The King of Comedy is a perfect allegory for the modern terminally online right wing incel. Rupert Pupkin is basically the prototype. He's a delusional loser with no real talent or charisma who genuinely believes he deserves to be a famous celebrity just because he wants it bad enough. Just like those schizoid Twitter and podcast guys who read books about Napoleon or Julius Caesar and convince themselves they’re some kind of suppressed genius with superior genes despite all the evidence to the contrary. They sit around stewing in resentment, certain that some vague "system" or group is conspiring to hold them back from their rightful place in history. Rupert blames Jerry Langford for ignoring him, they blame "globalists" or "feminism" for not being taken seriously.

Rupert’s entire life is a fantasy. He builds a world in his head where he is already a star, admired and respected, because facing his real existence would shatter him. That’s exactly what these guys do when they spiral into conspiracies, talk about masculinity, or LARP as philosophers online. He has no social skills, no sense of reality, and no meaningful relationships. Sound familiar? These people are disconnected, mentally ill, incapable of real connection or self-improvement, so they escape into some grand narrative where they are misunderstood visionaries or strongmen who would have amazing lives if they only lived in a healthy (fashy) society. Rupert kidnapping Jerry is the final fantasy made real, the desperate hail mary to force a world that never wanted him to acknowledge his importance. Every time a chud loses his mind on X or writes another 5,000 word post about blood and soil, it’s the same energy.

Is this is letterboxd review

>>213308807 (OP)
Really? I’m hearing about this for the first time.

>>213308807 (OP)
Only read the 1st phrase and it's entirely wong/off the mark. Sounds like middlebrow media literacy nonsense starting with the fact that the main character was highly social

>>213308807 (OP)
Why are you pretending tankies/leftards don't fit the type you're describing?

>>213308807 (OP)
>"ugly" character in the movie
>played by hot as fuck actress
why?

>>213308889
Absolutely agree. The terminally online far left and alt right are two sides of the same warped coin. Both groups are filled with genetic dead-ends who have failed to build anything meaningful in their own lives, so they latch onto some grand ideological framework that explains away their failures and feeds their resentment. Whether it's the fascist LARPer who thinks he'd be a war hero under a restored monarchy, or the tankie who swears he'd be a respected party intellectual in some glorious worker's state, it's all cope. In reality, they'd both still be the same miserable, socially stunted freaks no matter what system they were under.

Both tribes are deeply blackpilled and misanthropic. They don’t actually believe in improving the world , they just want to watch it burn because they're sick with jealousy and bitterness. They can't handle that the people they hate (Jews, rich liberals, or tech bros) are more successful, healthier, and living happy lives while they rot in obscurity. Their politics is driven entirely by spite. Same mental illness, same warped egos, same delusional grandeur. The only real difference is the flavor of their fantasy.

>>213308923
Sandra Bernard or the black chick?

>>213308876
Yeah, Rupert, who is clearly insane and probably somewhere on the spectrum, is more social than the average basement dwelling alt-right loser, but that’s not saying much. Just because he goes outside and physically talks to people doesn’t mean he’s socially well-adjusted. He doesn’t understand boundaries, can't read cues, and every interaction he has is awkward or deeply off putting. He has no real friends, no capacity for intimacy, and his idea of socializing is cornering celebrities or fantasizing about being admired.

He's still an antisocial retard at the core. He lives in his head, can't connect with others in any meaningful way, and his entire identity is built around imagined status. That’s the same psychological rot you see in a lot of these online political types: the desperate hunger to be important and respected without ever earning it, the parasocial fixations, the total inability to form genuine bonds, etc.

Certified Media Literacy Expert here
It's actually about a wholesome funny man with a heartwarming message about never giving up on your dreams, no matter how hard you have to try =^_^=
Do your best, anons!

>>213308970
TRUTH NUKE

>>213308807 (OP)
I think it's about how society rewards mediocrity.

