Timothée Chalamet Thinks ‘Societal Collapse Is In The Air’ And It’s Up To Movies To ‘Shine A Light On What’s Going On’

Timothée Chalamet got deeply philosophical about the state of the world while promoting his new cannibal movie, Bones & All, at the Venice Film Festival. The film, which re-teams Chalamet with Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino, is about two disenfranchised youth trying to navigate life in the American Midwest in the ’80s. The experience led the young actor to examine how hard it is to grow up in these heavily scrutinized times where everything is blasted all over the internet.

“I can’t imagine what it is to grow up with the onslaught of social media, and it was a relief to play characters who are wrestling with an internal dilemma absent the ability to go on Reddit, or Twitter, Instagram or TikTok and figure out where they fit in,” Chalamet said during a press conference . “Without casting judgment on that, you can find your tribe there, but I think it’s tough to be alive now.”

Chalamet took things even further by warning that society is in danger, and that’s why movies are more than important ever. “I think societal collapse is in the air—or it smells like it—and, without being pretentious, that’s why hopefully movies matter, because that’s the role of the artist… to shine a light on what’s going on.”

The press conference was a decidedly different tone from Chalamet, who last promoted his star turn in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune by revealing he kept Zendaya entertained on set with fart jokes. But what is youth if not the fluctuating swing from the death of the world to flatulence humor