Sundance film documents ‘wealth culture’ addiction spiralling out of control

[notadoc]

"We’ve gone from a culture that prized hard work, frugality and discretion as the central tenets of the American Dream to a culture that prized celebrity, bling and narcissism."

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/sundance-film-documents-wealth-culture-addiction-spiralling-out-of-control-2018-01-20

[Kamban]

I am not sure what the movie is trying to say.

In every era there will be people who will accumulate wealth and gaudily display it. Some will project the outward halo of wealth without really being wealthy.

But the majority of the people who are wealthy live such ordinary lives that one cannot recognize them ( aka MND) or the minority of truly wealthy who live good life styles but nowhere in proportion to their wealth, like Buffett, Gates, Bezos etc.

[jz]

https://www.kartemquin.com/films/minding-the-gap
Another Sundance winner, celebrating skateboarders without fathers. Filmed in our city.

[djohnflatfeecfp]

Kamban wrote:

I am not sure what the movie is trying to say.

In every era there will be people who will accumulate wealth and gaudily display it. Some will project the outward halo of wealth without really being wealthy.

But the majority of the people who are wealthy live such ordinary lives that one cannot recognize them ( aka MND) or the minority of truly wealthy who live good life styles but nowhere in proportion to their wealth, like Buffett, Gates, Bezos etc.

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I met a self-made billionaire years ago.  He used to carry his trash from home in to work.  He saw no reason to pay for trash service at home when he was paying for it at work.

 

It will be interesting to watch in the coming decades what happens with the wealth people like Gates, Buffett and Bezos are donating and passing along.

[Kamban]

djohnflatfeecfp wrote:

I met a self-made billionaire years ago. He used to carry his trash from home in to work. He saw no reason to pay for trash service at home when he was paying for it at work.

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I am not a billionaire but I do the same. We pay a significant amount for trash pick up in my solo practice. We are diligent about recycling, and also have a back yard composting bin at home. Thus our house trash is minimal and does not even fit a 20 gallon trash bag. So once a week my wife or I bring that bag and put it in our office container. Avoids duplicating service and wasting money.

Our county has large recycling containers in a couple of shopping centers for cardboard and plastic waste. One is less than 500 yards from work. That is used once a week.

[wideopenspaces]

I will definitely watch it when it comes out on Amazon as I don't think I'll make it to any Sundance movies this year. It's interesting, especially in light of the most recent thread on here about what is the most money you would want.

[FIREshrink]

I haven't seen the movie but the immaturity and self indulgence of our culture is not what it was in the 40s and 50s. Maybe these things just go in cycles, or maybe we are in secular decline.

[VagabondMD]

FIREshrink wrote:

I haven’t seen the movie but the immaturity and self indulgence of our culture is not what it was in the 40s and 50s. Maybe these things just go in cycles, or maybe we are in secular decline.

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I would say that "immaturity and self-indulgence" along with "prized celebrity (I would rephrase to "celebrity worship"), bling, and narcissism" are present in every era of history. Perhaps it waxes and wanes a bit, but it's always there.

[FIREshrink]

Compare the greatest generation to the generation who were told to "get shopping" by our president after 9-11.

[Complete_newbie]

Better watch would be black mirror on netflix. Soak in all that media mind control/social unrest and obsession and general technological take over with simultaneous moral decline.

 

[VagabondMD]

Kamban wrote:

I am not sure what the movie is trying to say.

In every era there will be people who will accumulate wealth and gaudily display it. Some will project the outward halo of wealth without really being wealthy.

But the majority of the people who are wealthy live such ordinary lives that one cannot recognize them ( aka MND) or the minority of truly wealthy who live good life styles but nowhere in proportion to their wealth, like Buffett, Gates, Bezos etc.

Click to expand...

I am currently watching the Netflix series, The Crown (highly recommended), and what strikes me in every episode is that despite the extraordinary wealth and power that QE2 wields, her daily life is ordinary, bordering on tedious, and with the exception of perhaps when John and Jackie Kennedy come for a visit, devoid of glamour, glitz, and bling.

She seems to spend a lot of time in the late 50's watching old black-and-white television sitting on an uncomfortable looking sofa with her mother. Of course, her sister, Margaret, does enjoy the limelight and partakes in the "wealth culture".

[Kamban]

Vagabond MD wrote:

I am currently watching the Netflix series, The Crown (highly recommended),

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What a coincidence. My daughter was watching it on Netflix a couple of weeks ago and recommended it to us two days ago, saying we will love it since we like English dramas ( we are aficionados of Midsomer Murders).

Now that you have seconded it, The Crown is in my future watch list.

 

[Kamban]

Vagabond MD wrote:

I would say that “immaturity and self-indulgence” along with “prized celebrity (I would rephrase to “celebrity worship”), bling, and narcissism” are present in every era of history. Perhaps it waxes and wanes a bit, but it’s always there.

Click to expand...

I also agree with it. The twenty four hour news cycle with round the clock TV and instant internet has made more of us aware of it than what was possible in the 50's and 60's and the earlier era. As a percentage of the population, the excess indulgence proportion was probably the same if not more.

[tex]

Kamban wrote:

I am not sure what the movie is trying to say.

In every era there will be people who will accumulate wealth...

Click to expand...

Article wrote:

“In a way, it’s not about wealth but aspiration to wealth,” said. “At every level we want more. Whether it’s the currency of beauty, the currency of fame, the currency of branding or the currency of sexuality, ‘Fake it till you make it’ can be just as valuable as having money. So what I was looking at was wealth culture.”

 

Easy access to consumer debt, technological means to constantly compare yourself not just to the Jones' but anyone with a smartphone, higher cultural valuation of influence/brand/the individual, rise of the gig/task based economy... trends that to me make this a new/worsening phenomenon

[MPMD]

If anything in history is perfectly-documented it's complaints about the younger generation's general depravity and failings both moral and personal.