“Love is easy when it happens by accident, but it only gets real when you do it on purpose.”
In a world full of dating apps and dating mines, Entergalactic (also the name of the soundtrack/ album) provides a fresh look into falling in love. Kid Cudi’s brain child, featuring Timothy Chalamet, Jessica Williams, Vanessa Hudgens, Ty Dolla $ign, Laura Harrier, and more celebs that you weren’t expecting, was released on September 30th 2022 in a similar animation style to Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse, captivating audiences.
However, this animation is hardly for kids as it perfectly sums up the harsh dating landscape, situationships, and dating pitfalls of today. This film is a
When Jabari (played by Cudi), a street artist known for his Mr. Rager (a shout out to Cudi’s 2010 Release of the same name) murals gets a new job opportunity at Cosmic Comics, he unofficially decides to end his relationship with Carmen (played by Harrier) who previously broke things off with him while he settles into his new life as a comic artist in the “big apple”.
His friends, Jimmy and Ky (played by Chalamet and Dolla $ign) encourage him to make the most of his bachelor life and focus on the good times which are marked by his dream-like, intergalactic space sequences where we’re introduced to his street art and soon to be comic character, Mr. Rager.
Jabari is stepping into a new era, and consequently, a new apartment in a luxury warehouse loft apartment in Manhattan proper where he crosses paths with Meadow (played by Williams), another successful artist that just happens to live next door. Although Jabari initially committed to remaining single while he pursued his career–and per the advice of his friends– he continually happens upon Meadow (as he is bound to) not only in their apartment but in the bustling and creative island of Manhattan where a new dating app, Stush, is advertised at every corner. His attraction is immediate, throwing his world into spin.
Entergalactic is the broad paint strokes in which Jabari sees his world.
The peaceful, charismatic and bohemian Meadow floats like an aura in and out of his colorful prism-esque space montages and the two share a blissful romance together that unfurls over the course of a month but seems to be at odds with the ever present Stush-culture (the allegory for online dating culture), Carmen’s persistent attempts to graduate the friend zone and move back into Jabari’s life as a romantic partner, and Jabari’s pressure to remain independent without relationship clarity, as well as avoid sullying his rapport with Meadow who is essentially his neighbor–all realistic forces in social society to take into consideration.
All the while, he must matriculate from his street art notoriety to the corporate comic book world and navigate the pressure of his colleagues to change and produce work that is “bright, white, and light”–something he never acquiesces to.
In the world of technology, more connections, more than ever, are generated, sustained, and ended based on the idea of “convenience” and casualness. What Jabari faces in wanting to leave things undefined for his benefit while also falling deeper in love with Meadow shows the duality of what many face in today’s dating world.
Eventually, Jabari realizes that love must be done on purpose to be real, per the advice of his mother. He repairs his relationship with Meadow and the two kiss amidst the intergalactic (call out to Entergalactic) space backdrop that has been a consistent theme throughout the film while Stush is found out to be mining and hacking personal data.
Entergalactic, which can be streamed on Netflix now, is a remarkably hopeful and feel good story that is visually gorgeous to watch. What makes it stand out isn’t just the love story itself, but the heavy synth instrumentals that Cudi is known for, paired with his own produced soundtrack amidst the glowing, romantic backdrop of animated New York City, known to be one of the most harshest places in the world for finding a lasting love connection. Something about Entergalactic makes viewers feel suddenly hopeful when it comes to traversing the world of technology in dating as connections can be sustained when done on purpose.
