The hosts dive into a whirlwind of high-profile failures, from Coppola's costly flop "Megalopolis" to Kamala Harris's political missteps. They explore the fickle nature of celebrity fame and how social media affects success perceptions. Discussions about artistic flops reveal how failures can spark cultural dialogues and fan reactions while also highlighting the emotional turmoil artists face. The conversation embraces the idea that failure may lead to creativity and growth, turning disappointments into transformative opportunities.
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Flop Definition
A flop requires pre-existing high expectations, differentiating it from a mere fizzle.
Public visibility and a large-scale spectacle are key components of a flop.
question_answer ANECDOTE
2024 Election Flop
The 2024 election, particularly Kamala Harris's loss, represents a significant political flop for the Democrats.
Harris's campaign, initially framed as a heroic narrative, failed to resonate with voters.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Megalopolis: A Slow-Motion Flop
Francis Ford Coppola's "Megalopolis" is a prime example of a predictable, slow-motion flop.
Coppola's ambitious, expensive film failed to meet expectations, sparking schadenfreude.
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Published in 1925, 'The Great Gatsby' is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life during the Jazz Age. The novel is narrated by Nick Carraway, who moves to Long Island and becomes entangled in the lives of his wealthy and mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby, and Gatsby's obsession to win back his first love, Daisy Buchanan. The story delves into themes of honesty, the temptations of wealth, and the struggle to escape the past, ultimately reflecting on the disintegration of the American Dream.
Moby Dick
Herman Melville
Moby-Dick is a novel that tells the story of Captain Ahab's maniacal quest for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg. Narrated by Ishmael, the story follows the crew of the whaling ship Pequod as they embark on a journey that explores themes of obsession, man vs. nature, and the existential questions of good and evil. The novel is rich in detailed descriptions of whale hunting and life aboard a culturally diverse crew, and it has become a cornerstone of American and world literature[2][3][5].
This year, high-profile failures abounded. Take, for example, Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project “Megalopolis,” which cost a hundred and forty million dollars to make—and brought in less than ten per cent of that at the box office. And what was Kamala Harris’s loss to Donald Trump but a fiasco of the highest order? On this episode of Critics at Large, recorded live at Condé Nast’s offices at One World Trade Center, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz pronounce 2024 “the year of the flop,” and draw on a range of recent examples—from the Yankees’ disappointing performance at the World Series to Katy Perry’s near-universally mocked music video for “Woman’s World”—to anatomize the phenomenon. What are the constituent parts of a flop, and what might these missteps reveal about the relationship between audiences and public figures today? The hosts also consider the surprising upsides to such categorical failures. “In some ways, always succeeding for an artist is a problem . . . because I think you retain fear,” Schwartz says. “If you can get through it, there really can be something on the other side.”
Critics at Large | The New Yorker 
