I definitely question the parenting smarts of someone willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a kid’s party, but what surprises me about the show is how many of the kids actually seem somewhat normal. Not every rich kid is a spoiled tantrum-thrower. I’m sure any of us would be thrilled to receive a new car for our birthday; why should they be any different?
Are you talking about the HBO documentary on the old school and modern-day robber baron children? I watched that one. It was simulataneously depressing and hysterical. Although, I have to say that I was somewhat more impressed by Trump’s children. Sure their connections get them somewhere but they come off as significantly more educated and interested in being productive than the rest of the ones spending their time endlessly partying at places on that island outside of New York (forget what it’s called).
The interesting thing is that I saw that documentary prior to taking estates and trusts and then had to learn about the whole Johnson family estate fiasco that one of the Johnson heirs is talking about oh-so-obliquely in the documentary. When I finally figured out the details of what he was referring to in such a wronged manner it made the whole thing seem so much funnier.
That’s just it; the kids I’ve seen on this show have NOT been particularly thrilled about getting a new car for their birthday. They expect it. Yes, they’re excited to be getting one, but not the way most of us would have been. It’s just another opportunity to show off and stroke their overinflated egos to masturbatory levels.
One show, the girl found out she was sitting in a used car, which to that point she’d thought was cute. She reacted like she’d slipped and fallen face first into elephant dung–“Ew ew ew!” Another one, the bitchy brat (or bratty bitch, you choose) went around asking her friend which one she looked best in, because that is all that mattered to her.
AUGH. I repeat: the children and parents who appear on this show need to be put to sleep.
My daughter does love the publicity, so feel free! 
Seriously though, thanks. She’s kind of an amazingly awesome kid, if I do say so myself.
When I heard of this show, I had to watch one, just to see how awful it was, but it really exceeded my worst dreams. Holy moley, it was horrifying. I wanted to kill the daughter, and the mom, and the dad who was enabling all that whining. (He said she absolutely wasn’t getting a car, and then he gave her a car! He rewarded that hideous champion whine-fest! Shoot him!)
But what I want to know is, assuming that at least part of the point of the show really is so that we can all feel superior to these little twits–everyone looks awful, they behave horribly, they’re clearly incredibly spoiled–why do people want to be on the show? Why do these girls go on there and preen and whine and generally show off how awful they are and how terrible life will be for their future families? Do they really not see how horrible they are? Do they really watch the show and say, “Yes! I want a party like that and I want it on MTV!”
Yeah, on my 16th birthday, I drove(big deal when you are 16) my family to a nice Steakhouse and had a nice steak with my family.
This was considered special enough.
Wow, that is awful. I guess the kids were just on good behavior in the handful of episodes I’ve seen.
I thought about starting a thread on this show after watching it for the first time a couple days ago. I’m glad someone else did it for me. The show is even more appalling than I thought it would be but it really does make me feel better about myself. I had to laugh when one kid at the “Roman”-themed party stuck his face into an $800 cake on a bet for $10, and the cake fell on the floor.
The girl that got two cars for her birthday from her dad who owns three dealerships has a website somewhere. Apparently she is an aspiring actress/singer/waste of space. Ah, here it is.
I see this show as more of a “Lifestyles of the Young and Privileged”, for the new MTV generation. Just like that “Next” show and “Pimp My Ride”, they’re a showcase for shallowness and materialism. At least Pimp My Ride has some creativity.
Ah yes, the girl that said she and her friends are the, “Rich bitches.” Sigh. The funny thing is, she wants to be a model and she really isn’t all that pretty. Heck, I think she’s got a pig face.
You have to remember the show is geared towards teens. For the most part, the viewers enjoy laughing at the spoiled brats but do so with more than a twinge of jealousy. “I’d never act that way if I had all that stuff, but I wish I had all that stuff.” The sweet-sixteeners latch on to that bit of jealousy and view the show as another vehicle to show off what ‘they’ have. I’m not sure where they get these parents though. I much prefer the Cosbyish “Your mother and I are rich. *You *have nothing!”
Born Rich?. I rented this after graduating college thinking its subjects would have some insightful remarks about the effects of wealth (the pursuit of wealth) on personal development. I could not have been more wrong, though their disconnect with reality answered a lot of my questions.
Did you hear her singing? It. Is. So. Wrong. My sound card has gone on strike.
WoW!! :eek:
Basically, they don’t care. Rich people are not like the rest of us for one very simple reason - they have a shitload of money! Because of that there are no consequences for their horrible behavior. They don’t need to worry about a job. They will always be able to find sycophantic friends ready to glom off their wealth. There are always paid servents around to pick up after them and cook for them.
Not every wealthy kid is an obnoxious asshole, however a lot of them have a very skewed view of the world because they have never had any pressure put on them or had to deal with any real problems. It’s a reason many of them live very hedonistic lives - they’re bored so why not just go around drinking, doing drugs and having sex?
I was listening to a morning radio show and one the DJ’s mentioned that this was one of the top rated shows on cable TV. She loved this show. It was one of her top guilty pleasures. Then she saw that pro wrestling was number two and three highest rated shows on cable TV. She couldn’t understand who could possibly watch that crap and that it was a possible sign of the appocalypse. As a former pro wrestling fan I feel just opposite. I have a seen bits and pieces of Sweet Sixteen and it just pisses me off. I want to reach through the TV screen and strangle some sense into these people. I will occasionally watch Pimp My Ride, Cribs, or Next on MTV, but I avoid Sweet Sixteen, Laguna Beach(and its spinoffs.)