Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey broke IMAX records this summer, among other big numbers anyone could imagine given how successful it was. One other unofficial record, though just as important, is being the most “played” on smart fridges, Nokia phones, and cracked screens in group chats.

Nolan built a film that demanded a dark room, a giant screen, and silence. People responded by finding the smallest, dumbest, most inappropriate screens possible to watch it on.

‍Maybe Nolan hates the joke. After all, people are doing exactly what he asked them not to do. But that’s what makes this kind of appreciation so interesting.

People didn’t respectfully admire the work from a distance or leave it as is. There’s an irresistible urge to mess with it. And somehow, that became one of the clearest signs of how much they loved it. A bit of tweaking and a lot of sass.

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Reverence keeps something at a distance. Vandalizing it requires getting close, driven by an irresistible urge to be part of its impact. Maybe disrespect isn’t the opposite of appreciation.

At a time when we see great creations happening so easily, reacting to them is an opportunity for people to be just as great.

People already go out of their way to avoid ads, so getting their attention is often the priority. But being seen and getting a few “this is true” or “this is so insightful” comments might be worse than being ignored.

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I doubt any brand is ever gonna be on Nolan’s god tier when it comes to pulling people toward the craft. But what I aspire to, and believe I can do, is make work people want to wreck, twist, and disrespect a little.