Filthy Rich: Intersections Between the Beautiful and the Grotesque in the Representation of Rich Characters in The Menu (2022) and Triangle of Sadness (2022)

Since the beginning of cinema, fantasy seeks to reflect aspects of reality. At the present time, where financial insecurity makes audiences more critical of the billionaire class, plays that satirize the rich people have become more apparent. This research aims to analyze the grotesque in the representation of rich characters in the films The Menu and Triangle of Sadness, and to establish intersections between the beautiful and the grotesque through the aesthetic elements present in the plays and the comments published on the social network Filmow. As methodological procedures, we adopted film content analysis (Penafria, 2009) and content analysis (Bardin, 2011). The results indicate that the grotesque is manifested in films through criticism, shock, and scatology, producing a narrative that ridicules and degrades rich characters, which can lead the viewer to reflect and change their view of the world. In addition, the intersection between the beautiful and the grotesque is present through the technical and aesthetic resources used in the films, but, above all, through the effects caused in the audience, who have a pleasant experience at the same time as they experience emotions such as disgust and fright.