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Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

theguardian.com

91–100 of 267 posts

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#91
post #79

I am always amazed by how many people get into this "Beat the system and make tons of money" mindset. If there's anything that has proven itself time and time again, it's that people who seek immediate wealth, and who fantasize about their "million dollar idea", are absolutely not the kinds of people who become successful and wealthy. The people who become devoted to a field or a technology - who make the business th…

Nonsense! Anyone can become rich if they just want to! For those who don't buy the OP's argument and want to get rich quick, I'm looking for investors for my ICO. It's like bitcoin but for people who like to eat pizza.

\s

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#92
post #4

One thing I've been struck by with movies and films like the Wolf of Wall Street, the film Wall Street, Fight Club, or even the Great Gatsby is how many people end up coming away with the exact opposite message of the movie. They end up idolizing the vapid, shallow lifestyle that the movie is critiquing, because even though the film is critiquing that it can't help but also make it glamorous. Michael Douglas has said…

This always perplexed me. With Mad Men and Breaking Bad too, people idolized the main characters, which is interesting not only because they are bad people but because they are deeply unhappy, too. There's something extremely surface-level about people's takeaways from film characters. They want a certain level of panache that the characters can muster, but they ignore that even the characters themselves are miserabl…

I disliked Don Draper from close to the start of the series ( I hate watched it...) and disliked Walter White after he killed SPOILER's girlfriend by neglect until maybe the last episode of Breaking Bad (the unfolding trainwreck was compelling), and was pulling for Tony Soprano and Nuckie Thompson to die after the first seasons (those pesky survivors to the end at least).

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#93
post #56
post #4

One thing I've been struck by with movies and films like the Wolf of Wall Street, the film Wall Street, Fight Club, or even the Great Gatsby is how many people end up coming away with the exact opposite message of the movie. They end up idolizing the vapid, shallow lifestyle that the movie is critiquing, because even though the film is critiquing that it can't help but also make it glamorous. Michael Douglas has said…

Interestingly, American Psycho isn't on that list. Nor should it be. It's easy to come up with a few theories as to what sets it apart, but I would love to see a proper analysis of how it tackles the subject matter without glorifying the lifestyle unnecessarily--and what other films should learn from it if they aim to accomplish the same

Belfort made it look effortless. Bateman made it look hard.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#94
post #79

I am always amazed by how many people get into this "Beat the system and make tons of money" mindset. If there's anything that has proven itself time and time again, it's that people who seek immediate wealth, and who fantasize about their "million dollar idea", are absolutely not the kinds of people who become successful and wealthy. The people who become devoted to a field or a technology - who make the business th…

Nonsense! Anyone can become rich if they just want to! For those who don't buy the OP's argument and want to get rich quick, I'm looking for investors for my ICO. It's like bitcoin but for people who like to eat pizza. \s

Pizzacoin - tie the unit price to a 12" stuffed crust from dominos.

Minor units are "Slices".

I mean dogecoin was a thing.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#95
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haven't watched "Mad Men", but I think part of the appeal of Walter White was that his character, being the show's main character, was also the most well-written and nuanced which almost necessarily leads to him being the most sympathetic. The reality that he was unhappy is more than outweighed by the fact that he was living out carpé diem rather than surrendering to terminal illness.

> Haven't watched "Mad Men", but I think part of the appeal of Walter White was that his character, being the show's main character, was also the most well-written and nuanced which almost necessarily leads to him being the most sympathetic. The reality that he was unhappy is more than outweighed by the fact that he was living out carpé diem rather than surrendering to terminal illness. One other thing is that he had…

Not only great talent, but unrecognized and unused talent -- he was working as a schoolteacher and at a car wash. And there were allusions that he had been cheated of his fair share of a prosperous company.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#96

I know of a guy who “pivoted” from exotic car rental operator in Florida to Forex and Drop Shipping coach via Instagram. His Lamborghini, chartered jets and 30k followers really shine but I also know he still buys fake shoes. Wouldn’t trust him with $1. Gary Vaynerchuk is spot on in that there are too many experts and not enough practicioners. Showing others how to make it is how these guys are trying to make it.

> Showing others how to make it is how these guys are trying to make it. You don't actually have to know how to make 30K/month. You just have to have enough people watch your video and sign up to buy your $9.99 ebook. The infomercial is 24/7 now. Kevin Trudeau forever, man! /s

I'll show you how to make €100,000+ per month, just buy my ebook with monthly subscription to my "WWWinners!!11one Club" it's €100,000 per month. Bargain!

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nonsense! Anyone can become rich if they just want to! For those who don't buy the OP's argument and want to get rich quick, I'm looking for investors for my ICO. It's like bitcoin but for people who like to eat pizza. \s

Pizzacoin - tie the unit price to a 12" stuffed crust from dominos. Minor units are "Slices". I mean dogecoin was a thing.

I mean dogecoin is a thing.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#98
post #79

I am always amazed by how many people get into this "Beat the system and make tons of money" mindset. If there's anything that has proven itself time and time again, it's that people who seek immediate wealth, and who fantasize about their "million dollar idea", are absolutely not the kinds of people who become successful and wealthy. The people who become devoted to a field or a technology - who make the business th…

Carnegie and Buffett occur to me as counter-examples that you need to devote yourself to a specific field or technology.

They are the exception, not the rule.

Besides, they technically devoted themselves to the field of finance. They didn't just decide one day that they wanted to be billionaires and only work 1 hour per week.

They worked their asses off to get where they are today, and the goal wasn't even necessarily to make a fortune...

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#99
post #4

One thing I've been struck by with movies and films like the Wolf of Wall Street, the film Wall Street, Fight Club, or even the Great Gatsby is how many people end up coming away with the exact opposite message of the movie. They end up idolizing the vapid, shallow lifestyle that the movie is critiquing, because even though the film is critiquing that it can't help but also make it glamorous. Michael Douglas has said…

It's like how Truffaut said it's impossible to make an anti-war film, it looks too cool and exciting on the screen and there's no real understanding of the human costs involved.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#100
post #24
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"because even though the film is critiquing that it can't help but also make it glamorous." Honestly, they don't try hard not make it look glamorous. This extravaganza is totally part of what makes people watch it.

Indeed the one thing that sticks out in my mind about The Wolf of Wall Street is that no effort was made to show all the harm he did to the people he stole from. It was just one very, very long spectacle. Not a film I'd watch twice.

In the same genre, Boiler Room did a good job showing the harm done to the victims of Wall Street con artists.
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