20 January 2023 Lifestyles of the Obnoxious (Continued from Cover) The cast of 1981 drama series Dynasty season was set in Hawaii, the second season in Sicily. And guests of the fancy resort are shown in all their dysfunctional glory. But it is not the only TV show that is leveraging the peculiar behavior of rich and powerful people. On NBCUni’s channel Bravo, a realityshowcalled BelowDeck followsboat crews dealing with the antics of finicky passengers. And between 2019 and 2021 Netflix came out with a trio of reality shows of the outrageous kind, including Selling Sunset, featuring Los Angeles real estate agents; My Unorthodox Life, based on the story of a former ultra-orthodox Jewish family; and Bling Empire, described as a real-life Crazy Rich Asians (the 2018 movie about a native New Yorker who travels to Singapore to meet her rich boyfriend’s family). This subject matter has even been recently rewarded at film festivals. The film Triangle of Sadness (originally released as Sans Filtre in France) won the Palm d’Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. The feature tells the tale of a cruise for the super-rich that sinks, but leaves survivors trapped on an island. Shocking behaviors like the ones mentioned above have always been well represented in movies and television shows, starting with Seinfeld, the 1989 NBC sitcom that exploited the idiosyncrasies of everyday New Yorkers. Arrested Development, a 2003 FOX sitcom, went a step further, turning rich people into buffoons that the average American could feel free to mock. One prime example of this is the famous scene in which one of the main characters said to his son, “I mean, it’s one banana, Michael. What could it cost? Ten dollars?” Rich people as sources of amusement continued with the 2017 remake of Dynasty on The CW TV network. But while the original 1981 Dynasty, which aired on ABC, focused on the dramas of a wealthy Colorado family, the remake moved the location to Atlanta and became a dramedy. The topic of being amused by eccentric people exploded with the popularization of reality shows. Reality television became more mainstreaminthe1990s.First, theyweremostly focused on competitions, but that soon gave way to depictions of actual human interactions. Later, the focus turned to the peculiarities of everyday people. And then — as the nature of television made the powers that be gradually push the envelope further — this turned to depictions of the eccentricities of rich people with shows such as Celebrity Plastic Surgeons of Beverly Hills, the various Real Housewives, and, for good measure, the multiple incarnations of the Kardashians. The most real-life outrageous stories, however, have to be the ones that have been attributed to British nobility and Russian oligarchs. Many won’t talk to “servants”, a broad term that can include airline crewmembers, waiters, drivers, or clerks, leaving those interactions to lowly assistants. And, apparently, the most annoying people are found among reality TV personalities and influencers, especially those who demand (and get) free hotel accommodations, meals at trendy restaurants, and freebies. But, there are (or in this case were) executives, like the late Ralph Baruch, Viacom’s founder, who flew economy even for long flights, and expected his staff to do the same even if they had already received free upgrades (causing staffers who found themselves on the same flights as the penny-pinching exec to have to scramble to get downgraded before take-off). Veterans also recall the story of when U.S. distribution company Worldvision took David Lynch to the Monte Carlo TV Market in 1990 to promote his Twin Peaks television series. Lynch would inexplicably only go as far as Milan, Italy on his own, so Worldvision had to rent a private airplane for him to hop from Milan to Nice, then spring for a car ride to Monte Carlo (as the weather wasn’t good enough for a direct helicopter flight). An airline manager with Air France recalled when, years ago, an entertainment executive flew from New York City to Paris without a coat and one had to be flown out to him that same day on a Concorde. Returning to the M&M’s separated by colors, the famous stories — of which there are two — are worth retelling. In 1976, Mars, the company that makes M&M’s, eliminated the red version of the candies from its mix. This decision came as a result of public controversy surrounding a synthetic dye called FD&C Red No. 2, also known as amaranth, which was thought to be carcinogenic. Mars reintroduced red M&M’s in 1987 once the panic surrounding the red dye had passed, but in the process the colors of M&M candies apparently became an obsession of some superstars. In the first story, a rock band, during a 1982 tour, is said to have demanded a particular bowl of candies. They specifically wrote “M&Ms: Absolutely no brown ones”, and threatened to cancel the showwithout reimbursement if their rider wasn’t respected. In the second, undated story, a drag queen is said to have demanded red M&M’s and champagne. There are endless stories about outrageous demands that pop stars make for their green rooms (dressing rooms), but since they’re mostly unverified, VideoAge cannot attribute them to specific names. An American rapper on an Australian tour demanded that his driver wear a 100 percent cotton suit and avoid “man-made fibers.” He also requested Versace towels to wipe his sweat while performing. Finally, a queen of pop is said to have required 20 international phone lines in her dressing room, and have that room filled withher own furniture, whichhad to be shipped to each and every city where she performed. Truth is often stranger than the fictional depictions in TV shows and movies. A scene from the HBO Max series The White Lotus. Its second season concluded last month. Years ago, an entertainment executive ew from New York City to Paris without a coat and one had to be own out to him in the same day on the Concorde.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI4OTA5