TV

Surprise! People Kinda Loved SBS’s New Doco Series ‘Filthy Rich And Homeless’

The response to the controversial series has been surprisingly positive.

by Matilda Dixon-Smith  28 June 2017
Filthy Rich And Homeless

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After the drama of Struggle Street, the controversy-courting SBS reality TV series, it certainly was surprising to see the broadcaster announce the premiere of Filthy Rich And Homeless.

The three-part series (based on a reality series from the UK) gives five super rich Aussies the chance to trade in their privileged lives for 10 nights, and live instead like the 100,000 people who experience homelessness in Australia. Was it another “poverty porn” series? Was it going to be cruel, like parts of First Contact? Were people going to get mad?

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Well, the show aired its first of three episodes last night and the response was actually kind of… measured, and compassionate, and hopeful. And the show itself was kind of… measured, and compassionate, and hopeful. Well, I’ll be!

The show introduced its five “filthy rich” participants, including a beauty empire owner, the daughter of a famous athlete, a “third-generation” pub mogul, an Instagram influencer (and the son of Richard Wilkins), and a “self-made millionaire”.

And, at the start, at least, each one had some pretty hideous things to say during their talking head interviews. Like, my personal favourite character (/real human person??), Christian Wilkins, who says, straight to camera without a shred of irony, “Money can’t buy happiness but it can buy champagne and that’s pretty close”.

They also had some pretty blindingly ignorant things to say about homelessness before their first night out on the street, including: “If I was homeless I would use every bit of money to get a job, buy nice clothes.” Or, “There is always somewhere you can go, people choose to sleep on the streets.”

Ummmmmm… ok. Have fun out there, guys.

Of course, the set-up is merely to juxtapose how far (and how fast) these rich dumb dumbs fall once they are out in the tough conditions of the Melbourne streets. And, as you might suspect, the “filthy rich” do not last very long before they are pretty worn down by their glimpse into homelessness.

The concept, and the first episode, has drawn some criticism from viewers wary that exploiting the plight of homelessness for middle-class Australians’ entertainment feels more than a little off. In her review for The Guardian, Bridie Jabour said, “No matter how much dressing up you do, and how well-meaning you are, you cannot truly know what it is like to live every day like the other you are imitating.”

Still, once it aired, the response was generally quite positive. For many, the show proved quite educational too; it revealed statistics about the rates of homelessness in Australia, the demographic of homeless people, the places they seek refuge, and the violence they face on the streets.

And many homelessness charities and activist organisations are using the exposure garnered by the SBS series to spread their platform more widely, which is smart and great.

The series has come along at just the right time, after the recent announcement by the City Of Melbourne council regarding the implementation of a “homeless ban” in the city. So, as much as it’s depressing to imagine that everyday Australians can only process the homelessness crisis when it’s presented to them in an exploitative reality TV format — at least that exposure is happening.

Homelessness is an extraordinarily serious and desperate issue in Australia, and with our mounting housing crisis it’s only likely to get worse. It would be great if listening to accounts from real Australians living with homelessness mobilised the public to action, but that’s just not always the case. If it takes Filthy Rich and Homeless to get Australians to wake up to this crisis, so be it.

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The final episodes of Filthy Rich and Homeless are on SBS tonight and Thursday night at 8.30pm.

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If you, or someone you know, is struggling with homelessness, you can visit the Crisis Help Network to explore assistance options. If you would like to do your part to assist in addressing homelessness, you can contact The Lighthouse Foundation, YWCA Housing or the Council To Homeless Persons.

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Matilda Dixon-Smith is Junkee’s Staff Writer. She tweets at @mdixonsmith.