Generation Wealth, a new documentary about living in a material world, is so depressing, I’m still despondent over its implications weeks later.
And that’s exactly why it’s important to see it.
Lauren Greenfield has been documenting our society’s obsession with money, fame and social status for years, and her work has culminated in a shocking portrait of a world that can’t get enough.
Greenfield is best known for The Queen of Versailles, her much talked-about documentary for which she followed a rich Florida couple as they set out to replicate Louis XIV’s over-the-top French palace for their own family. Generation Wealth takes this mindset further, showing that their story is just one of a million instances of people aspiring to excess.
It would be easy to laugh at these people or roll our eyes but that’s not how Greenfield rolls. She takes us deep into their psyches to see that none of this money, fame, social status is making any of them happier. Sure, that’s cliche but, ultimately, it’s also true.
We meet a former hedge fund manager who had to go into hiding for fraud, a Las Vegas hostess whose son has grown up accompanying her to sketchy events, an investment banker who just wants a baby, a bus driver who believes plastic surgery will solve her problems. Spoiler: it doesn’t.
The story that I can’t get out of my head is about an aspiring actress who left the Midwest for Hollywood, became a porn star and was subjected to such debasing activities – resulting in horrific physical issues – that I just wanted to cry for her.
Not one to point fingers, Greenfield turns the camera on herself, as well, and lets her articulate sons teach her a lesson or two about her own pursuit of the American Dream.
Generation Wealth is a cautionary tale, warning that “Society acquires its greatest wealth in the face of death.” It suggests that we remember the fall of the hedonistic Roman Empire and realize that the more we acquire, the more we’re actually losing.
I think I recall seeing a documentary about the Florida couple. It was pathetic. Didn’t they come out losers in the end?
Just knowing that a freshly changed bed today awaits me tonight, the cat asleep on Tom’s lap, watching the sunset as dusk approaches, spending an afternoon with friends – each adds to my contentment and I am grateful.