why billionaires can't write meaningful stories

Taylor Sheridan rose to fame by writing commercially and critically successful films like Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River. The popularity of his biggest project yet, the television show Yellowstone, has convinced media conglomerates Paramount and NBC to invest over $1 billion in telling his stories. But as the Taylorverse grows, Sheridan's ability to tell a cohesive, compelling story about people is... shrinking. He's replaced character arcs and nuanced dialogue with MAHA-coded diatribes about the dangers of processed foods. In this video essay, I attempt to unravel what happened to the man who wrote Sicario and Hell or High Water and why his work as of late feels like little more than cowboy cosplay or conservative propaganda. 0:08 - Intro 0:52 - Part 1: Gain the World, Lose Your Soul 3:38 - A Brief History of the Western Genre 7:28 - Part 2: From Land Lover to Landlord 14:06 - Part 3: How Taylor Sheridan Writes Women 20:00 - Final Thoughts #videoessay #yellowstone #filmanalysis #filmmaking #cinema #taylorsheridan // REFERENCES // "Radical Honesty" Like Stories of Old:    • Radical Honesty – What If We All Told The ...   "Women and the Men Who Write Them) DoorMonster:    • Women and the Men Who Write Them   Explaining History: https://explaininghistory.org/2025/11... "Rich People Just Care Less," NYT: https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionat... "How Taylor Sheridan Created America's Most Popular TV Show," The Atlantic: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/12/yellowstone-tv-series-taylor-sheridan/671897/ // ESSAY REVISIONS // Done by www.metiseditorial.com // MUSIC // Baby by RG404 Hot Chocolate by Aves (Both tracks via Artlist.io) // FOLLOW ME // Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/otherwisewise Read the transcript on Substack: https://rudydoesmovies.substack.com/p...