Four Books that Inspired Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis'

David Graeber and Herman Hesse Influenced the Director's New Film

Sometime last year, I saw this post on Francis Ford Coppola's Instagram.

These are 4 books that strongly have influenced @megalopolisfilm and my view of the "society we live in." I offer three by David Graeber and one short story by Herman Hesse.

To see where I'm coming from, please understand that our family, Homo Sapiens, has been around for 350,000 to 400,000 years. There is much evidence that the last 10,000 years have been under patriarchy (male domination) due to male animal herders from Steppes of Asia and the advent of "the horse." With that unfortunate innovation, men swooped down like something out of a #Kurosawa movie, and began woman-enslavement in particular, slavery, war, caste, plague, and many things we all should agree are terrible. Also, "man" began writing, usually out of the need to record who was entitled to bags of barley and matrimony of various types, to ensure that our heirs were actually our children. Before this period of so-called "civilization" were thousands of years of matriarchy. Unlike patriarchy, women did not necessarily give out orders, but rather things were settled in egalitarian councils led by women, and often with a wise woman giving perspective.

A wonderful glimpse into that world is in Herman Hesse's unfinished tetralogy THE GLASS BEAD GAME, which is followed by three short stories, of which I recommend "The Rainmaker"

Francis Ford Coppola is a big David Graeber fan

Coppola is a big David Graeber fan

The famed director includes three of Graeber's biggest hits: "Debt", "Bullshit Jobs", and "The Dawn of Everything".

At the time I saw Coppola's post, I had just finished "The Dawn of Everything," and I was annoying just about everyone I talked to about how eye-opening the book was.

And to top it off, Coppola included Herman Hesse's "The Glass Bead Game"? Wow.

As a fan of Francis Ford Coppola and all of these books, I don't care what the reviews say; this is going to be epic.

The Four Books

David Graeber's Trilogy:

1. "Debt: The First 5,000 Years" - A radical reexamination of the history of debt and its role in shaping human civilization
2. "Bullshit Jobs: A Theory" - An exploration of meaningless work in modern society
3. "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" (co-authored with David Wengrow) - A revolutionary retelling of human history that challenges assumptions about civilization, inequality, and social organization

Herman Hesse:

1. "The Glass Bead Game" - Hesse's final novel exploring intellectual synthesis and spiritual wisdom, particularly "The Rainmaker" story

These works collectively challenge conventional narratives about civilization, work, society, and human potential - themes that clearly resonate with Coppola's vision for Megalopolis and his perspective on creating alternative futures.