Film
The Entertainers
A deadpan satire about a woman in upstate New York who weaponizes social media to deconstruct the mythology of aspiration. It's sharply funny and gorgeously shot, with an eye for the absurdity of lifestyle content. For people who find themselves both obsessed with and disgusted by Instagram.
If you liked this
Network1976
Prescient media satire about a broadcaster willing to sacrifice truth for ratings. The parallels to social media self-promotion will feel startlingly current, and the script crackles with intelligence.
But It's talky and theatrical, which some find dated. The message can feel heavy-handed if you're not already thinking about media manipulation.
Ingrid Goes West2017
Obsessive dark comedy about Instagram culture and the person behind the perfect feed. Aubrey Plaza is magnetic, and it nails the specific psychosis of social media envy with real bite.
But The tone is uneven—it oscillates between satire and genuine creepiness in ways that don't always land smoothly together.
The Truman Show1998
A man slowly realizes his life is broadcast entertainment. It's exploring identical territory—the construction of an aspirational self for consumption—but does it with warmth and genuine pathos.
But The sentimentality may feel schmaltzy if you're in a harder, colder mood. Some find the philosophical framework fairly obvious.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Entertainers
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
C.R.A.Z.Y.2005
Both examine the performing self as currency. In C.R.A.Z.Y., you perform for family and society; in a film about social media, you perform for an audience of strangers. Both explore what gets hidden when everything is curated.
A Québécois family drama shot through with pop nostalgia, following a man's decades-long performance of heterosexuality. It explores aspiration and performance with extraordinary tenderness—the life you present versus the self you hide.
But It's long, generationally minded, and proceeds at its own pace. The connection isn't obvious until it lands; the film isn't arguing with social media but with inherited performance of identity.
More like this (7)
Natural Born Killers1994
Stone's media-obsessed satire about lovers becoming tabloid stars. Wild stylistically and genuinely angry about how media manufactures celebrity out of human catastrophe.
But The hyper-stylization is exhausting for some. The message gets obscured by the visual fireworks, which feels like it might be intentional but also might just be indulgence.
To Die For1995
Nicole Kidman as an utterly amoral TV weather reporter willing to commit murder for on-air notoriety. Wickedly funny, perfectly cast, and ahead of its time about the hunger for fame.
But The satire is broad and occasionally crude. If you need subtlety in your social commentary, this will feel like being beaten with a sign.
The Neon Demon2016
Acid-dream nightmare about the modeling and influencer world. Refn films surfaces so beautifully that looking at it becomes an act of complicity—you're consuming the same visual luxury being critiqued.
But Almost nothing happens plot-wise. The style completely overwhelms narrative, which is either the whole point or a beautiful failure depending on your patience.
Nightcrawler2014
Gyllenhaal as an amoral freelance videographer who discovers crime footage is profitable. Clinical and deeply unsettling examination of how media profits from human suffering.
But It's genuinely bleak and offers no comfort. The protagonist is repulsive, and the film doesn't soften that for you.
American Psycho2000
Patrick Bateman maintains an obsessive persona of aspiration and surface perfection while committing acts of violence. It's about the violence inherent in the pursuit of status and image as identity.
But It walks a tightrope between satirizing consumption and reveling in it. Viewers disagree on which side it falls, and some find it misogynist rather than critical of misogyny.
Zoolander2001
A stupid male model navigates an industry built on superficiality, beauty, and empty aspiration. It's shallower than the others here, but that's exactly why it works—it meets its subject where it lives.
But It relies on broad comedy and repeated jokes. If you need your satire intellectual, this will feel disposable and slight.
Koyaanisqatsi1983
Both watch the mechanics of aspiration without judgment initially, letting the form comment on the content. One uses social media; one uses the physical world. Both are examinations through form.
A visual-music poem about late capitalism and consumption, images of American life accelerated and arranged into ecstatic, appalling patterns. No plot, no dialogue—just the spectacle of aspiration itself, wordless and hypnotic.
But It's deliberately opaque and asks nothing of narrative. Pure sensory experience; if you need plot or characters, you'll find it frustrating or pretentious.
