Perhaps that’s my fault. I shouldn’t have filled up on the rich before we arrived here at the movie theater to see “Death of a Unicorn,” the new star-studded film that sprinkles finishing salt onto the elite like it’s preparing them for a mukbang video. But how could I not arrive stuffed to the gills? From “Saltburn” to “The Menu” — not to mention all three seasons of “The White Lotus” — the viewing public has been inundated with “eat the rich” media for the better part of the last decade, and to varying degrees of digestibility. Some, like the first two seasons of “White Lotus” (Parker Posey is innocent!), have proven themselves excellent satires, casting a wide, barbed net to snare the affluent in their weak underbellies. Others, like “The Menu” and “Saltburn,” try their hand at shock and gags to trick the viewer into thinking they’ve got something novel to say when they’re really just glorified outlines for the final paper in an introductory economics course.
Though, it’s not hard to see why this subgenre has become popular. Audiences are constantly looking to see the wealthy get their butts handed to them, and the fervency of that desire has only grown as the disparity between economic classes has widened. Getting a leg up in life — or just being financially comfortable — is an increasingly difficult solace to attain, blocked by tax breaks for the rich, incessant bills and unaffordable housing. Thought you’d saved enough money for a Nintendo Switch 2? Better put $300 more dollars away. That incoming tariff will hit your wallet where it hurts.
