Brad Pitt (and the team just shy of a thousand people) have pulled off another work of art. The market is a powerful force for keeping politicking out of entertainment. Politicking in entertainment amplifies the loudest and most organised voices at the expense of the plurality of those who care most and who like to proceed with nuance. The market gives entertainment a chance to morph into art.
Brad Pitt is old (in a good way). Yet he is the one to draw the crowds. For one, he is a better actor than (almost) anyone else. He has had the movie-star experience---something scarce. Moviegoers are also getting older on average, with both a higher tolerance for and a higher appreciation of older characters.