>>213308850
Obviously ChatGPT

>>213308807 (OP)
>>213308970
>>213309069
This is not a good analysis. The only thing the types you're describing have in common with Rupert Pupkin is that they're socially maladjusted. Political fanaticism is a whole different animal than desire for fame. It's more about herd mentality and wanting to belong to something than wanting to believe they're a special "star." You would've been SLIGHTLY closer to the mark typing this essay about Taxi Driver but even that would be off. You didn't understand the movie and you don't really understand the people you're complaining about

>>213309245
You’re not totally wrong, political extremism definitely has a strong herd mentality component. But you're missing how much of it is also driven by narcissism and a delusional sense of personal significance. The online political freaks I’m talking about do think they’re special. They genuinely believe they’re smarter than the average person, that they see through the lies, that in a different world they’d be generals, philosophers, or kings. That’s not so different from Rupert’s fantasy of being a beloved comedian. It's the same need to escape their failed reality by imagining a version of themselves that matters.

Yeah, Rupert wants fame, not revolution, but the emotional engine behind it is similar. Both are fueled by resentment, alienation, and a deep hatred of the world as it is. Whether you’re fantasizing about standing ovations or leading the vanguard party, the core impulse is the same: “I deserve more, and the world is wrong for not recognizing it.” The Taxi Driver comparison makes sense too, but King of Comedy is a more subtle portrait of that same pathology, just dressed in showbiz rather than blood and grime.

>>213309307
Thanks chatgpt

>>213308807 (OP)
I like the remake with the schizo jewish incel called (((The Joker)))

>>213308807 (OP)
>>213308970
>>213309069
>>213309307

>>213308988
the thin white woman with the big mouth whos in love with de niro

>>213308807 (OP)
King of Comedy fans and DeNirochuds BTFO. We know you're lurking and reading this.

>>213308970
>They can't handle that the people they hate (Jews, rich liberals, or tech bros) are more successful, healthier, and living happy lives while they rot in obscurity.

>>213309343
Cope harder., Chuddie You got hit a little too close to home and now you're scrambling to dismiss it as ChatGPT because you can't handle being described so accurately. Just admit it stung and move on.

>>213309367
That's Sandra Bernard. She's ugly as fuck.

>>213308807 (OP)
Gee, anon. Tell us how you really feel.

>>213309390
>Chuddie
Way to out yourself a basedjaknigger.

>>213308807 (OP)
Mossad spy Arnon Milchan's 1st film as producer, btw. 1982 was with the industrial mfg decline of US well under way since the 60s into the 70s oil crisis, with comic "legends" or big stars like Jerry Lewis still alive to make these societal (economic) + cultural shift interesting to capture. The online influencers as celeb-wannabe you mention, are actively encouraged to live and make money online to capture an audience for big tech (incentives are the ~commissions from ad revenue exposure.) If the entire economy affects only one political leaning, then your thesis makes sense and also explains why the "social critique" movies of the 2020's are about blaming the "downtrodden" as either the main cause or inconsequential to an otherwise well-oiled system that the non-losers are thriving in.

>>213309390
>let me respond in my own words, complete with a grammatical error just to prove it wasn't AI slop

>>213309244
>OP sees reply
>prompts
>ChatGPT/Grok spits out two paragraphs
>copy+pastes+posts at 1-2 minute intervals
The internet is fake and gay

>>213309400
i remember watching the movie and wanting to fuck her but i looked up some pics to prove you wrong and yea, might have been a time and place thing for me

>>213309307
>in a different world they’d be generals, philosophers, or king


I would be

>>213309545
Cool conspiracy theory, bro. Now tell us about building 7.

>>213308970
except for monarchies have actually worked in the past. now we're under u/MaxwellHill's White defenestrationist pedocracy

>>213309307
I don't think I'm hot shit, I just think I deserve a decent union job and affordable housing. If that makes me a Chud then I guess I'm a Chud.

>>213309589
No, that's off-topic. Tell me about the centrist interpretation of Son of The Mask (Guterman, 2005) in four paragraphs

>>213309609
Why do you deserve a good job?

>>213309638
OP is too gay and retarded to be a centrist. He sounds more like a Sharty kiddie.

>>213308970
This is why there will never be a revolution. The extremist movements who want to overthrow the government are full of weak, mentally ill, retarded freaks. Sad!

