Class and Race in Bling Empire

Bling Empire offers a simple answer to why Reaganomics has never worked; the ultra-rich are too concerned with petty melodrama (and, more realistically, maximizing the profit margin) to do their part in meeting everyone's basic needs. Of course, reality TV fabricates its narratives, so the show-runners' depiction of wealth is completely intentional. Its sub-narratives are designed to frustrate the viewer. By nature, the mass audience is well out of the subjects of Bling Empire's tax bracket. We hold the knowledge that our practical problems (i.e. student loans) could be solved in a day with their money. When Anna May throws Dior at Kevin like it's nothing, we know how much of a difference that money could make for people that need it.

Even Christine's gesture of sponsoring Chinese orphans feels self-interested. Although it is a real, tangible means of redistributing wealth, she mentions it multiple times and uses it as an avenue toward moral relativism against Anna May, who instead gifts paperweights. I only saw the two episodes assigned to us, but the dynamic between these two characters was totally engaging. The way Christine continuously mentions her good deed feels almost like foreshadowing of some sort of punishment. This, coupled with the drama of a jewelry-related affront at Anna May, makes for Grade-A television in my book. The dramatic climax comes in the form of Anna May moving Christine's seat at her dinner party. It is a mind-numbingly trivial conflict.

This is part of why I enjoyed watching Bling Empire. Its villains were extremely unlikeable. In Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons, the entire narrative revolves around waiting for the spoiled George Amberson to "get his comeuppance". It's something you root for because George is so diabolically condescending about his generational wealth. In Bling Empire, the satisfaction of rich-people-getting-what's-coming-to-them is not a grand third-act catharsis like Ambersons, but rather in the form of Anna May and Christine's petty back-and-forth displays. It's low-brow drama built for the instant gratification cycle of streaming, but these two works parallel in their attitude toward the 1%.

What do we make of Bling Empire in terms of representation of Asian Americans? As stated in the Harper's Bazaar article: "The desire for ‘positive’ character portrayals... is inherently antithetical to viewer expectations of a reality show” (Ho). Knowing that its plot is contrived for the express purpose of entertaining us with a gaudy display of wealth, I find it more comical than frustrating. It is certainly a "bad" portrayal of Asian Americans, but I am sure that most Asian Americans would share the attitude toward this show that I have toward the Kardashians or other white reality stars. In short, it shows a side of Asian Americans in visual culture that, excluding Crazy Rich Asians, we had not yet seen. Playing the villain, but in a tongue-in-cheek way.

IHRTLUHC


Comments

  1. Smay NicasioFebruary 28, 2021 at 8:00 PM

    There definitely is an automatic process of instant gratification when it comes to watching reality tv. It's not for me to decide but I got the impression that was the driving force behind Jean Chen Ho's acceptance of the show's mediocrity. Reality tv's formula works overtime to present their narratives as factual, but viewers approaching it with the critical lens that disparages the entire production ultimately choose to be satisfied with the content.

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  2. LaurenMarch 1, 2021 at 8:14 AM

    I agree that it's more comical than frustrating. The "viewer expectations of a reality show" are mostly for drama, comedy, escapism, etc. instead of characters we can look up to in any way and that's sort of refreshing. "Bad" representation is part of the genre and it's fun to be frustrated while still entertained by someone.

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  3. Xiyue ZhangMarch 1, 2021 at 8:39 AM

    When they have a conflict with each other just because of a necklace, I felt that the value of this reality television become worse.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AmyMarch 21, 2021 at 1:58 PM

    I think that the value of reality shows is that they so often give us characters to both identify and disidentify with. I dont think most people watch these shows believing that they provide a blueprint for how to live your life but people enjoy the fashion, style and also the good laugh that they provide at the extreme behavior that most of the characters exhibit. I do agree that this show is pretty typical for most reality shows in terms of its production and consumption and that very ordinariness is what makes it exceptional within a history of Asian American representation.

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