'The Bling Ring': Celebrity Culture And Its Little Monsters
We live in a world filled with crimes, but most of them don't have much to tell us. They're cases of mere stupidity, cruelty or greed. But every now and then one comes along that invites larger thoughts about the culture.
Think of the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese, stabbed to death while nearly 40 witnesses heard her screams but didn't want to get involved. Or the 1974 kidnapping of Patty Hearst, which felt like the final, mad curdling of the '60s political dream. Or the Ponzi scheming of Bernard Madoff, that hollow pillar of the community who came to personify the 2008 financial crisis. Such crimes felt emblematic.
Of course, not every emblematic crime is heavy. Take Sofia Coppola's entertaining film The Bling Ring, about a posse of thieving teens from L.A.'s prosperous West Valley suburbs. It's a true story, but you could believe its plot was dreamed up by some witty professor of cultural studies who wanted to make a point about American consumerism and celebrity mania.
“ If you're older than about 19, you may spend The Bling Ring wanting to break into a chorus of 'What's the Matter With Kids Today?'