Entertainment

Bernie Sanders Has Very Bernie Sanders Taste in Movies

He's reportedly obsessed with watching 'The Wolf of Wall Street' and 'Melancholia' on his iPad.
Drew Schwartz
Brooklyn, US
Bernie Sanders
Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images

Bernie Sanders is a man defined by his consistency, who's been fighting for the same progressive policies for decades, who's seemingly incapable of speaking without gesticulating wildly, and who is perennially, once again, asking for your financial support. You have to wonder if he ever allows himself a reprieve from the whole "saving our broken democracy" thing and just kicks back like a regular dude.

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According to a new profile of him in the New York Times, the answer is a definitive no: His Bernie-ness extends to every single thing about him, including his taste in movies. From the Times:

Even his amusements seem to be in character. He uses an iPad (not a phone) to devour social media and news, and loves to watch old boxing matches and movies like “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Melancholia,” a 2011 dystopian drama that ends with the obliteration of the Earth.

The guy spends countless hours railing against the maliciousness and greed of Wall Street, and then, when he feels like he needs to wind down, relaxes by watching a movie about the maliciousness and greed of Wall Street. He laments the climate crisis, develops policies that might help us address it, and proselytizes about the need to save ourselves from the total destruction of our planet, then turns around and watches a Lars von Trier film about the total destruction of our planet.

Maybe Sanders finds real solace in watching a bunch of evil finance bros get taken down by the feds. Maybe, through watching Scorcese's film, he feels like he's vicariously locking up the Jordan Belforts of this world. When he watches old boxing matches, maybe he feels as if he's the one doing the punching, knocking out oligarchs and right-wing politicians with each blow. Then you have Melancholia, which… uh…. hm. His penchant for watching the annihilation of the entire planet is a bit tougher to unpack, but hey—he probably derives some weird sense of satisfaction from that, too.

Regardless, this is a man whose brand is absurdly strong. May we all aspire to constantly "do me" even a tenth as much as he does.

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