Firstly, I enjoyed watching this. It's well put together, is an interesting topic and there are plenty of relatable aspects to the stories of the 'ordinary' man involved in the industry. I'd recommend giving it a watch as it'll allow you access to a subculture many are not aware of. Just be aware that the film focuses more on the seedy aspects of that culture, and doesn't delve too much into the reasons why it has become such a successful and profitable enterprise for a few individuals.

Here are my thoughts that arose while watching the film;

1. For pick-up culture to have taken off as it has there must be a reason. The film makes the point that men are tired of rejection from women and this is a reaction to that. (Most subcultures arise as a reaction to mainstream ideals, so it seems like a likely conclusion.) This reaction leads to a lot of frustration in men, who are looking for a solution to this problem. The film touches upon the levels of frustration (and its negative outcomes) as a result of this and how the industry reflects and uses it. It doesn't deal with the cause(s) of this in any detail though. Actually I got the feeling that the film was implying the instructors were out to act revenge on the women that had treated them poorly in the past (the proverbial 'women-bashing' culture). I thought this was much to simplified. So who's at fault here? men, women, the p.u.a. industry for supplying ready-made answers. Imo it's likely all of them together with many more aspects of society (socialisation of men & women, poor male role models being 2 examples).

2. Creepy and manipulative are terms used in the film to describe the industry. I honestly don't know if I can call it that, but the thing doesn't sit right with me. That said neither does the way most industries target young women to have them look a particular way, buy a particular thing, or act a particular way to become more attractive or desirable. We're all under the influences of group trying to get us to part with money. The industries just go about these differently as they tailor their products to women (long-term continuously affective marketing) or men (solve a problem in your life quickly).

3. The money aspect was treated in a way that I expected in the film. And yes, there is big BIG money involved. But you've got a subculture (so very few real experts), clients that are willing to pay those prices, and a camaraderie within the group. This last factor is hard for men to find and is probably a major contributing factor for some people to stay in the scene. Mind you, there are other industries that charge as much for similar services and offer similar benefits (self-help being the one that comes to mind). Yes there's big money, but there are reasons for this.

4. The nasty people in the scene. There's really no excuse for this imo, but it does happen when someone obtains some skill to exert influence over others and has a group of cronies backing them up. Again not limited to the pua industry, but I can definitely see how it's a real issue that needs to be dealt with in the industry.

5. I would have liked to have heard from people who've tried these methods and met the right person for them (the success stories comparatively speaking) but weren't taken advantage of. There's clearly a need for people to meet and if some people don't have those skills, or confidence in this area, then using some of the "inner game" methods to develop into a healthy individual surely can't be all bad as they improve you as a person (and are not meant to take advantage of other people). As such I'm sure some have used these techniques to mature and meet the right person for them. It'd have been nice to have seem more of these.

6. There's a point made in the film that both sexes are fragile and need to create some sort of persona and identity to attract a 'mate'. As such there's a need to lie to one another out of a fear of rejection. This for me was the saddest part of the film; creating a lie because you want to be liked by someone you don't know.

I think there are other industries that could have been covered here in a similar way (again the self-help industry comes to mind). Go watch it, have a think about the pluses and minuses of the film, and make up your own mind. You won't be dissappointed.

I've seen a lot of 'scary movies' but this is perhaps the most disturbing and unpleasant of them all. Men: what a disgusting, pathetic gender (I can say that because I am one).

I watched this to see if I could pick up on some tips ... how wrong was I, this documentary that picks up on the dark side of the industry - rinsing insecure men of their money - not teaching them confidence and style but coercion and manipulation.