Regarding the first "stray observation," Adam Curtis's documentary series, THE CENTURY OF THE SELF, draws a line from '70s self-help and self-actualization movements like EST to the political rhetoric of Reagan and Thatcher in the '80s, and Bill Clinton and Tony Blair in the '90s.

I'd like to go on the record in declaring "fluffing the gorilla" to be the new "jumping the shark" or "nuking the fridge".

AV Club review of TOMORROWLAND (Haters' Club, Exhibit A): "With Damon Lindelof (Lost, Prometheus) sharing screenwriting duties with Bird, it’s no huge shock that the details are either sketchy or convoluted."