In Which I Use the Library as Netflix pt 1: "Wolf of Wall Street" & The Pathetic Wealthy

I swear I did not forget about this account. Between my thesis film, a bit of health drama, and my seeming inability to get anything done over the autumn that followed, I couldn't really get back into the routine of outfit recording, although I would certainly like to. 

Which isn't to say I haven't had routines. One that managed to stay with me into 2025 was getting instant noodles for lunch at the 7-11 every Friday, which I decided on a whim last week is now going to include a visit to the local library to borrow one of their DVDs, watch it at home, and yap about it on here. Who knows how long this one will last. We'll see....

I hadn't really gone to the library for any particular reason last Friday, but as I had finances and budgeting on the mind, I ended up spending about an hour reading and taking notes on The New Frugality by Chris Farrell (I'm halfway through it now. It's a good book). I feel that fact is at least partially responsible for the fact that I ended up borrowing The Wolf of Wall Street, aside from the fact that it was one of the first films I recognized upon entering the video section and the fact that I had never actually watched it before.

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Spoiler warning, I guess? The movie's over a decade old, so IDK if it matters at this point

I was a bit worried that I wouldn't have any thoughts about The Wolf of Wall Street, or at least not any original thoughts (if any thoughts can be original to begin with), since I don't usually see myself as someone with "something to say."

And then I saw this scene.

And oh boy, did I have thoughts.

In case you don't want to click on the link, here's a brief run-down of the scene. Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his friend Donnie take a drug called "Quaaludes," specifically "Lemmons," which are supposed to be the strongest. Because they are past their expiration date, the effect isn't immediate, and they assume they have lost their potency. Then Jordan's dad calls to tell him, over a payphone, that he's about to be in deep legal trouble. Unfortunately, for Jordan, the drugs had not lost their potency, but had a delayed effect, leaving Jordan to have to crawl all the way back to his car.

The scene reminded me a lot about a thought I've been having since November- "Why are all these rich people so cringe and incompetent?" There appears to be a supreme level of immaturity among the rich and powerful these days. From Elon Musk buying Twitter and making every user look at his memes to Donald Trump banning the Associated Press because they won't call the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America." It's all so immensely stupid and for what? You already have all the money and power, why are you acting like a child?

Jordan and his friends are the perfect example of what I mean. Despite the fact that the film makes it clear early on that everyone on Wall Street is immature and doing drugs, Stratton-Oakmont takes it to a whole new level. Nearly everything they do is stupid and depraved, and yet they still end up with ridiculous amounts of money and power. One would think that the legal trouble Jordan was unable to deal with due to the drugs would be his low point. That it would serve as a lesson to him not to over-indulge and take his wealth for granted. But it doesn't. That legal trouble isn't what does him in. He gets out nearly unscathed. 

It's his next decision that does it, though. Jordan's dad advises him to hand over control of his company to Donnie and spend the rest of his life with his family, never having to work again, but on the day he plans to announce his resignation, he changes his mind. He decides to stay and try to make more money, and that's what ends up giving the FBI what they need to take him down. Of course, that also begs the question: Why the fuck would you do that? For most people, never having to work again sounds like a dream come true. What could you possibly need with more money. 

It's addiction, isn't it? It's all addiction. Jordan stayed at Stratton-Oakmont because he's addicted to money. And he's addicted to money because, as cliche as it sounds, money really doesn't buy happiness. And he's not happy. He's a drug-addicted narcissist who's wife hates him because he cheats on her constantly. All his problems are self-inflicted and he's really only good at one thing: sales. If he ever stops doing sales, there's nothing else he can do. Additionally, while his family might not praise him, his employees will. It's seeing them, and how they view him as their savior, that convinces him to stay.

Money can solve a lot of problems, but it can't make people like you. I think the reason people like Musk and Trump act like this is because they believe it should. They need to be liked. It's why they can't handle being ignored, or people making jokes at their expense. Money can't buy you friendship or community or intelligence or a sense of humor. Money can't prevent you from being a grown man crawling on the floor high on 15-year-old drugs. That's a you problem. You have to fix that. And these guys just aren't equipped for that kind of self-reflection. They're idiots.

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IDK if any of that made sense. I'm not a film reviewer, and I don't really think of myself as being good at film analysis. I'm trying to get over my perfectionism when it comes to social media (did you know you can just make a TikTok?/j), so this ended up being half stream-of-consciousness, half "notes I took in the middle of the movie, written in the dark so I can barely read them." 

Anyway, I give The Wolf of Wall Street a 4/10 because there were no wolves in it (false advertising) but there was a dog, which is kind of like a wolf if you don't think about it too hard and also there was a lion, which is similar to a wolf in its ferocity and wild-ness (again, if you don't think about it too hard). There was also definitely Wall Street. Lots of Wall Street in that movie.