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| Filthy Rich and Homeless: a safe, distant lens the middle class needs to empathise with the poor | Filthy Rich and Homeless: a safe, distant lens the middle class needs to empathise with the poor |
| (6 days later) | |
| When I worked at a regional coastal newspaper, a semi-regular feature idea was to send a female journalist down to the beach in a niqab, take photos of her walking beside women sunning themselves in bikinis, and then have her write about “what it’s like” to dress like a Muslim in public. | When I worked at a regional coastal newspaper, a semi-regular feature idea was to send a female journalist down to the beach in a niqab, take photos of her walking beside women sunning themselves in bikinis, and then have her write about “what it’s like” to dress like a Muslim in public. |
| There’s a similar idea at the heart of the CEO Sleepout: a popular fixture on the Australian fundraising calendar, where leaders of companies sleep outside for the night in the middle of winter, to raise awareness for homelessness. This year they even donned VR headsets to “simulate” the homeless experience – a fairly cringey juxtaposition that did not go unnoticed on Twitter. | There’s a similar idea at the heart of the CEO Sleepout: a popular fixture on the Australian fundraising calendar, where leaders of companies sleep outside for the night in the middle of winter, to raise awareness for homelessness. This year they even donned VR headsets to “simulate” the homeless experience – a fairly cringey juxtaposition that did not go unnoticed on Twitter. |
| Hmmmm. The optics. The optics here are ah....hmmm. pic.twitter.com/AjwNk4d8Z7 | Hmmmm. The optics. The optics here are ah....hmmm. pic.twitter.com/AjwNk4d8Z7 |
| But, of course, these people don’t really know what it’s like to wear the niqab, or be forced to sleep on the streets. Anyone can sleep rough for a week or wear a burqa for a day, if you know at the end of the day – or even at the end of six months – that you are going back to your warm bed; that you will put on a singlet again. No matter how much dressing up you do, and how well-meaning you are, you cannot truly know what it is like to live every day like the other you are imitating. | But, of course, these people don’t really know what it’s like to wear the niqab, or be forced to sleep on the streets. Anyone can sleep rough for a week or wear a burqa for a day, if you know at the end of the day – or even at the end of six months – that you are going back to your warm bed; that you will put on a singlet again. No matter how much dressing up you do, and how well-meaning you are, you cannot truly know what it is like to live every day like the other you are imitating. |
| And yet, the “fish out of water” trope still has value: it can be an effective way to get people talking and thinking about social issues. There are more than 100,000 homeless people in Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Of those, 44% are women, and 17% are younger than 12. | And yet, the “fish out of water” trope still has value: it can be an effective way to get people talking and thinking about social issues. There are more than 100,000 homeless people in Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Of those, 44% are women, and 17% are younger than 12. |
| If we want to know what their lives are like, then we could just ask them – but how many people would watch that show? Instead, SBS has opted for the documentary/reality television hybrid route. | If we want to know what their lives are like, then we could just ask them – but how many people would watch that show? Instead, SBS has opted for the documentary/reality television hybrid route. |
| Filthy Rich and Homeless, a three-part series of which I’ve watched the first two episodes, follows five very wealthy people as they live “amongst” Melbourne’s homeless for 10 days. Tim Guest, a self-described self-made millionaire; the daughter of Australian boxing great Jeff Fenech, Kayla; beauty entrepreneur Jellaine Dee; third generation pub baron Stu Lundy; and “Sydney socialite” and son of Richard Wilkins, Christian, whose introduction includes the plainly rehearsed line “money can’t buy happiness but it can buy champagne and that’s pretty close”. | Filthy Rich and Homeless, a three-part series of which I’ve watched the first two episodes, follows five very wealthy people as they live “amongst” Melbourne’s homeless for 10 days. Tim Guest, a self-described self-made millionaire; the daughter of Australian boxing great Jeff Fenech, Kayla; beauty entrepreneur Jellaine Dee; third generation pub baron Stu Lundy; and “Sydney socialite” and son of Richard Wilkins, Christian, whose introduction includes the plainly rehearsed line “money can’t buy happiness but it can buy champagne and that’s pretty close”. |
| Christian is actually quite a sweet kid, and generally unfazed by much that comes his way – despite a scene where he wails “mummmmmmy” into a public telephone when he reverse charges a phone call home. | Christian is actually quite a sweet kid, and generally unfazed by much that comes his way – despite a scene where he wails “mummmmmmy” into a public telephone when he reverse charges a phone call home. |
| For the first two nights the group are split up and sleep on the streets by themselves – although no doubt protected from the dramatically increased risk of physical and sexual violence actual homeless people experience. They are then buddied up for a couple of nights with homeless people, and spend time in crisis accommodation on other nights. | For the first two nights the group are split up and sleep on the streets by themselves – although no doubt protected from the dramatically increased risk of physical and sexual violence actual homeless people experience. They are then buddied up for a couple of nights with homeless people, and spend time in crisis accommodation on other nights. |
| There are, inevitably, excruciating quotes from each about their perception of the homeless before they embark on the “experiment”. | There are, inevitably, excruciating quotes from each about their perception of the homeless before they embark on the “experiment”. |
| “If I was homeless I would use every bit of money to get a job, buy nice clothes.” | “If I was homeless I would use every bit of money to get a job, buy nice clothes.” |
