Luigi Mangione's impact on art, without even having to kill anyone
Luigi is the bourgeoisie's turd that won't flush
In my last Luigi Mangione post, I wrote about the attempts to erase Luigi. Let’s now celebrate the failure of the social containment strategy. Totally aside from the memes which are fantastic and ubiquitous, I’ll be touching on everything else. Not since Michael Jackson has anyone gotten this popular without even having to kill anyone.
How has Luigi impacted art?
Let’s start with film. Film makers are using Luigi to practice their skills like “The Luigi Mangione - Opening Scene”. Actors are being nominated by fans to play Luigi Mangione in movies that don’t even exist yet. And as always people are calling on actors, like Kim Kardashian, to use their celebrity status for the common good in enlisting a pardon.
On the topic of actors, Brad Pitt and George Clooney at their height would have been sidelined by Luigi. The media is absurdly claiming the female infatuation of him to be related to his chiseled chest; but, this is only six minor parts and far less than half the story. What’s more likely: (a) that he has the best chest or (b) the OkCupid blog hit the nail on the head when it said “politics and dating make for serious heat.” If you’re going with the chest, you’re buying into the Fake News. That OkCupid article by Jasmine Lobe provides an alternative explanation on the role of political alignment,
I can’t help but feel fucked with by men. […] It’s time for men to be vocal feminists, whether in the media, in relationships or on first dates. Men who are interested in women should get interested in women’s rights. […] It’s important for men to be supportive during these emotionally charged times. After all, if you want to make love to us, then show us you respect us.
Jasmine is opting for a gender frame, but the argument needn’t be unique to that frame. Divorcing yourself from the gender frame, if you’re so supportive of all people that you’re willing to not just speak up but violently defend their lives against a system that would deny them healthcare and leave them for dead to increase profit margins, it stands to reason you’ll be championed, venerated, and desired by people that want you to stand up for them (or to stand with them). This also explains the similar infatuation amongst gay men.
Let’s be honest. Luigi is just as not-guilty as he is good looking. But is he really such a universal thirst trap for being better looking than any other male gym rat on Instagram? No mere gym rat has a fan club that can rival Luigi, and the reason is simple: none of the Instagram gym rats were wrongly accused of a crime they didn’t commit; and, none of them were wrongly accused of a crime that stands to benefit everyone’s family and community.
All legends must own their name, and where the Luigi name conflicts with prior uses Luigi Mangione has won out. Within the decade we should expect to see Generation X and Quantum Computers explain how Nintendo developers went forward in time to learn of Luigi’s frame up in 2024, just to go back in time to 1983 to cast Luigi Mangione and his trademark hat into the 1983 hit video game Mario Bros.
Comedians have also reacted to these events but that reaction has tended to be off-the-cuff. Some like Bill Burr have made pithy remarks “who is more heartless than a healthcare CEO […] they’re gangsters”. But Luigi as a topic of the comical act seems to be too risque. After exhausting the anti-woke comedy bit where all comedians claimed to be bold by making statements the majority of society already supported, most of these comedians seem absolutely terrified to make a relevant joke about Brian Thompson or United Healthcare. Just check out the SNL clip: how often do you get rapturous applause both louder and longer before the punch line? This isn’t the kind of event that anyone follows with a small set up and a punch line, Luigi has raised the bar: to be a comedian that rises to the moment, you need a kill shot. One comedian that delivers here is Josh Johnson,
All of [the CEOs’] LinkedIns were just back to factory settings. […] If [CEOs] feel, in the wake of this thing happening, like you have to scrub all mention of you — all knowledge of your existence off of the internet — then maybe just maybe take a look at how you do business take a look at the person [you are]
Another comedian that hit the nail on the head is Tim Dillon on his Netflix special, where he lampoons Brian Thompson by coming out as him in character after returning from hell. I’ve yet to see it but it sounds amazing,
“Your reaction to my murder makes me sick… and not the type of sick I would immediately deny for not having the proper paperwork,” the comedian said, taking a jab at UnitedHealthcare’s track record of denying its policy members. […] “The truth is, without people like me, f–king over people like you, to help people like me, this country would fall apart and that’s on you,” the comic said.
When it comes to fashion, everything Luigi is believed to wear sells out: his sweater worn in court. The backpack — despite the company having a snitch for a CEO. The presumptive hoodie — despite some pointing out that it’s not the same. But this is just people wanting to look like Luigi which is certainly a thing (even outside the USA). However fashion can’t just be what is already made, and what people already wear. Luigi swag has made “Delay, deny, and depose” and “Free Luigi” more desirable than the corporate nonsense everyone is tired of like Obey, Supreme, and Just Do It.
And on the topic of music, the list of tunes inspired by this moment speaks for itself. The following is only a drop in the bucket. I don’t even use Spotify.
Luigi Mangione's Manifesto by Projekt Artichoke (which puts the whole manifesto to song)
Still yet, Luigi has inspired bizarre artistic endeavors like fan fiction, and every city worth visiting has graffiti which bears his name or echos the words etched into bullets that he didn’t even shoot. And, it’s only just begun.
Luigi didn’t kill anyone. And he didn’t kill anyone for us.
I don't have the energy to try to listen now but I see you listed songs written about the alledged killer. There is something telling about the folk hero status given to this alledged killer. Like what I think are called narco coridos or something like that. That in the 2020s there's such anger.......and yet still neither one of our Oligarchy Monopoly Parties is willing to provide basic health care for everyone like Bernie Sanders has fought for....with the Oligarchy Leadership of both Monopoly Parties opposed to the cheaper and more fair health care people in other countries take for granted.
I wish our election system was more like Portugal....with multiple parties and proportion representing. Somehow in the USA we are stuck with 2 Monopoly Parties and neither promotes an end to war or even health care for everyone.
We live in an unequal country and the fact that an alledged killer is enormously popular shows things are wrong.
https://open.substack.com/pub/yaschamounk/p/healthcare-is-broken-fix