Member-only story

‘He’s All That’ Is All That Is Wrong With Society

Netflix’s #1 movie is not all that… but it is another instance of “woke capitalism” and nostalgia went wrong

Mallory Mosner
9 min readSep 3, 2021
Image from “He’s All That” on Netflix

I can’t provide a good reason for why I watched the grating new Netflix movie “He’s All That,” other than that I am a glutton for punishment, and sometimes I get a little nostalgic. It’s true that I loved the 1999 original “She’s All That” despite its general lack of values, but the impulse to watch the remake stemmed more from the kind of feeling that impels you to eat a Little Debbie Oatmeal Crème Pie: you know they’re not actually very good, but they happen to be sitting in front of you and sound like they might be fun at the moment until they make you feel like shit.

Something has been happening lately when I watch new TV and movies; not only do I feel overwhelmed and depressed from the barrage of sarcasm and cynicism, I’ve become revulsed by how “social justice” has crept into the mainstream and become diluted by brands and superficial bullshit. I’m not just talking about commercials, which now seem to almost unanimously pander to the “conscious consumers” who will apparently buy anything, regardless of the company’s actual records on sustainability or diversity and inclusion, *if* the ads feature non-white, queer and/or otherwise marginalized people.

--

--

Mallory Mosner
Mallory Mosner

Written by Mallory Mosner

Queer non-binary (they/she) Jewish writer and Ayurvedic Health Counselor who loves puzzles, cats and meditation.

Responses (2)