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The Strokes Skewer Billionaire Class in Puppet-Filled “Lonely in the Future” Video
The Strokes have released a video for “Lonely in the Future” after appearing on Saturday Night Live. Directed by Warren Fu and made with puppets by Splitting Image, the clip satirises billionaires’ influence over the media, war and culture.
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Rupert Murdoch appear as puppets, with Musk and Bezos depicted as lovers. The video also features Lou Reed, Stanley Kubrick, Bach, producer Rick Rubin, critic Anthony Fantano, Greta Thunberg and the band; the article gives no further details about the song or video’s release.
In short
- The Strokes released a puppet-filled video for “Lonely in the Future”.
- It satirises billionaires’ influence on media, war and culture.
- Musk and Bezos appear together as lovers.
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The case for
The video’s satire can be seen as a legitimate way to draw attention to how concentrated wealth may shape media, technology and public life. By turning prominent billionaires into puppets, the band uses humour and exaggeration to invite scrutiny of their influence and to make an otherwise abstract concern accessible.
The case against
The satire can be seen as reducing complex questions about business, media and political influence to caricatures of a few individuals. Critics may argue that the video encourages audiences to dismiss its targets rather than examine specific evidence, and that depicting Musk and Bezos as lovers risks making the joke depend on insinuation rather than a substantive argument.
Explained simply
The Strokes are an American rock band whose songs often draw on New York’s music scene. Their video uses puppets and satire to comment on the influence wealthy people can have over media, politics and culture.
The figures shown include tech billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, and media owner Rupert Murdoch. The clip also includes artists and public figures, such as Lou Reed, Stanley Kubrick and Greta Thunberg, alongside the band.
The subject matters because a small number of very wealthy people own or influence major companies and media platforms, giving them a prominent role in public life. Satire uses exaggeration and humour to invite audiences to think about that influence.