The Warsaw High School Times

By Kami Dubno

Graphic by Zoja Wasilewska

Our society has always had a strange fixation on the lives of the rich and famous – from exorbitant paintings to the yearly MET Gala. Recently, our fascination for exuberance and glamour has peeked; as a way of escaping our financially and politically imbalanced society we turn to this world of excess. Whether we idolize our favorite public figures’ affluent lifestyles, or their representations in fictional works, it is important to note that past the prestige that first meets the eye there is a darker underbelly. The relatively recent film genre, coined as ‘Eat The Rich’, has recently seen a new addition – the film ‘Saltburn’.

The genre is usually satirical in nature, overemphasizing and exaggerating the inequality between the rich and poor to show us how strangely unequal our world is, despite us claiming it to not be so. It is usually done through a protagonist who we can relate to. This character is often of working or middle class background, unknowing of the glamor that comes with wealth. As they get introduced to wealth, so do we as the viewers. At first, the riches seem like they can solve any problem, while looking gorgeous at the same time; however, later we learn that that money is empty, meaningless and a burden to those who have it, especially those who inherit it.

Emerald Fennel’s ‘Saltburn’ follows Oliver, a working-class student at Oxford University, who seemingly by accident meets Felix Catton, a rich and popular student. Through a favor, they become close friends, and afterwhich Felix takes Oliver to his family estate – Saltburn, where Oliver meets Felix’s family. Oliver’s growing obsession with Felix leads to mishaps and death, ending with Oliver inheriting Saltburn. The film ends with Oliver dancing to Sophie Ellis Bextor’s ”Murder on the Dance Floor”. The movie displays many of the genre’s ideas of wealth and how it is actually damaging to the person that possesses it.

A big part of this idea is the notion of wealth being empty, and emotionally stunting the person having it. Through money, many lose touch with emotions and sympathy as a result of isolation from everyday struggles and perceived entitlement. A person who lived with exorbitant amounts of money all their life did not have to struggle, often bringing emotional distance. In many cases this can also lead to a reliance on gossip as entertainment, since the person does not have to work or make an effort otherwise.

A prime example of this could be Eslpeth, Felix’s mother, played by Rosamund Pike. She is a crushingly careless mother, emotionally detached, dry and somewhat living in her own world. Without having to struggle with work or worries, Elspeth is blissfully unaware of the world around her, often throwing parties or gossiping. Her emotional distance can be seen after Pamela’s (a family friend) ‘suicide’, with her saying ’’She’d do anything for attention”. This continues after her son’s death, with her continuing breakfast as usual, despite the other family members breaking down. Elspeth’s emotional detachment can be attributed to her spending her entire life isolated from problems, thanks to her money.

The thrill she gets from gossip is also what brought about her death. After Oliver was paid off to leave Saltburn, Elspeth meets him in a coffee-shop some time later. Her gossiping and oblivious nature caused her to ask Oliver to come back to Saltburn, after which she signs over Saltburn to him and dies of a disease, presumably caused by Oliver.

Furthermore, the idea of wealth being alienating is continued through the idea that, as you amass wealth, you lose the ability to trust people around you, since you either pay them to be around you or they might want to steal your wealth for themselves. While often baseless, this paranoia further alienates the rich and famous to the point where they lose even more of their humanity. In Saltburn, this can primarily be seen through the cast being extremely isolated, both physically, as they are in a castle in the British countryside, but also in the characters there. The cast is mostly made up of the Catton family, with Oliver being the second non-family member to be staying at Saltburn. Furthermore, Oliver feeds into the paranoia of Elspeth by placing blame onto Farleigh for Felix’s ”overdose”.

The genre often flips the power dynamics of the wealthy being at the top, controlling the poor. This is not only done through the poorer characters’ inheriting the wealth, but also the wealthy falling under the protagonist’s control. This narrative shift shows us how our society looks like, with one side subtling controlling the other, which we usually do not see. In our world, the wealthy are hugely influential, from fashion to politics. In Saltburn, at first Oliver is scared of the estate and people, which is visually portrayed through his fashion – sticking out like a sore thumb. However, with time, as Oliver begins to manipulate the family, change his style and become a part of the family, the power dynamics change. The Catton family no longer holds power over him, and it is him who decides everything that will happen, from death to inheritance.

However, at the end, after the poor become the rich and inherit the riches, we continue to learn that the money is empty. As previously said, the wealth these characters have usually strips them of emotion and causes them to live unfulfilled lives, where the material possessions and class that come with being rich do not bring happiness and do not satisfy the emptiness that resides in them. In the movie, this can be seen after Oliver inherits Saltburn. At face value, he might have the thing he wanted to have all throughout the movie – money and social standing. However, looking deeper, not only is he alone in his mansion, but also he does not have the person he wanted with him – Felix, which can be seen clearly during graveyard scene, where Oliver cries and feels the grave of his beloved Felix. Furthermore, according to the British class system, Oliver could never achieve the status of the Cattons’, since he was not born into wealth.

In conclusion, the “Eat The Rich” genre satirizes our society’s elite, showing them as emotionally detached and thrilled by gossip. As the rich grow their wealth, they become alienated from the rest of society, fueling their emotional distance and paranoia. The genre flips who has power, giving it to the poorer characters; however, they too learn of the emptiness of wealth and all its vices. This idea is clearly shown through the characters of Emerald Fennel’s ‘Saltburn’, portraying them as naive and living in their own world. Does this mean the rich are evil? No, but it does make us look more critically at our world, and makes us realize that, despite us thinking money could solve our problems, it can also create more of them.