| “If I were to lose everything, I truly believe I would be able to get back to where I am.” | “If I were to lose everything, I truly believe I would be able to get back to where I am.” |
| “There is always somewhere you can go, people choose to sleep on the streets.” | “There is always somewhere you can go, people choose to sleep on the streets.” |
| Kayla, 20, plays the part of self-obsessed and oblivious spoiled millennial with aplomb, her lack of self awareness reaching almost cartoonish proportions when, after talking about how lonely she is, she spots a young homeless man sitting near a Hungry Jack’s. “I’m going to go tell him I’m homeless too,” she says, and pauses. “For 10 days.” | Kayla, 20, plays the part of self-obsessed and oblivious spoiled millennial with aplomb, her lack of self awareness reaching almost cartoonish proportions when, after talking about how lonely she is, she spots a young homeless man sitting near a Hungry Jack’s. “I’m going to go tell him I’m homeless too,” she says, and pauses. “For 10 days.” |
| She introduces herself and sits down to begin her long list of complaints, which he listens to attentively. “I don’t have my wallet!” she exclaims. “I’m starving, I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon, what am I supposed to do?” | She introduces herself and sits down to begin her long list of complaints, which he listens to attentively. “I don’t have my wallet!” she exclaims. “I’m starving, I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon, what am I supposed to do?” |
| The homeless man nods in agreement: “It’s hard”. | The homeless man nods in agreement: “It’s hard”. |
| “I won’t last 10 days,” she says. At this admission of almost-defeat, her new friend launches into a pep talk: “Yes you will, you can do it. Don’t beat yourself down, build yourself up.” Then in an act of borderline-questionable but impressive generosity, he offers to buy Kayla a burger meal. | “I won’t last 10 days,” she says. At this admission of almost-defeat, her new friend launches into a pep talk: “Yes you will, you can do it. Don’t beat yourself down, build yourself up.” Then in an act of borderline-questionable but impressive generosity, he offers to buy Kayla a burger meal. |
| Kayla pretends to hesitate (“Do you have enough money?”), but gratefully accepts. I watched this scene through my hands, feeling ill. | Kayla pretends to hesitate (“Do you have enough money?”), but gratefully accepts. I watched this scene through my hands, feeling ill. |
| As she prepares to leave, she thanks him – and then complains to him about how much she hates her bag, so full is it of sleeping bags and blankets and a toothbrush and other accessories to her comfort. “I can’t walk, this bag is hurting my back, it’s bruised my arm, I hate that bag.” | As she prepares to leave, she thanks him – and then complains to him about how much she hates her bag, so full is it of sleeping bags and blankets and a toothbrush and other accessories to her comfort. “I can’t walk, this bag is hurting my back, it’s bruised my arm, I hate that bag.” |
| Despite the visceral reaction Kayla may provoke, at other times production company Blackfella Films have approached the project with as much sensitivity as possible, using it as a vehicle to tell the stories of myriad homeless people who would not otherwise be on television. | Despite the visceral reaction Kayla may provoke, at other times production company Blackfella Films have approached the project with as much sensitivity as possible, using it as a vehicle to tell the stories of myriad homeless people who would not otherwise be on television. |
| Tim, who earlier declared his sincere belief he would be able to rebuild himself into a successful businessman if he ended up homeless, is left in tears at the end of the second episode, after hearing the story of a man whose father died when he was 14, and who lost other members of his family in a house fire. “I’ve never had to deal with what you have had to deal with,” he says. “If I had been put in the same situation I don’t know that I would’ve had the strength.” | Tim, who earlier declared his sincere belief he would be able to rebuild himself into a successful businessman if he ended up homeless, is left in tears at the end of the second episode, after hearing the story of a man whose father died when he was 14, and who lost other members of his family in a house fire. “I’ve never had to deal with what you have had to deal with,” he says. “If I had been put in the same situation I don’t know that I would’ve had the strength.” |
| Kayla meets a mother of three and heroin addict, Ebony, who became a sex worker after becoming homeless when she left a violent relationship. “What do you mean you work on the street?” Kayla asks. “Do you like it?” she follows up. | Kayla meets a mother of three and heroin addict, Ebony, who became a sex worker after becoming homeless when she left a violent relationship. “What do you mean you work on the street?” Kayla asks. “Do you like it?” she follows up. |
| The look Ebony gives her is equal parts hilarious and devastating. | The look Ebony gives her is equal parts hilarious and devastating. |
| At the beginning of the series, Tim declares he walks past homeless people in the street like they don’t exist. It’s an admission almost every Australian would make. | At the beginning of the series, Tim declares he walks past homeless people in the street like they don’t exist. It’s an admission almost every Australian would make. |
| It is comforting, and lazy, to view social issues through a middle-class lens, safe in the knowledge our protagonists will be warm in their mansions eventually. But, when handled sensitively, an imperfectly told story of the plight of our many homeless is still better than no story at all. | It is comforting, and lazy, to view social issues through a middle-class lens, safe in the knowledge our protagonists will be warm in their mansions eventually. But, when handled sensitively, an imperfectly told story of the plight of our many homeless is still better than no story at all. |
| • Filthy Rich and Homeless continues on SBS at 8.30pm on 29 and 30 June | • Filthy Rich and Homeless continues on SBS at 8.30pm on 29 and 30 June |