The Bling Ring - materialism gone even madder

The second film I saw on the way to Chicago last month was The Bling Ring.  Based on a true story, it tells of a small group of Southern Californian teenagers who systematically broke into the houses and stole from a variety of well-known celebrity figures.  Far from any showing devious criminal intent, these teenagers appear to be stealing from their idols because they adore them - almost as if the celebrities who have been chosen to have their possessions stolen are being honoured.  The Bling Ring depicts this small band of teenagers (led by Rebecca - played by Katie Chang) as being obsessed with the cult of celebrity, shows their desire to bask in the shadow of the idols and emulate them in any way they can - including by owning what they own by any means possible.

The Bling Ring is a strangely interesting film to actually watch, given what it actually consists of.  The film goes into a lot of detail in depicting the upper middle class teenage gang breaking into the houses of the rich and the famous, and even more detail as we watch them try on their clothes and gape in awe at the riches before them.  Expensive watches, row after row of shoes, boxes of fine jewellery - all toys that we watch these young criminals gawk in awe at, try on and steal for themselves.  We then get to see the aftermath, as the young gang go around to each others' houses to wear the stolen clothes, brag about their antics on Facebook and go out to exclusive clubs to photograph themselves prancing about in their material gains.  All the while our ears are assaulted by a barrage of Southern Californian 'valley girl' drawl - the dialect of the English language that showed us how the phrase "I was like..." is a synonym for "I said..."

But the film isn't really about these people, it's about why these people are able to exist.  Given the focus that the film puts upon the lives of Rebecca and her growing band of followers, and their obsession with the material gains of celebrity culture, it's clear that The Bling Ring is trying to be an indictment of vacuous materialism.  Witness the way that the characters in the film see worth only in things, possessions, looks, fame and stardom.  Director / writer / producer Sofia Coppola is making a statement about a generation of young Americans who are risking getting lost in a brand of hollow celebrity culture that rewards nothing but fame for fame's sake and values nothing above consumerism.  These are people who see value only in being famous, and if you can get famous by stealing from the famous - what's wrong with that?  The film ends on an interview with co-criminal Nicki (Emma Watson) that sums things up nicely.  Why should she have any compunction about what she's done?  She has her 15 minutes of fame now - and that's all that matters!

Parental influence is a strong theme in the film, it shows how bad parenting can reflect terribly on a child and their upbringing.  Nicki's mother is depicted as subservient to her children, interested only in the reflected fame that Nicki's notoriety will bring her.  Most of all though the film is a warning about what can happen if a society allows a cult of consumerism and 'might is right' to become endemic at all levels.  The only difference between what is depicted here and the riots that happened in the summer of 2011 in Britain is the social class of the people taking part.  Both stem from the same problem, which is that society has sleep-walked to a place where we idolise material possessions and fame - with an understanding that if you can get away with it then no-one should ask why or how you have them.  That's a dangerous place for us to be.  The Bling Ring tackles that head-on, and as such I think it's a film well worth watching.