Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened
Director: Chris Smith
The hashtag culture is a phenomenon these days. Anything and everything that follows a # is capable of generating a buzz within minutes. A mere click of a button and the product, in all its grandeur, is available to us, along with the inevitable likelihood of consumption goading our senses. Sounds convenient, right? Wait till you watch the latest original documentary by Netflix- Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened.
Directed by Chris Smith, Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, follows the story of a young entrepreneur-turned-felon, Billy McFarland, who robbed unsuspecting investors and gullible millennials of millions of dollars on the basis of an image that was far detached from reality.
Straight out, Fyre music festival was a genius concept. All the people, organising team or otherwise, who had heard about it had the same feeling. A weekend getaway on an isolated, beautiful island, supplemented with electronic music featuring some of the biggest names in the industry, great food, lavish yachts, private flights, luxury villas, celebrities and what not. If you could think of it, Fyre would have it.
A starry promotional video is shot, featuring top billing models. They are then tasked with campaigning through their social media accounts. Influencers are also roped in to generate more noise. Word gets out and around 95% of the bookings are confirmed within 48 hours of the appearance of #Fyrefestival and an orange tile, on a handful of Instagram and Twitter accounts. That is as far as the setup goes.
The film, hereafter, shows the testimonies of event organisers, festival attendees and innocent locals of the Exuma Island who were duped into believing, up until the last minute, that the event would take place in all its greatness as advertised. Despite the fact that the internal team knew better, they went ahead with it nonetheless. The guests started to arrive on the island, without having any tangible way out. Trapped on an unknown island with hundreds of strangers, the demons slowly start to come out.
The documentary has a strong subject to talk about. For most part, the film uses footage from the promotional video, recounting what people thought Billy was- ‘world’s greatest salesman’, ‘an amazing entrepreneur’ and ‘unflappable’. Personal accounts, now, call him as ‘delusional’, ‘hustler’ and a ‘liar.’
Apart from Billy’s exploits, the director also focuses on pressing themes like vileness of social media culture and press publicity, the power of celebrities, image construction and picture circulation. Backed by a fitting sound design that flows with the narrative, the film gets haunting and upbeat in a matter of minutes. When we encounter Billy in first person, or what he projects to be, we are positive and believe him for what we see.
The next moment, reality strikes us down with contrary claims to Billy’s nature. Billy is now in foreground, with all his lies laid bare and background music becomes minimal, yet fitting, providing time for introspection.
Like the Fyre festival promotional video, the images in the film are inviting. They force us to abandon our instinct: if things looks so great, chances are they might turn out to be a trap. Cellphone footage and private recordings go a long way in painting the real picture of what happened behind the scenes, leading up to the Fyre festival.
At some high points in the documentary, we feel like we are part of it. But, then truth starts to sink in and we consciously separate ourselves from the postcard images. In our heads, we assert that we are better than the ones who got tricked. We are not what they believe we are. We know that someone like Billy can’t fool us. Or can he?
It is a well-edited and archived film. Textual information and screenshots from Instagram and Twitter posts are used to propel the narrative. Despite our ignorance, the director does not preach and this is the best thing about the film.
Chris Smith is saving the best for the last. The ending will make you question if there’s a way out of this culture of celebrity-worship. Money is one of the biggest parameters involved in this game, the real issue of culture industry goes way deeper. Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened is a great film to watch if you are in mood for some reality check.
Rating: 3.5/5
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