>>213309307
Nah man you're really reaching. Political fanatics don't generally WANT to be special, they don't want to be the "king," they want to follow a leader. They want a vent for their anger and resentment, they want to be one in a group of likeminded people that agree upon the proper targets for their anger, reinforce each others' beliefs that they're "right" in directing their anger the same way, and lash out at anyone who questions or opposes them. It's the opposite of the kind of delusional self-belief that Rupert has, they don't want the pressure of individualism, they want to be part of a whole. It's more like a cult or religion mentality than a wannabe famous mentality.

And I also don't get how Rupert is driven by resentment or "deep hatred of the world as it is." He's just oblivious or uncaring of his lack of talent, delusionally convinced that he DESERVES to be famous and anything he does to get there is justified. The two things really have nothing to do with each other. Taxi Driver wouldn't even really fit either, Travis would be more like a school shooter than a qanon or antifa devotee.

If you're determined to find a half-assed analogy in a Scorsese film, Goodfellas would probably be closest. The gang gives them an outlet and justification and reinforcement for their own dark impulses, and they're forced to tolerate and cover for the craziest people among them rather than questioning what they're doing or siding with outsiders. But that's about all I got for that one. He hasn't really made a movie about cults or fanatics. Maybe Gangs of New York with the nativist stuff? I haven't watched that one in ages

>>213309892
I don't completely disagree with you. A lot of political fanatics do crave a sense of community and shared identity, mostly because they’re not particularly skilled at forming organic friendships or social bonds. So they gravitate toward ideologies that give them a built-in tribe. But I’d argue that even within that group dynamic, there’s often a fantasy about having their kind of person in power, someone who represents them, thinks like them, and punishes the people they hate. That leader figure usually ends up being more of a cult-of-personality type, and while the followers might not want to be the "king" themselves, they like to imagine they’re adjacent to power, part of something righteous and dominant.

What’s especially bleak is how transparently the leader figures (guys like David Duke, Spencer, Fuentes, etc) tend to view their own base as subhuman tools. They know their followers are socially broken, desperate, and easy to manipulate. They quickly realize they never had any real chance at political power, so when that dried up, they pivoted hard into grifting for clout, donations, and media attention. The followers want belonging and meaning, but the leaders just want money and a stage. It’s a one-way relationship built on delusion and resentment, which in that sense does echo Rupert’s dynamic with Jerry.

>>213308807 (OP)
Yeah, this film aged like fine wine.

>>213309970
I just don't get why you're determined to force this connection between King of Comedy and the groups you're talking about. It isn't there
>It’s a one-way relationship built on delusion and resentment, which in that sense does echo Rupert’s dynamic with Jerry.
That doesn't really track either. That's the way Rupert perceives it, but that makes it the total inverse of what you're describing. Jerry isn't a grifter, he never promised Rupert anything, he's just a professional. And Rupert turns on him in spite of the fact that he HASN'T been lied to, whereas the political cultists almost never break conditioning and turn upon their grifters even when they're BLATANTLY being lied to and used, more often they double and triple down on sunk-cost fallacy and find ways to justify and believe every lie even when they contradict each other

You're missing just about every mark

>>213308807 (OP)
>>213309069
None of the types you mention are like Rupert at all, and you're acting like they're "loners" that don't have any effect on the "normie world". They are propaganda mouthpieces that get an absurd amount of following that helps them spread their ideas to the normal populace.

You're making it sound like Pupkin was some machiavellian incel instead of a broken man.

>>213310035
I get where you're coming from, and you're right that the Rupert-Jerry relationship isn't a 1 to 1 match for the grifter-follower dynamic. Jerry doesn’t manipulate Rupert, and Rupert’s spiral is entirely self-directed, which does make it different from the kind of cult-like loyalty we see in political movements where followers are actively groomed to suspend disbelief. But I still think there's a shared psychological architecture between Rupert and the kinds of people who fall into those spaces, namely the inability to cope with personal mediocrity and the need to construct elaborate fantasies to compensate.

