Oxbridge peasant reviews Saltburn (Part 1) - on style and substance

Part 2 of this video essay can be found here:
   • Oxbridge peasant reviews Saltburn (Pa...  

Saltburn (2023) polarised audiences: some viewers think it’s deep and communicates intelligent ideas, and others think it’s a hot mess which is trying to say and do lots of things, but which is mostly just a fancy disaster. So what was Saltburn really trying to say? What opportunities did it miss to discuss topical, meaningful issues related to race, class, and power? What does it tell us about the nature of storytelling?

Time stamps:
00:00 - Introduction + why examine Saltburn?
01:03 - Film recap + belonging (or not) at Oxbridge
04:37 - Part 1: Easy satire targets and missed opportunities (on caricature and commentary in storytelling)
07:28 - Missed opportunities in exploring wealth and class (wealth, trauma, and envy)
10:57 - Part 2: What does this film even want to be?
12:05 - Analysing Saltburn's controversial third act
12:56 - The Talented Mr. Ripley + Ingrid Goes West
13:54 - Why Ripley's storytelling works (and Saltburn and Ingrid, less so)
16:37 - Saltburn's final scene (and figurative unmasking)
17:15 - Saltburn's greatest irony
18:33 - Conclusion

Hopefully this video offers some food for thought! All views are my own - feel welcome to debate them, or to point out ideas you feel I might have missed.

FURTHER LINKS AND CREDITS:

"What Trauma Porn Is, and Why It Hurts Black People" by Brittany Johnson (The Mighty, 2014): https://themighty.com/topic/mental-he...

Copyright-free music: Handel's "Messiah"

Pictured at 02:00: the famous 1987 Bullingdon Club photograph (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_Bu...)

This video also incorporates footage from film trailers:
Saltburn:    • Saltburn | Official Trailer  
The Talented Mr. Ripley:    • The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) Traile...  
Ingrid Goes West:    • Ingrid Goes West Trailer #1 (2017) | ...  

And a clip from the "Jeeves and Wooster" TV series (based on P. G. Wodehouse's novels):    • Jeeves and Wooster (1990) - Hugh Laur...  

Copyright disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act: these video clips are being used for educational purposes, commentary, and criticism, and thereby fall under "fair use". Credits go to the content owners; no copyright infringement is intended.