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LISTEN
Rich voices
And by rich, I mean full-toned. You know these singers can feel the vibrations from their vocal cords in their noses. They might not get full marks, but there’s something about them that makes their vocal coaches happy.
-AK
Who else has a voice like butter?
WATCH
5 reasons why you should watch Ri¢hie Ri¢h instead of The Wolf of Wall Street
$poilers ahead.
The stylized title. Martin Scorcese, meanwhile, missed a golden opportunity to use a $ and stuck with a regular S in Street. So boring.
McDonald’s in the house. Hell yeah. What does Jordan Belfort have, a yacht? Who cares. Not practical at all.
Likeable characters. Jordan is an asshole and Marty doesn’t give the character study nearly enough of a critical edge. Richie’s parents, meanwhile, are actually pretty cool for billionaires: they’re pro-union sentimental cheeseballs who are competent enough at things besides making money that they’re able to survive at sea when their plane crashes.
Has the guts to shipwreck its billionaires. I would’ve liked The Wolf of Wall Street a lot better if it ended with them stranded at sea.
Fun gadgets and a British butler. Tops fancy cars and Margot Robbie in my books.
-JB
READ
The rich are evil
in Haruki Murakami’s A Wild Sheep Chase
I’ve read enough Murakami now to see a few through-lines. The characters and details change, but the story usually centres around a morally ambivalent, directionless male being thrust unwillingly into an adventure by an old, power-hungry, often wealthy character seeking immortality in some mysterious and creepy way.
This repeated motif shouldn’t work as regularly or feel as relatable as it does. The problem of the power of the rich keeps getting louder every year. Just today, news of Netflix’s plan to buy Warner Bros. filled me with that familiar dread, like a dark, empty hole I’m forced to put my hand into. It makes me want decentralize our political system and never visit Amazon.com again.
Murakami’s nameless detective knows exactly what I’m talking about.
-AK
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