The Cut - The Bad Guy Wins in the End

Humans are exceptionally cooperative creatures — most of us, anyway. On the whole, we grudgingly, but largely peacefully, pack into crowded subway cars and airplanes. We leave celebrities alone when they’re ordering a latte. We go to therapy instead of murdering our exes.

And then there are those among us who take social rules as an invitation — or imperative — to break them in large and small ways. It’s usually the little stuff: not giving up your Q train seat for a visibly pregnant person, asking for a selfie at 7 a.m., locking your ex out of your Netflix account. But occasionally, these infractions rise to the level of defrauding investors for millions of dollars, blithely skipping out on a six-figure hotel bill, or following heartbreak with murder.

This video of Jennifer Garner bathing her cat is a good depiction of our pre-holidays mental state. Louis C.K. and Marilyn Manson were both nominated for Grammys yesterday — so much for the dangers of “cancel culture.” Benedict Cumberbatch went Method for his new movie with Kirsten Dunst. And thank the movie gods, Hayao Miyazaki is coming out of retirement with another movie. Rachel Comey, whose label just turned 20, is the “cool babysitter you never stopped worshipping.” And even if you think you have little to celebrate this year, you can (and should) practice gratitude.

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