I'm not saying The King of Comedy is secretly about QAnon or political extremism, it's not. But I think Rupert embodies a kind of pathology that overlaps with what you see in a lot of these political echo chambers: the delusional entitlement, the parasocial obsession, the refusal to engage with reality. The connection isn’t literal, but thematic, it's about how some people deal with failure by externalizing blame and escaping into fantasy. That manifests differently depending on context: Rupert wants fame, others want revolution, but the root dysfunction feels similar to me.

>>213310035
You're looking for 1:1 similarities like a dimwit.

>>213310085
He was linking Rupert to the mouth breather fans of these influencers/streamers/youtubers/whatever.

>>213310257
Fair enough, it's a great movie and if it got you thinking about serious stuff that's always good. I think I just have a different view of what drives people to go all-in on the political grift, from what I've seen. I don't think it's all about a desire to feel special or personally significant. There've been times and places where it's been about a desire to be part of a significant movement, but the current moment is actually a lot more cynical than that. I don't think many of them even believe that their group or "cause" will actually make things better. They're driven more by spite for the other side than belief that they can improve things for their side. And that goes for left and right. It's like a family feud that has gone on for generations where each of them feels oppressed and victimized by the other at some point in recent memory, and they feel justified in letting out their resentment on each other. Spite and resentment are the main drivers in politics right now

I guess with King of Comedy maybe I could see something similar in the way he just plows through to get what he wants even if he knows he's ruining his own life and hurting others in the process, even though what he wants is delusional, he hits a point where he just doesn't care anymore because he has nothing to lose and nothing else to live for

>>213310458
I'm looking for any similarities at all

>>213310571
You would see them if you looked.

Where does the whole "incels act entitled" thing come from? Most incels seem incredibly self-loathing and fully aware of and resigned to the fact that they don't, can't, and probably never will measure up to society's standards, and are just openly bitter about it while mocking and critiquing said standards. Just because an incel points out that most modern women are low-value hypergamous whores doesn't mean that the incel thinks he's "entitled" to a woman.

>>213310640
The term "incel" gets thrown around for a wide range of people these days, but I think it originated with Elliot Rodger, who wrote a whole manifesto about how he should've been entitled to sex and attention and wanted to punish the normies for not giving it to him.

It's right there in the word, "involuntary celibate" means celibacy has been imposed upon them against their will, which implies they are being denied what they are owed by right

You'd have to look into the Elliot Rodger thing if that was a little before your time, he was goofy with it

>who read books about Napoleon or Julius Caesar
this part makes me think OP's post is AI, because it's a presumption only a computer can make, and completely unbelievable to anyone with a brain

>>213310640
>doesn't mean that the incel thinks he's "entitled" to a woman

they literally think this tho. Losers think they're entitled to good jobs and attractive partners because they can't come to terms with how inherently shite they are.

>>213310677
He's at least got chatgpt typing his posts for him

>>213310675
>means celibacy has been imposed upon them against their will, which implies they are being denied what they are owed by right
No it doesn't.
:eng101:

>>213310707
Yes, it does

>>213310640
>Most incels seem incredibly self-loathing and fully aware
Bruhh what?

>>213308807 (OP)

>>213310675
And Elliot would have absolutely hated Trump.

>>213310257
I like people putting effort into their posts, but the:
> I get where you're coming from
bro, I have no doubt in my mind that chatgpt had some part in writing this

>>213308807 (OP)
>Rupert’s entire life is a fantasy. He builds a world in his head where he is already a star, admired and respected, because facing his real existence would shatter him. That’s exactly what these guys do when they spiral into conspiracies, talk about masculinity, or LARP as philosophers online.
the first part of this statement and the second part have zero connection to one another and I can't stop laughing at how you think this is profound

>>213308970
>They can't handle that the people they hate (Jews, rich liberals, or tech bros) are more successful, healthier, and living happy lives while they rot in obscurity.
The world rewards pieces of shit and punishes anyone who isn't a piece of shit, so it makes sense that Jews, "rich liberals" and "tech bros" are all happy, because they are all legit pieces of shit. You're happy too, specifically because you're a piece of shit. It makes sense when you actually sit down and think about it. Look at the President for proof.

>>213311060
Hit a little close to home, huh?

