Social classes
Jamie Johnson is well-aware that wealthy individuals avoid talking about their wealth or other people’s wealth, and he was trying to shatter the longstanding taboo. The documentary clearly shows the boundary between the rich and the poor. The wealthy individuals are viewed and treated differently due to their status and how they carry themselves. The rich people hang out with their fellow wealthy individuals while poor individuals hang out with their fellow poor people. The two social classes rarely mingle, thus bringing about social inequality. Jamie Johnson tries to show that most wealthy people inherit wealth from their families. However, despite the American’s class system being open and even flexible, there are specific structures like the young inheritances attending private schools, their names appearing on the American Social Register, etc. These structures keep the wealthy kids and people from mingling with people from low ranks. The sociological paradigms that elaborate on being born super-rich are that youngsters inherit their parents’ wealth and not having to work hard to earn a living. Most of these individuals, however, live unproductive lives, and they even sometimes live tragic and also miserable lives.
There is also the meritocracy belief about America, which is a significant challenge for the lives of affluent young people as they are not encouraged to talk about their backgrounds and wealth hence making them dysfunctional as a result. The young wealthy individuals go through a difficult time trying to fit in with the rest of the people. They frequently have to face difficult questions regarding their families, their inherited wealth, and even lifestyle. Also, due to their family backgrounds and image, most poor people have negative perceptions about them while others befriend them for the wrong reasons. The kids of the one percent are different from us in that they are raised differently and have everything good at their disposal. However, as shown in the documentary, money is not everything as it cannot buy the most valuable things in life, like happiness. The rich kids, therefore, go through probably worse family challenges and dramas than most of us, which could be so depressing for them. Worst of all, the media is always on the lookout for their family dramas and private information. The media also ensures to publicize all these sensitive information and family dramas, which is traumatizing for the rich kids.
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