Grab some popcorn, sit back and eat the rich

Critiques of capitalism are nothing new in film. From Modern Times (1936) to Parasite (2019), the medium has offered various harsh, moving and contemplative critiques of the broken economic system. However, there has been a recent uptick in a certain type of capitalist critique in film, a category colloquially known as “eat the rich” films.

“Eat the rich” films are usually darkly comedic and satirical in nature, with the characters and scenarios being exaggerated caricatures or archetypes. This can be seen in, for example, the archetypal characters of “critic”, “finance bros”, and “pretentious fan” found in The Menu (2022). Another feature of these kinds of films is that they often contain surrealist elements that serve to emphasise the absurdity and excess in the lifestyles of the rich. Sorry to bother you (2018) is a great example of this.

The most common thread between all these films, however, is the sense of catharsis they offer the audience. In a time of heightened class tensions, exacerbated by the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, the mass cultural hunger to watch, revel and delight in the suffering and downfall of the upper class is unsurprising.

If this seems like a genre that you are interested in, here are some recommendations to get you started:

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

Triangle of Sadness (2022)

Hustlers (2019)

Ready or Not (2019)

The Platform (2019)

In 2022 there was a peak in “eat the rich” movies and it seems like the trend is poised to die out in a few more years. But as long as capitalism exists there will always be art that is made to criticise it; that art might just take on new forms.