INJUSTICES, PRIVILEGES, AND DECADENCE
“When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich” attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, epitomizes the working classes’ resentment towards the social, political, and intellectual elites. Its relevance resonates strongly today, gaining an even more subversive edge in genre cinema. In a world where exploitation is rampant and the distribution of natural and economic resources increasingly inequitable, the growing divide between classes intensifies the urge to portray these disparities. This has inspired a variety of narrative styles and aesthetic approaches.
Like our previous retrospectives, SCREAM QUEER and FEMALE TROUBLE, EAT THE RICH highlights systemic oppression and injustice, probing the political and social dynamics involved, and the fantasies they spawn. Genre films, always reflective of their era, address contemporary societal issues directly and with a wide range of representations—from the overtly literal to the deeply metaphorical.
In EL ÁNGEL EXTERMINADOR (1962), Luis Buñuel pushes the bourgeoisie’s polite facade to the edge, creating a feverish and claustrophobic film that explores what remains when social norms evaporate. Brian Yuzna adopts a similarly critical, yet more pop-influenced approach in SOCIETY (1989), gleefully exposing the corruption and secret depravity of affluent, materialistic North American society. Mamoru Oshii’s GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995) presents a complete dystopia where power is critiqued under a totalitarian regime amidst humans and cyborgs. In George A. Romero’s LAND OF THE DEAD (2005), the rich are literally consumed by starving zombies, symbolizing the marginalized of a declining North America. SNOWPIERCER (2013), directed by Bong Joon-ho, visually represents the protagonist’s harsh social climb through his journey on an unstoppable train. Finally, Jenna Cato Bass’s GOOD MADAM (2021) connects the personal with the political, highlighting that domestic exploitation is closely linked to racial exploitation.