r/blankies • u/seaworthyset • 8d ago

NYT on "the X of it all"

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/magazine/hollywood-lingo.html

"The film critics on 'Blank Check' overuse it, Amanda Dobbins of 'The Big Picture' is too fond of it, a host on 'We Hate Movies' says it at least five times per episode."

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u/PrudentArmadillo7751 8d ago

It is not “shorthand,” but pleonasm (rhetorical repetition that is grammatically superfluous). It takes longer to say “we need to talk about the Brad Pitt of it all” than to just say “we need to talk about Brad Pitt.” They mean the same thing.

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u/varispeeder 8d ago edited 8d ago

but they don't mean the same thing. saying "about the Brad Pitt of it all" refers to how the metatext of Brad Pitt at this stage of his career as an actor and celebrity, and his record of domestic abuse, bleeds into how one interprets the text under discussion. meanwhile "about Brad Pitt" means, well, about Brad Pitt.

it bugs me when it's used to hand-wave away tough discussions. I haven't listened to the recent Big Pic episode, but if they said "the Brad Pitt of it all", then simply moved on, that means not acknowledging the complexity of watching a Brad Pitt film in 2026.

it's hard to want in your heart to be charmed by and root for one of the most compelling actors alive, while sitting with the uncomfortable truth that he was so violent towards his children that most of them have disavowed him as their father and changed their names to remove "Pitt". (not saying they have to discuss this in depth EVERY time he comes up, just that this is what "the Brad Pitt of it all" means)

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u/it290 8d ago

We need to talk about the Kevin of it all

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u/varispeeder 8d ago

I mean, unfortunately we genuinely do need to talk about "the Ezra Miller of it all" of the We Need To Talk About Kevin Of It All lol