The Russell's, van Rhijn's, and every other aristocratic family portrayed have massive mansions and a full staff who cater to their every need. The ultra-wealthy are often depicted in a very positive light while the daily experiences of the servants are whitewashed to make it seem like their lives aren't as challenging as they most certainly were during that era.
The entire show is an ode to filthy rich aristocratic families living in New York City in the years following the American Civil War.
Wendy and Marty Byrde purchase the Missouri Belle riverboat casino and put Ruth in charge of most day-to-day operations. The casino is featured prominently throughout many episodes, showing crowds of people playing craps, roulette, poker, and slot machines.
Classic cars from all eras are restored and sold
The Crawley family are early 20th aristocrats who live on a massive estate in the English countryside with a team of servants who tend to their every need. The film unapologetically glamorizes an era where the poor and working class were destined to a life of domestic servitude while the lucky few were given all the riches imaginable.
Wealth is glamorized at every possible moment throughout the movie with the guys riding in private jets, limos, yachts, uber-expensive sports cars, and remodeled classic cars. They also live in a mansion and throw huge, expensive parties and spend a boatload of money without a second thought as to how much anything costs.
Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) drives a 1988 Lamborghini Countach.
Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) gives Naomi (Margot Robbie) a fully-loaded, 150 foot, triple-deck yacht he named "Naomi" as a wedding present.
Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) howls that as a rich man when he has to face his problems he shows "up in the back of a limo wearing a $2,000 suit and a $40,000 gold f*cking watch" before ripping his watch off and throwing it at associates gathered together in the office. Time slows down and the camera zooms in on the watch as it's flying through the air until being enthusiastically grabbed by an associate clamoring for it.
James Bond drives a classic Aston Martin DB5 in MI6 storage from London to Scotland because they want to avoid new technologies that can be tracked. The Bond theme is played prominently, and the car is glamorized for much of the climax scenes.
Bond enters an opulent casino in Macau at night by skiff over water with beautiful lights everywhere.
Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is chauffeured around Los Angeles in a 1979 Lincoln Continental that the "Lincoln Lawyer" movie title is based on, and all the movie posters show Matthew sitting on his iconic car.
Staff Aside
I mean, come on. The classic car trope is so inherently embedded in the film industry. Can you imagine a new model in a movie titled Lincoln Lawyer? They have to have an older, classic model so that it is "cool". It would be weird otherwise and helps make the movie more fun to watch. And heck, Matthew ends up endorsing and doing commercials for Lincoln as well in real-life.
Bretton James and Shia LaBeouf take a helicopter trip to the country where they very aggressively race top of the line Ducati motorcycles against each other.
Tony Stark is the epitome of glamorous wealth with a spectacular mansion on a cliff, large sports car collection, private driver and personal assistant. He also hosts an opulent charity ball with people dressed in formal gowns and tuxes drinking champagne and fancy cocktails.
Nigel is depicted as a nice, wealthy man who was taken advantage of by a much younger woman who married him for his money and left him. He loves his daughter Gemma, dotes on her and chooses to take the boat on a treasure hunt when she expresses interest. They use his super large and fancy yacht in their search for the sunken treasure along with Finn and Tess.
Like the original, the third installment of the Oceans trilogy romanticizes casinos with one of the main plot points showing people having fun winning games the crew rigged. And they also show fancy "whales" getting VIP treatment.
James Bond has an Aston Martin DBS V12 full of bond spy gadgets waiting for him when he arrives at the big poker game at a posh casino.
The main event of the movie centers around an ultra-luxurious and exclusive poker tournament with a $10 million buy-in at the Casino Royale in Montenegro.
The Duke brothers drive a 1969 Dodge Charger that was an iconic fixture on the long-running TV show the film is loosely based off of.
Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) drives away from his wedding in a classic Cadillac De Ville convertible.
Nicholas Cage races to decode a message written in invisible ink on the back of the Declaration of Independence that supposedly reveals the location of a "national treasure" hidden by the Freemasons during the Revolutionary War before the bad guys can get it.
Max drives a black 1969 Chevrolet Camaro around the island.
The entire movie is an ode to Las Vegas casinos with the fountains at Bellagio romanticized, the MGM Grand hosting a major boxing match and of course many scenes of people enjoying themselves while gambling.
Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) drives a fully-loaded 1970 Dodge Charger R/T.
The entire "Fast and Furious" franchise glamorizes sports and "muscle" cars like the Porsche 911, Dodge Charger, Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro and a plethora of others participating in illegal street races.
Staff Aside
Numerous public advocacy groups have complained about the movie franchise glorifying street racing and have called for a Universal Pictures to add a disclaimer to the movies discouraging people from participating in illegal street races.
The entire movie glamorizes no limit Texas Hold'em poker, local poker games and the World Series of poker in Las Vegas.
Cher (Alicia Silverstone) lives a lavish lifestyle in a Beverly Hills mansion with a brand new car and even has a computer program to help her pick from her large wardrobe of fancy clothes.
"Richie" is a rich son of a multi-billionaire who lives in a huge mansion and has his own private butler who caters to his every need. Richie's dad is not only a wealthy businessman who literally has a mountain with his own head sculpted on it, but also a dedicated philanthropist who diligently works to help those less fortunate.
Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) goes undercover in a tuxedo at a lush private party at a mansion at the beginning and the end of the movie where there is valet parking, dancing, champagne and passed hors d'oeuvres.
Vincent (John Travolta) takes Mia (Uma Thurman) out to dinner in a bright red 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu convertible.
Dr Ben Stone (Michael J. Fox) drives a classic 1956 Porsche 356 Speedster throughout the movie
Edward Lewis drives a Lotus Esprit (with help from Vivian), stays at luxurious hotels and flies on private jets.
The central movie plot is about finding the Holy Grail which is depicted as actually real in the movie.
Wall Street is glamorized throughout the movie with fancy suits, large fancy offices with great views, limousine rides, private jets, private yachts, large mansions, mobiles phones in 1987 and those were just the things shown in the trailer.
Staff Aside
They put all these things in the trailer on purpose. People love to imagine what it would be like to be rich and movies are a great way to show that.
A classic red 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder is introduced to the song "Oh Yeah" and later flies through the air to the theme of "Star Wars." It's glamorized throughout the movie as they take it on a joy ride exploring Chicago while playing hooky from school. In the end, during an ill-advised attempt to roll back miles driving in reverse on a jack in Cameron's garage, the car goes flying through a glass window and epically crashes into a small ravine below. These iconic rememberable scenes really stand out.
The central theme of the movie is to find the lost Ark of the Covenant which the Book of Exodus says contains part of the ten commandments. Indiana Jones doesn't believe it has any supernatural power but is proven wrong in the end.
Bobby Axelrod has a huge selection of gas-guzzling sports cars and luxury vehicles that he drives or is driven in throughout the entire series.
Bobby Axelrod flies in his multi-million dollar Gulfstream V private jet that can take him to all corners of the globe on a whim in seemingly every episode.
Jay Leno prominently features classic cars in a number of episodes.
Lawyer Billy Bob Thornton drives a red 1966 Mustang convertible which is an iconic feature throughout the entire series even when he later comes into a lot of money after winning a case.
40 Tropes
27 Movies
7 TV Shows
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