From the figure of the obscene rich to the fantasy of its destruction
On Succession , schadenfreude and the godlike power of the super-rich on screen
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21783403 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hanna Kuusela (0000-0003-3845-8140, University of Jyväskylä, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-25 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | New Review of Film and Television Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1740-0309 • E-ISSN: 1740-7923 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17400309.2025.2518810 |
| OpenAlex | W4415881381 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 36 |
A significant part of contemporary popular culture portrays the rich as obscene, self-destructive, addicted and deranged. This article analyses the affective intensities circulating around this trope by close reading the award-winning television series Succession and its media reception. Drawing from cultural analyses of the entrepreneurial myth and of the tensions between patrimonial capitalism and the ideals of meritocracy, the article analyses the figure of the obscene rich, the ambiguities such portrayals seem to carry and the experiences of schadenfreude they generate. The article asks what is at stake in the tendency to represent the rich as obscene and analyses the subjectivities and affects this trope creates or postulates both for the rich characters and the audience. Looking beyond the critical concepts of ambiguity and ambivalence, the article asks to what extent the affects around the obscene rich are linked to the contemporary economic formation, characterised by a strong belief in meritocracy but growing dynastic tendencies. It argues that Succession creates a fatalistic sense of no escape, leaving its audiences with ambiguous affects, mixing disgust with envy and moral superiority. Ultimately, the article analyses Succession as a series that fosters a fantasy in which rich dynasties will eventually destroy themselves, or at least suffer, while the rest of us are left entertained
Fantasy · Feminism · Narrative · Ethics, Aesthetics, and Art · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism
Revolting Subjects
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
Inherited Wealth
Narrative and Discursive Approaches in Entrepreneurship
Ordinary People and the Media
Master of the Universe
Celebrity and Schadenfreude
Proposing a Post-heritage Critical Framework
Many People Are Just Dreamers”
Inheriting a dynasty
Mediatizing the “super-rich,” normalizing privilege
The Problem of Ideology-Marxism without Guarantees
Teens Win”
From magic bullets to shooting blanks
The limits of interpretation
Against Meritocracy
Dynasties in the making
Learning to own
Durable Wealth
Justifying inherited wealth
Legitimate Wealth? How Wealthy Business Owners are Portrayed in the Press
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |