A tagline for Martin Scorsese’s new film The Wolf of Wall Street is “More Is Never Enough,” so how could I not write a quickie blog about it? I was expecting the slogan to be one of the themes of course, but I had no idea that it’s virtually the only focus of the movie: never enough money, never enough hubris, never enough drugs, never enough bra cup sizes (“she already has C cups but she wants double-Ds”). Even when they’re convicted, the characters seem to learn nothing and change nothing about their personalities — it’s a well-done farce from beginning to end.
My takeaway from the film is somewhat different than most, however. While many are hooting or hollering at the wolves of Wall Street for their greed, I think the largely unspoken problem in this country is that the lambs of Main Street actually believe More Is Never Enough too. Of course there’s a gigantic difference between the “benumbed excess” of Wall Street and the mere dreams of it on Main Street, but they’re both aspects of the national affliction known as affluenza.
The movie is outrageous and dated while at the same time being customary and current. It sets the stage nicely for *anything* that can help to move our culture beyond its materialism virus, its addictive consumerism. But at three hours on the screen, it’s way too long and I have a feeling that audiences won’t Get Satisfied no matter how much they watch.
