I just watched Magnolia in which Tom Cruise received an Oscar nomination for his role as Frank T.J. Mackey, a writer and basic swindler, who has convinced many men that he is on their side. He has a technique he calls Seduce and Destroy that will enable all men to have as much sex as they can with as many women as they can.
Of course, this is all bullshit. Mackey, whose real name is Jack Patridge, has turned vengeful in his adulthood toward his father, Earl (Jason Robards), who left him and his mother when he was a young teenager as his mother was dying. Mackey had to help take care of his mother and even watch her die as his father made millions and had sex with other women who were younger and healthier probably.
Mackey’s hatred of his father has made him internalize all his emotions. And thus, he has not been able too get close to anyone, especially women, even though one of his most personal assistants is a woman (Mary Lynn Raskub) who seems to have become the motherly figure he needs in the few little scenes we hear her voice on a phone.
Mackey is also fortunate to have the good looks, but most of the people in the seminar he is hosting are desperate and believe the old-fashioned ways of treating women badly to make them like you. That’s not true. Most parents and schools are taking bullying more serious now than they did when Mackey and myself went to school. Some men are just jerks. If they can’t get anything out of a woman, they really have no desire to be nice to them.
I find it funny Chappell Roan gets a lot of hate now that she’s come out as queer and has no immediate plans to be with men. Two years ago, people were singing “Hot to Go!” Now, there’s a pushback. The manosphere has come out in recent years. Taylor Sheridan has moved from making movies to doing shows like Yellowstone, Landman and now The Madison, which appeal to the older white male demographic. Women aren’t portrayed in a positive light and most of them are modelesque.
This along with the rise of Trumpism and podcasts have led to men who make Mackey look like Mr. Rogers. It’s not just in America as British-American documentarian Louis Theroux focuses on a few men who are spearheading their own Seduce and Destroy madness. The Netflix documentary Into the Manosphere is only an hour and a half but it’s an eye-opening even though it only skims the surface. I’m sure Theroux and Netflix’s legal teams led to some things being cut.
And some of it seems to be almost repetitive. But I think by just letting people speak, it’s better than asking pointed questions. It’s also that Theroux knows no matter what question he asks, even if it’s a softball, there are people who follow these charlatans without question and with total idolatry. And it doesn’t take long before people are commenting online how bad Theroux is and he shouldn’t be listen to.
At the same time, I think Theroux kinda defeats his own purpose by shining more of a light on these troglodytes than they deserve. Myron Gaines is a podcaster that seems to have control over what his girlfriend Angie Camacho can say on camera. Then, there’s Justin Waler who is very apprehensive about letting his personal life out even though he has millions. It makes me laugh that he’s worried that people will view his modelesque wife, Kristen, and definitely his children in the same way he and others do.
In other words, it’s ok as long as it’s someone else.
Probably the worst featured is Harrison Sullivan who also goes by HSTikkyTokky whose British accent himself becomes more annoying with each word. If anything else, it proves the British can be just as bigger assholes as Americans can. We also learn that Sullivan is on the run from the United Kingdom as he is wanted in connection with a vehicle crash that caused personal injuries. When Theroux talks with him, he’s in the Spanish city of Marbella with his own minions who function as his own “goon squad.” They enjoy luring potential pedophiles and predators to public places where they can jump them.
It’s definitely hypocritical. But is every accusation a confession?
At the same time they’re also predators themselves. It’s just that the women they target are legally of age.
There is some discussion that some of the interviewees were abused by their mothers or sisters, but Theroux never provides anything to substantiate it, so you have to take every thing they say about that with questions. I think a lot of men like this will find any past experience to justify their ways. Just because a woman didn’t want to date a certain man wasn’t a bad thing or meant she was a lesbian. Some women just aren’t looking for relationships or even dating as they are at a point in their life where they want to focus on themselves.
These men mainly target women they know they can tear down easier and some of their thoughts are totally outrageous. One person live-streams with Gaines how he’s heard that women absorb DNA from the sperm of other men that explains why their children might not look like their fathers as much. And Theroux sits there listening to this with pretty much an expression where he doesn’t know to laugh or groan.
Theroux doesn’t really expose the obvious that these men have been around for years, decades or even centuries. It’s just that everyone right now can have a number of social media accounts and YouTube channels or blogs and vlogs. It’s exposed. This toxic behavior has always been around. But it’s a scam, a swindle for these internet personalities to get their dudebro fans fork over more and more money.
When Sullivan has a meeting with Theroux with his own mother present, you can feel how nervous and uneased he is. Glass Onion and the latest season of King of the Hill showed how these men are usually weak around their mothers, it may just be they don’t view their targets as someone else’s mother or sister.
There’s been some discussion that some parents are now opening their eyes to this behavior as how it affects their teenage and college-level sons. I think more young men are more impressionable to see someone like Sullivan and Waller thinking they can duplicate the success. It’s funny how in 2026 we still believe the alpha male belief even though it’s been disproven many times.
People just believe what they want to.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 