>>213311111
quints of truth

>>213311131
lol are you angry I called you out you lil fag?

>>213308807 (OP)
Um it's about someone not jewish trying to break into hollywood. Read between the lines

>>213311111
The people you’re defending aren’t good or noble victims of a corrupt world. They’re pieces of shit too, just pathetic ones. The only difference between them and the people they hate is that they’re too weak, too inept, or too cowardly to actually exploit or hurt others the way they wish they could. These types are overflowing with bitterness, violent fantasies, and the desire to dominate or humiliate the people they resent, they just don’t have the intelligence, or power to make it real.

Spend five minutes reading their shitposts and it’s obvious. Half of them are seething with barely disguised murder fantasies, rape fantasies, or delusions of revenge. They don’t dream of a better world, they dream of one where they get to be on top and finally punish the people they blame for their failures. The only thing stopping them from being dangerous is how pathetic they are. The world may be full of scumbags in power, but let’s not pretend the ones rotting on /pol/ are any better.

>>213311324
>The people you’re defending aren’t good or noble victims of a corrupt world.
Well, that's where we disagree, but it makes sense you think that way, since you're a piece of shit yourself. You're merely defending a world you worship because it allows you to be a glutton of shit.

>>213311374
If your whole worldview boils down to "everyone who's successful is a piece of shit and I'm miserable because I'm not willing to be one" then you're not some misunderstood/moral hero, you're just a bitter coping pussy rationalizing your own failure. The people you're defending would do the exact same things they accuse the elites of doing if they had the chance. They fantasize about violence, domination, and revenge constantly. They're not held back by principles, they're held back by weakness. I can't blame you/them for thinking this since you're probably underage and grew up on /pol/ memes.

That thread is overflowing with chud meltdown energy

>>213308970
>Jews, rich liberals, or tech bros are more successful, healthier, and living happy lives

>>213311111
CZECH'D QUINTS OF TRUTH

Reminder: No one unironically uses "chud".

>Le people unhappy with a system are obviously unsuccessful within it.

Normies have thought this was a brilliant insight since Eric Hoffer in the 50s.

>>213311629
You won't find these bluepilled sheeple at a DSA or nazi meeting

>>213311675
You're right. You can find them in a meeting room, brainstorming new ways to embellish budget money from the newest blockbusters.

>>213311837
You're better than them. They only outperform you because they're amoral psychopaths. Life is so unfair.

>>213311895
This but unironically

>>213308970

>>213308807 (OP)
I can't imagine that anyone with any self respect actually read this wall of text past the phrase "right-wingers".
Trannies still fucking seething that 4Chan came back up.

>>213308807 (OP)
You know, it’s funny. People watch The King of Comedy, and they think it’s about those people. The crazies. The fringe. The ones they don’t like online. They take Rupert Pupkin and turn him into a symbol for someone else’s sickness, like he’s a cartoon. But that’s missing the entire point. Rupert’s not some manifesto about incels or politics or whatever people are saying now. He’s a human being. A lonely guy who wants to be seen, to matter. And yeah, he’s delusional. But who isn’t in a culture where if you’re not famous, you’re nothing?

We made that picture to show something real—something uncomfortable. Rupert isn’t them. He’s us. He’s the product of a society that confuses attention with worth. He lives in a world where everyone’s yelling into the void, hoping to be pulled out. That’s not exclusive to any one group. That’s American culture.

And when people reduce him to some online stereotype, it tells me they’re scared to look in the mirror. Rupert isn’t a monster. He’s a symptom. Of the obsession with fame, of isolation, of neglect. He builds a fantasy because reality won’t have him. That’s not about politics—that’s about pain. Deep, human pain.

So no, it’s not about right-wing this or that. It’s about the emptiness we all feel when we’re told we don’t count. The King of Comedy isn’t just a warning. It’s a question: what happens when the invisible man decides he won’t stay invisible?

>>213308923
Disgusting neanderthal Jew dyke Sandra Bernhard?

>>213311149
>lol are you angry
So... you think replying "no u" doesn't make you look like an insecure retard?

>>213309557
Happens to the best of us

>>213310640
Hot women owe us sex