The Real Rooneys on Disney+: Everything is white. The rich do not fear stains like us
This article provides a critical commentary on the rise of celebrity documentary series, specifically focusing on 'The Real Rooneys' on Disney+. The author argues that these shows attempt to humanize wealthy figures by portraying their mundane struggles, which the author views as a disingenuous marketing tactic.
Why it matters
It highlights the growing trend of 'celebumentaries' and the cultural tension between the public's fascination with celebrity lives and the perceived artificiality of these curated portrayals.
T here’s trouble down at the Instagram meme factory. It’s a new age of John Osborne-style kitchen-sink dramas, but now they’re TV documentaries, starring the richest people who ever lived, who want to show us the bleakly luxurious mundanity of their day-to-day lives.
These new gilded-age tycoons bicker before the cameras. They roll their eyes when their children “interrupt” a shot. (Their domestic staff do not appear on-screen, but I imagine they are bustling about nearby.) They have intimate moments together, just casual instances of connection between them and their camera crews and the people of Britain, Ireland and the world. Sometimes they cry. But their tears are exclusive and expensive, like frankincense or myrrh.
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