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In Defense of Megalomania
In Defense of Megalomania
Director Francis Ford Coppola (left) and star Adam Driver on the set of Megalopolis. (Phil Caruso)
Francis Ford Coppola sold part of his vineyard to finance a movie that’s hard to watch. We should applaud, not condemn, his ambition.
By Kat Rosenfield
09.28.24 — Culture and Ideas
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The Free Press
The Free Press
In Defense of Megalomania

To be called a megalomaniac is not, generally speaking, a good thing. The word is synonymous with the worst sort of ambition, the kind of infamy that makes a man recognizable by just one name. Napoleon. Hitler. Mao. The megalomaniac is obsessed with power, and not just amassing it but exercising it, wielding it, using it to shape the world. He is Shelle…

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Kat Rosenfield
Kat Rosenfield is a culture writer at The Free Press and author of five novels, including the Edgar-nominated No One Will Miss Her. Prior to joining The Free Press, she was a reporter at MTV News and a columnist at UnHerd, where she wrote about American culture and politics. Her work has also appeared in Vulture, Playboy, The Boston Globe, and Reason, among others.
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