
I’m sorry to report that the data support that bleak sense of dissatisfaction.
Gallup News reported in late April that, across all U.S. adults, 47 percent said their financial situation was worsening in 2024, rising to 53 percent in 2025. That followed a report published by Fortune in March that found households making $100,000 annually are still considered just “middle-class” in every U.S. state, while those earning nearly $200,000 aren’t even considered upper-class in some places. Depending on which index you use, consumer confidence has fallen to the lowest levels since July 2022 or May 2020. Americans are also lonelier than ever, spending more time alone than previous generations.
I suspect the loneliness part has a lot to do with the fact that so much common ground has been lost and the reason people, especially men, seek it in places like gaming. That’s why I’ve been emphasizing, trying to anyway, culture posts and podcasts, which I’ve been able to do with help from some amazing contributors.
I’m curious to know if people would be interested in more. Maybe a movie or book club or something else. To be clear, I’ve never done anything like this before. But if there’s enough interest, I’m open to it. Let me know what you think in the comments below or in the Substack app.
Sounds like a great idea!