Nouveau Riche: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

* Max Shreck, the crooked tycoon in ''[[Batman Returns (Film)|Batman Returns]]''. He actually turns the stereotype on its head by mocking Bruce Wayne for having inherited all his money, while Max had to work hard (and break the law) for all of his. (Sharp-eyed viewers will note that Max and his son wear [[Fur and Loathing|fur-lined overcoats]], which were once the preferred fashion of this social group.)

* This is how Franco Zeffirelli depicted the Capulets (Juliet's family) in his version of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''. This is emphasized through [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: the Capulets and their retainers are dressed in loud, bright colors, while the Montagues (the older and more respected family of Romeo) favor more conservative clothing hues.

 

 

** Also played with by Lady Catherine de Burgh, who is a member of the landed gentry and of old money, and fancies herself a classy [[Blue Blood]] -- and yet is rude, ill-mannered, snobby and, compared to her (untitled) nephew, completely lacking in class as much as any stereotypically Nouveau Riche character. The point clearly being made is that a fancy title and the length of time someone's family has had their money has no bearing on a person's character.

* The antique Roman author Titus Petronius in his satirical novel ''Satyricon'' (c. 60 AD) has Trimalchio, a freed slave that has come to untold riches, and who is an exemplary "Nouveau Riche". Petronius has him throw an exorbitant party, and the meticulous description of it is almost entirely dedicated to this trope (for comical effect). The "Feast of Trimalchio" is quite a famous piece of literature, and the trope therefore [[Older Than Feudalism]].

* She may not necessarily be tacky per se, but Lina Broud of the ''[[Luxe]]'' series uses this trope as the reason for her rise in status (rather than the truth, which is that she's just a maid that used deceit to get what she wanted).

* In ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo]]'', the villainous Danglars is described as a stereotypical Nouveau Riche, with an appearance as repellent as his personality. In contrast, the Count is himself [[Wicked Cultured]] despite having spent most of his life as a humble sailor and prisoner. It seems that the lowborn will only develop shallow tastes in response to riches if they're bad people to begin with.

* In ''[[Vanity Fair]]'', the three main families, the Sedleys, Dobbins, and Osbournes all made their money in trade. The Dobbins kind of fall into the "lack of class" version, being very recently wealthy, but the novel has its contempt overwhelmingly for the Osbournes, who reached high society slightly before the others, and have become snobbish <ref>in fact Thackeray himself coined the word snob, and his meaning had the connotation of someone who is new money and gets above themselves — in contrast to a nob, who is an old money aristocrat</ref> [[Jerkass|jerkasses]].

* ''[[The Way We Live Now]]'' has Melmotte, an [[Ambiguously Jewish]] [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] and an equally crooked American business partner, and the novel has a lot to do with the idea that those people would form alliances with the impoverished aristocracy and would be at extreme advantage over them.

* Frederick Winterbourne's main problem in ''[[Daisy Miller]]'' is that his aunt and every other American in Europe keeps telling him that the titular heroine, whom he is falling for fast, and her family are this.

* Although there aren't really any characters who fit the type, ''[[Night Watch]]'' contains several references to the New Russian described below, particularly their use of bodyguards and participation in shady business, as well as their ostentatious use of wealth.

* Molly Brown, best known for surviving the sinking of the ''Titanic'' and demanding that her lifeboat return to the ship to search for more survivors.

* [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10695474 Mark Hotchin].

** The children born to the first generation of post-reform entrepreneurs are known as the "fu er dai" (second prosperous generation), and are notorious for spending huge amounts of money (given to them by their parents, of course) on fancy European cars, designer clothes, and trips abroad. Lots of Chinese publications decry that the fu er dai, unlike their parents, have all the lavish benefits of economic reform, but never had to work or suffer hardship for any of them.

* The Kennedys, often mistaken for [[Hollywood New England|Boston Brahmins]], were actually excluded from that society for their Catholic faith. Family patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. was born into relative wealth, but made a fortune mostly in [[The Roaring Twenties|bootlegging]].

[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]

[[Category:Nouveau Riche]]