The Thrill of ‘Eat-The-Rich’ Satires in Cinema

By: Calista Caesariyani

Edited by: Fiorina Siamir

As the majority of society lies under the other section of the wealth distribution of our society, it is no secret that we often look up to the ruling class. We are enamoured by the extremely wealthy, even if we don’t want to admit it. Society is incredibly immersed in their clothes, eating regimens, and strange but entertaining rituals. The media heavily covers their activities and economic upbringings, making us even more obsessed. The roots of our obsession with them date way back to 1793, when the last Queen of France before the revolution, Marie Antoinette, was executed due to her greedy habits; it is only in recent years that cinema is catching up. 

As a young female monarch, she did not acknowledge the country's needs and focused on her leisure. As portrayed by Kirsten Durst in the 2006 film “Marie Antoinette”, we see how she preferred to eat cake alone instead of sharing it with others. “Let them eat cake,” she said. This phrase symbolises the arrogance and indifference of the ruling class, and it helped fuel the revolution that eventually toppled the monarchy. Since then, the phrase has come to stand for the kind of excess and privilege many associates with the lives of the wealthy and renowned.


To give a definition, the Eat-the-Rich film trope is a popular device in recent years of cinema that explores class differences and excesses of the wealthy. These film tropes often feature a working-class or disenfranchised main character who rises against their wealthy oppressors and seek to take back what they believe is rightfully theirs or simply to ensure that the rich get what they deserve. ‘Eat-the-Rich’ movies are getting more and more attention for a reason, as these movies provide a platform to express our growing dissatisfaction with income inequality and the perceived unfairness of the economic system. People simply devour this type of exposure as they feel a sense of empowerment, as equality is a core value of our society.


We see the upper class and think that they do not deserve the amount of power they have. Even if we do not like to admit it, we’re just awaiting their downfall. We see nepotism babies and despise them because they’re already at the top of the ladder and have an easy way into their respective industries. The internet sees public figures like Maudy Ayunda and thinks that she had an unfair advantage to succeed — and we can’t deny that’s not the truth. We’re secretly waiting for the day when Elon Musk’s Tesla shares will plummet or Jeff Bezos will finally be out of work because of his impromptu forms of exploitation. We are angry at the inequality gap between the one per cent of the wealth distribution and the rest of the pie chart. We are entranced by jealousy, the idea that there is someone up there with immense wealth, unlike the rest of us. 

From the dark comedy “Knives Out” to the satirical thriller “The Menu”, there is a huge spike in interest in the ‘Eat-the-Rich’ trope. The term itself isn’t a new term coined by a random member of Gen-Z; this term dates back to the French Revolution when Queen Marie Antoinette ruled the French nation. She was known for her greedy behaviours and for disrupting the country's economic flow.

These said protagonists are the lunatics who want to abolish the ruling class, and we giggle at the screen as we watch them make the rich’s world burn. The audience is constantly on the lunatic’s side because they have an underdog aura. In a way, the audience relates to their feelings — having felt discriminated by the amount of power the rich beholds. We stare at the screen, unable to comprehend this one per cent of the wealth. Our lack of touch with the one-percenters sparks out a defensive complex in viewers in which we have encouraged their fall as a means to abolish inequality. 


The Eat-The-Rich trope can be interpreted as a form of catharsis for people who are angry about income inequality and the perceived unfairness of the economic system. Still, it can also be interpreted as a reflection of the increasing sense of resentment and frustration that many people have towards the wealthy and the elites. Unsurprisingly, people use this imagery to express their unhappiness as the gap between the wealthy and the poor grows, and the middle class is increasingly marginalised. 


Through this trope, we investigate the monstrous habits of the ultra-wealthy and wish for their downfall. Eat-The-Rich is directed towards people like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk with their hoard of wealth. These people step on other people to be on top as they derive much of their wealth from the labour of working-class workers, contributing to the enormously wealthy minority holding majority of the world’s wealth. 

Rage has been fueled, and protests have been initiated. This trope isn’t only a film, but it’s an initiative. Through pieces of art like movies, people are protesting for this wealthy group of people and demanding more out of them. Through the big screen, filmmakers comment on money hoarders who gluttonously bathe in billions of cash. The Eat-the-Rich trope will likely continue to be a staple in popular culture for years to come, whether used to examine the power dynamics between the rich and the impoverished or to satirise the excesses of the wealthy.


She shrieked, let them eat cake! They replied, let’s feast! They whispered behind her back, feast the rich - we shall. 

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We watch films such as Knives Out, The Menu, and Triangle of Sadness that depict an anti-capitalist narrative which showcases the downfall of the upper ruling class. Knives Out tell a story of a humble maid of the Thrombey family who later on inherited the entire family’s riches. In The Menu, wealthy one-percenters are cooked alive as a part of an exclusive culinary experience. Or even Triangle of Sadness paints a picture of vomit, starvation, dead bodies floating in the water, pretzel sticks and revenge. These main characters do not take on necessarily “protagonist” characteristics; however, we still root their side.