Money-making monsters
Why does the relentless pursuit of wealth make for such compelling drama?
BBC/Bad Wolf Productions/HBO/Nick Strasburg
- Caroline Frost
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It’s time to feel uncomfortable again, to care about fictional characters who are not only selfish, ruthless and reckless with other people, but are, to boot, the one-per-cent beneficiaries of late-stage capitalism, laughing in the face of resultant inequalities. Yes, Industry, with Pierpoint investment bank’s young recruits, is back for a third outing, having become a global TV hit. Every character is, by any objective measure, awful, so why do we keep tuning in for them and their bank balances?
First, superb casting – the show has made stars of Harry Lawtey, Marisa Abela and David Jonsson. At its centre, the dysfunctional mentor-pupil relationship of Ken Leung’s Eric and Myha’la’s Harper, free of sexual clichés but charged by awe, respect and betrayal – the pair steal every scene they share.
Then there’s the script, authentic thanks to writers Mickey Down and Konrad Kay’s previous immersion in that world. Seeing a trade being executed, with “some puts on the S&P, linked to a call on gold”, is like watching American football: I have no idea what’s going on, except from everyone’s reactions. But we all know the pain of working for an inconsistently tempered boss, and the pressure of finishing a report in a cab on the way to dinner, even if in Harper’s world she has to stop off to spend £50 on lilies for the table. They’re all money-making monsters but, in defining ways, they remain human.
Harry Lawtey as Robert Spearing in Industry series three. Nick Strasburg/HBO
Since before Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice, there have been dramas inspired by the acquisition of wealth and what it does to people, but the recent TV timeline offers evidence of our changing attitudes. In the 1987 film Wall Street, Michael Douglas’s Gordon Gekko told us, “Greed is good.” During that city traders’ decade, shows like Dallas, Dynasty and our own Howards’ Way and Capital City all served up luxuries we didn’t judge. Plots were built on the notion that money may not be able to buy you a faithful husband or a child who wants to take over your business, but it could provide scenic balcony breakfasts without ruining your insides, physical or mental. JR Ewing may have been the archetypal rich villain, but his paragon of a younger brother Bobby equally had no problem whistling for the family helicopter.
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Compare these TV juggernauts with the current crop of finance-based dramas, such as Industry, Billions, Succession, and the message has got darker: yes, they can all afford big boats and houses, but they also sell their souls. We see the workings behind the breakfasts, and the big reveal is how boring it all is. As one Industry stalwart says, “It’s hard to make money off your passion, unless your passion’s money.”
What happened? Life, I guess. From 9/11 and the economic crash that saw thousands lose their savings while a tiny number secured a fortune, to politics on both sides of the Atlantic and Covid. A series of events to remind us that, beyond a natural need for economic security, indulging in greed alone is ultimately unsatisfying and leads to soullessness. Look at how many tech-giant Croesuses end up giving millions away. A 2024 Gordon Gekko would probably tweak his message to: “Greed is good, because of all the good you can do with it.”
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We catch the youngsters of Industry earlier in this narrative arc, as they begin to wage the internal battle between material and spiritual wealth. Their hands may be holding enormous bonus cheques, but their eyes tell the story. For now, they remain just about redeemable. It’s timeless dramatic fodder that makes us feel better about them – and, of course, ourselves.
Authors
Caroline Frost
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