Europe is currently at war.

I think you're absolutely correct, but I think the difference between "Home alone today" vs "Save private Ryan today" is, that when thinking about home alone, because the story is essentially time/context agnostic, they might imagine in being today, but in the save private Ryan it is specifically refering to 2nd world war, so noone would think about it being placed in today's world But yeah, I agree with you. I could totally imagine a big movie creator lobbying government(s) to hamper war-ending efforts, so they can film there authentically, if it was easier than to do it in a studio

Saving Private Ivan

You could set it in Ukraine.

He also talks about how they chose 1999 very intentionally for the simulation, as it was the peak of human civilization before the era of the machine. But nowadays instead feels like we're already entering the era of the machine: we spend most of our time on devices and are surrounded by surveillance and now AI is entering the mix. Plus the 2020s also has featured a variety of other dystopian features like pandemic, inflation, extreme inequity, growing monopolies, the rise of fascism, and a very real chance of WWIII from multiple directions among them.

You have to remember 1999 was in fact an exceptionally peaceful and optimistic time in western society (at least in the US, which is where the film focuses on), but the year still had its "everyday woes," making it the setting with a perfect balance between an ideal life and a crappy one. 2024 is way too far in the crappy direction.

Yeah, but 2024 sucks way too much for the premise that it's as good as the human brain will accept.

I wish we lived in a world where I could

As an European, it boggles my mind that small town malls were ever a big thing in the US.

In my country, cities still have malls, but small towns never did. There's just not enough people + anyone who wants to go shopping will just go to the nearest city.

Then again, I guess our cities are American small towns by population...

True, but it's less of a universal experience than in the 90s, and thus would be significantly less relatable to a growing population of teens, many of whom have few or no accessible third spaces left. My understanding is it's mostly upscale malls and shops that are still thriving; most other standard mall retail has moved online.