After stumbling upon Philosophy professor Aaron James�s titular book, filmmaker John Walker presents theories centered on the type general society classifies as the �asshole�. In attempting to define the term, James himself comes up with someone who �allows himself special advantages in cooperative life out of an entrenched sense of entitlement that immunizes him against the complaints from other people�. The issues discussed in the film include: the association between narcissism and assholism; the difference between an asshole and a prick or a dick; the prevalence of assholism in men versus women; the asshole culture in Los Angeles and in Canada, the latter known as land of overly polite and unassuming people (with a few individuals, the so-called national sport, and one public sector organization being dissected in the discussion in being contrary to the perception that Canada has a difficult time producing assholes); if being an asshole is a born or learned trait; certain groupings in which asshole behavior seems to be inherent; the effect of electing assholes as leaders of countries, they who usually espouse some sort of populism; the role of the online world, especially tech giants and trolls, in the evolution of assholism; and organizations, especially ones where assholes seem to be dominating figures, taking measures to eliminate assholism in seeing it as a structural problem negatively impacting the organization, including the bottom line. Examples from popular culture are used to highlight these concepts.

Starring:

John Cleese, Suji Gelerman, Robert I. Sutton

Genre:

Documentary