Eat the Rich
A writer validating herself
I finally saw The Menu this weekend, another in a series of “eat the rich” films/TV series that I’ve devoured lately. Along with 2022’s Triangle of Sadness and The Glass Onion, The Menu is a satirical stab at the ultra-rich, exposing power dynamics, false successes, and the ugliness of wealth. While watching all three of these films (although The Glass Onion wasn’t really my favorite, still entertaining), the audience isn’t enduring pangs of jealousy for the elite’s wealth and success. Instead, we are reveling in their suffering in their fall from grace. And no one is left unscathed.
In The Menu, the service industry is front in center as guests pay something like $1200 a plate to eat at Chef Slowik’s (Ralph Fiennes) high-end restaurant situated on a remote island. With the purest of ingredients and techniques of extraction, each plate is perfectly crafted, an art form of food. As the mega-rich walk the grounds on the way to the restaurant (the tech bros, the movie star, the food critic, the dude who just wants to highlight it all on Instagram), it feels obvious where we are going. Here they are, the ones who can afford an experience like this but who won’t truly appreciate it, and won’t see all the work that goes into everything that they are about to consume. As the night progresses in ways the guests were not expecting, Slowik expresses his disgust for his privileged patrons, who he blames for his creative burnout and for the exploitation of service workers. And while the film may be a bit predictable at times (we really get the point right away), I still found the whole concept entertaining.
In the novel I’m working on now, class imbalance is at the forefront. My main character is a waitress, serving those far more privileged than her. And that, I have a lot to say about. While I don’t want to talk too openly about my plot (I’m still figuring it all out) I have to say I experienced a kind of breakthrough when I realized one thing.
Us versus them.
What would it look like if the overall attitude of the restaurant staff towards the privileged patrons was that of hostility, contempt, or judgement? That’s when my story started to take shape—the staff versus the patrons.
It’s not a groundbreaking notion. If you work in a restaurant, you know. There are things you will do as customers that will make it so the whole restaurant staff is annoyed with you, without you ever knowing. (If they are good restaurant staff). I’m sorry, but the kitchen is scoffing at your menu modifications and your medium well filet. One time I had to go back and forth into the kitchen to serve an adult man a tall glass of milk 4 times (!!), and I let all my coworkers know about it. (And while this might not seem like a big deal, think about all that dairy at once, please.) When you work in a position of serving, there is always a power dynamic, no matter how much you love the profession or the people at your tables.
My novel takes place in a country club, creating an additional tier to that power dynamic. And because I’m writing fiction, I get to turn that dynamic all the way up. And I intend to! That is the joy of fiction after all. As a writer, I get to hank on all those threads of power and class and servitude and form the whole mess into a wild tapestry.
My novel is not a horror novel, by the way, far from it. But watching these films felt sort of validating. If you are a writer, you know that we seek validation at the turn of every corner because the process of writing a novel is so lengthy and solitary and hard as hell. Writing a novel is second guessing yourself constantly while simultaneously learning to trust all your creative instincts. I’m a Cancer, okay? I’m not a very trusting person. I take the validation in whatever form it is presented to me, greedily. So I’m probably reaching when I say this, but maybe I’m on to something. Maybe I’ve found my genre.
And today, that is enough for me to continue you on with this draft.
Very curious- what are your favorite “eat the rich” films, TV shows, and books? Give me all the recs.