Editing Bourgeoisie (section)

==Satire and criticism in art==
Beyond the [[Intellectualism|intellectual]] realms of [[political economy]], history, and [[political science]] that discuss, describe, and analyze the ''bourgeoisie'' as a social class, the colloquial usage of the [[sociology|sociological]] terms ''bourgeois'' and ''bourgeoise'' describe the social [[stereotype]]s of the [[old money]] and of the {{lang|fr|[[nouveau riche]]}}, who is a politically timid conformist satisfied with a wealthy, [[consumerism|consumerist]] style of life characterized by [[conspicuous consumption]] and the continual striving for [[Social status|prestige]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Zinn |first=Howard |author-link=Howard Zinn |title=[[A People's History of the United States]] |date=1980}}</ref><ref>Sven Beckert "Propertied of Different Kind: Bourgeoisie and Lower Middle Class in the Nineteenth-Century United States" in ''The Middling Sorts: Explorations in the History of the American Middle Class'' (2001) Burton J. Bledstein and Robert D. Johnston, Eds. (2001)</ref> This being the case, the cultures of the world describe the [[philistinism]] of the middle-class personality, produced by the excessively rich life of the bourgeoisie, is examined and analyzed in comedic and dramatic plays, novels, and films (see [[Authenticity (philosophy)|Authenticity]]).[[File:Molière - Nicolas Mignard (1658).jpg|thumb|The 17th-century French playwright Molière (1622–73) catalogued the social-climbing essence of the bourgeoisie in {{lang|fr|Le Bourgeois gentilhomme}} (1670).|left]]

The term bourgeoisie has been used as a pejorative and a term of abuse since the 19th century, particularly by intellectuals and artists.{{sfn|McCloskey|2016|p=XVII}}

===Theater===
{{lang|fr|[[Le Bourgeois gentilhomme]]}} (The Would-be Gentleman, 1670) by [[Molière]] (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin), is a comedy-ballet that [[Satire|satirises]] Monsieur Jourdain, the prototypical [[nouveau riche]] man who buys his way up the social-class scale, to realise his aspirations of becoming a gentleman, to which end he studies dancing, fencing, and philosophy, the trappings and accomplishments of a gentleman, to be able to pose as a man of [[Nobility|noble birth]], someone who, in 17th-century France, was a man to the manor born; Jourdain's self-transformation also requires managing the private life of his daughter, so that her marriage can also assist his social ascent.{{sfn|Molière|1899}}{{page needed|date=October 2020}}{{sfn|Benét|1987|p=118, 512}}

===Literature===
[[File:Thomas Mann in 1926.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Thomas Mann]] (1875–1955) portrayed the moral, intellectual, and physical decadence of the German upper bourgeoisie in the novel ''[[Buddenbrooks]]'' (1926).]]

''[[Buddenbrooks]]'' (1901), by [[Thomas Mann]] (1875–1955), chronicles the [[Morality|moral]], intellectual, and [[Human inbreeding|physical]] decay of a rich family through its declines, material and spiritual, in the course of four generations, beginning with the [[Patriarchy|patriarch]] Johann Buddenbrook Sr. and his son, Johann Buddenbrook Jr., who are typically successful German businessmen; each is a reasonable man of solid character.

Yet, in the children of Buddenbrook Jr., the materially comfortable style of life provided by the dedication to solid, middle-class [[Value system|values]] elicits decadence: The fickle daughter, Toni, lacks and does not seek a purpose in life; son Christian is honestly decadent, and lives the life of a ne'er-do-well; and the businessman son, Thomas, who assumes command of the Buddenbrook family fortune, occasionally falters from middle-class solidity by being interested in art and philosophy, the impractical [[Intellectualism|life of the mind]], which, to the bourgeoisie, is the epitome of social, moral, and material decadence.{{sfn|Benét|1987|p=118, 137}}<ref>{{cite book |first=Charles |last=Neider |title=The Stature of Thomas Mann |date=1968}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Wolfgang |last=Beutin |title=A history of German Literature: From the Beginnings to the Present Day |date=1993 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=0-415-06034-6 |page=433}}</ref>

''[[Babbitt (novel)|Babbitt]]'' (1922), by [[Sinclair Lewis]] (1885–1951), satirizes the American bourgeois George Follansbee Babbitt, a middle-aged [[realtor]], [[Boosterism|booster]], and joiner in the Midwestern city of Zenith, who – despite being unimaginative, self-important, and hopelessly conformist and middle-class – is aware that there must be more to life than money and the [[Conspicuous consumption|consumption]] of the best things that money can buy. Nevertheless, he fears [[Ostracism|being excluded]] from the mainstream of society more than he does living for himself, by [[Authenticity (philosophy)|being true to himself]] – his heart-felt flirtations with independence (dabbling in [[Liberalism|liberal politics]] and a love affair with a pretty widow) come to naught because he is existentially afraid.[[File:Luis Buñuel.JPG|thumb|right|upright|The Spanish cinéast [[Luis Buñuel]] (1900–83) depicted the tortuous mentality and self-destructive hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie.]]

Yet, George F. Babbitt sublimates his desire for self-respect, and encourages his son to rebel against the conformity that results from bourgeois prosperity, by recommending that he be true to himself:

{{Blockquote|Don't be scared of the family. No, nor all of zenith. Nor of yourself, the way I've been.{{sfn|Benét|1987|p=65}}}}

===Films===
Many of the satirical films by the Spanish film director [[Luis Buñuel]] (1900–1983) examine the mental and moral effects of the bourgeois mentality, its culture, and the stylish way of life it provides for its practitioners.

* {{lang|fr|[[L'Âge d'or]]}} (''The Golden Age'', 1930) illustrates the madness and self-destructive hypocrisy of bourgeois society.
* {{lang|fr|[[Belle de Jour (film)|Belle de Jour]]}} (''Beauty of the day'', 1967) tells the story of a bourgeois wife who is bored with her marriage and decides to prostitute herself.
* {{lang|fr|[[Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie]]}} (''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'', 1972) explores the timidity instilled by middle-class [[Value system|values]].
* {{lang|fr|[[Cet obscur objet du désir]]}} (''That Obscure Object of Desire'', 1977) illuminates the practical self-deceptions required for buying love as marriage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=25 June 2000 |title=The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie movie review (1972) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-discreet-charm-of-the-bourgeoisie-1972 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602094814/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-discreet-charm-of-the-bourgeoisie-1972 |archive-date=2 June 2013 |access-date=27 April 2021 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Kinder|Andrew|1999}}{{page needed|date=October 2020}}