What is the most overplayed, exaggerated, and annoying endowment assigned to every pop culture icon, song, poem, and movie character? Brooding. First there was Johnny Depp, Mr. Brooding himself. Then there was Elliott Smith - that useless, no-talent bum who somehow made hate-myself, suicidal tendencies chic. What bothered me in regards to this was Brad Pitt's overdone portrayal of Achilles in Troy. Somehow, Pitt managed to make his character come off as the Greek's version of Elliott Smith: Brooding, brooding, and more brooding. Hate thyself and clench one's lips in self-spite, and ye have portrayed that which is the spirit of modern Hollywood. The whole brooding business in popular culture is akin to the political establishment's obsession with "gravitas" a few years back. Let's move on to the next useless fad, please.
