Fyre

Fyre_720p(480P)

source: Fyre

Funny how things work out; both Netflix and Hulu have released a documentary on the infamous scam that was the Fyre Festival. The two documentaries approach the story from a different angle and, having seen both of them now, the Hulu one, "Fyre Fraud," is definitely the stronger of the two; it offers far more context and it's much more entertaining than this one. Netflix's "Fyre" omits a lot of context and the finer details of surrounding events, in order to offer a much-more narrow focus on the specific crew members responsible for organising the event and, as a consequence of the Fyre Festival crew's direct involvement, is much more biased with the film insistently implying that the event was merely an "honest mistake" instead of a deliberate scam. Yet, despite ignoring key facts in order to cast the event in a more positive light, I have a greater criticism towards the production itself: unfortunately, "Fyre" relies on a "tell; don't show" approach to documentary making; it's much more of a disjointed collection of orated testimony than a comprehensive audio-visual record of what happened. Then there's Hulu's "Fyre Fraud" which, as the name suggest, takes a step back to focus on Billy Macfarland's long-game con, offering information on the antecedent events, the lasting cultural and legal impact, and plenty of concurrent transactions that aren't exclusively focused on the "Fyre Festival" itself. This extra context plus the greater breadth of the documentary, make it more accessible to people not already familiar with scandal. Additionally, visuals and music play a much bigger part of the viewing experience. It does all of this while retaining a slight sense of humour about things and offering some provocative subtext on the hollow promises at the heart of a generation's optimism. So here we are: two documentaries; each offering a unique perspective on the same scandal. If you have the time, it can be worth while to watch both of them to get a more-complete picture of what happened this controversial disaster. I definitely prefer "Fyre Fraud's" greater context and insight on the key figures involved but I can also see why some people may prefer "Fyre's" more-narrow, sympathetic focus; to put it in ratings, I'd give "Fyre Fraud" a 9/10 and "Fyre" a 6/10. If you want to know everything about the Fyre Festival you can: watch both. If you're only going to watch one: watch Hulu's "Fyre Fraud"; it offers more context and is generally far more entertaining.

When it rains it pours. Both Netflix and Hulu decided to come out with documentaries about the Fyre Festival at almost exactly the same time. The main takeaway from both is just how easy it is to separate people from a *lot* of money if you're willing to lie with a straight face, and when it comes to that, there's really no substitute for letting McFarland tell the story in his own words, which is what the Hulu version does. Unfortunately, so much of that version is devoted to him that they leave out some pretty important things, so if you only watch one, definitely watch this one instead. This version is a much better documentary all around, and gives a much more complete picture of what happened. I had exactly the same reaction watching this as I do watching documentaries about religious cults. There's no question McFarland is a pathological liar and narcissistic sociopath, and absolutely everything about him is a red flag. If I ran into someone like that, I would immediately conclude he was at best a blowhard, and more likely a straight up con man, yet somehow he was able to put a lot sincere, hard working people under his spell, some of whom were young and naive, but some of whom definitely should have known better. My guess is he's already running scams from inside Club Fed, but if not, there's no question he'll waste no time once he gets out, and he'll have no trouble finding marks. Of course, in the end, the real victims are the Bahamians worked round the clock trying to make this happened, and then didn't get paid. They were pretty much left out of the Hulu version, but my understanding is that this film is raising awareness of them, and they're getting some relief.

I guess not being a social media follower or a rich kid I was unaware of this festival fraud. The whole part of a festival for me is about the camping music and atmosphere such as I have experienced at Glastonbury and other UK music festivals. Hand on heart I can't feel sorry for all the rich kids that got duped specialy after listening to one of them admit to wrecking the large dome like tents and pissing on beds because he didn't want people staying in them near him! However I do feel sorry for the local people who worked hard and not only didn't get paid but also lost their own money in the process I have never heard of Billy McFarland the guy who organised ,lied and in effect stole millions in the process of selling a 5 star music festival experience to the over privalaged and delivering a bag of s***e. The main thing that left me speechless was the sentence that this guy was given,taking into account that whilst on bail he tried to and did sell exclusive tickets to high profile events under another person that were also not genuine ! Apparently this holds a 20 year sentence of which he was given 6 yrs!! WTF so he basically got a slap on the wrist! Wouldn't surprise me if he has a pimped out cell to boot!

Firstly, after watching both "Fyre" (Netflix) and "Fyre Fraud" (Hulu), both dropped on the same day, is have to say the Netflix version is marginally better. Both are ultimately shallow experiences, and suffer though from the same problem. They themselves, like the festival, rely on baiting, cult of celebrity, and neither have any meat to them or contextualization of what is classic Ponzi, fed in this case, by social media manipulation. Ultimately both documentaries are as vapid as these seller *and buyers* of Frye illusion. Ponzi, like all cons, relies on the victims' greed, and not enough time is spent on just how unsympathetic those who bought in were as well. To be sure the prime organizers deserved to be in prison, but many of the "duped' "influencers" continued to message for their own self interest creating more victims, just as a classic Ponzi relies on initial victims then victimizing a boarding base. Really just how sympathetic is a vapid but duped influencer-model who knowingly dupes more people? Lastly I find it funny that as I am typing this this film is more than half half "10" scores in voting, and all the "10s" are from single use accounts-- all created to upvote this film. The irony of PR companies for a film about social media manipulation -- manipulating IMDB scores striking!

There is a darkness in my soul, and it definitely has a soft spot for watching rich jerks and losers get some comeuppance. When I first heard about this festival back in 2017, I just thought this to myself. "You're gonna go to a festival being promoted by influencers, a third tier rapper and a paunchy looking loser with a very punchable face who sells "lifestyles" and parties?" How could this not fail? I loved the misery these pampered millennials went through, suddenly realizing the grift they fell into that is influencer currency was about as useful as Monopoly money on Mars. I loved the moment their douchey smiles were wiped off their faces to realize they had to live like the "poors" and they deserved every bit of their punishment. Call me a sad petty man.... I don't care. Being from a poor background and barely being considered middle class these days makes me realize one thing. Those who have money are certainly dumb....and separating them from their cash is much easier than expected. Billy McFarland knew this, and even in the third act of the film he still found idiots to buy into his grift. Unfortunately, this fat sack of nonsense will be back because one thing vacuous people will continue to desire is vacuous and empty fulfillment in online capital. I will admit, I feel incredibly bad for the islanders. Having worked in 100-degree heat for much of my life would leave me really pissed off if I was not paid for hard work. Frankly, the organizers were lucky they got away with their lives because the one and only time I did not get paid for my outdoor electrical work...I ripped out the electrical panel and left a very nice house without power. I knew the guy that replaced the panel (for double the cost mind you) and they were without power for nearly two weeks in 100+ degree weather. I'm glad the restaurant owner was able to get some money from very generous people online. Too bad the perpetrator never will do the same for her. I will say this and I don't care for your dislikes...if this kind of life and behavior is something you want and you are okay with this type of money making..get a life. If you follow influencers....please, really get a stinking life. And if you want to be like Billy McFarland and Ja Rule....get a soul.

I'm an oldie, and a festival veteran that has seen once great events get hijacked by the rich and gentrified. Even Burning Man is now a cabal of trust fund kids desperate to prove that their inherited wealth isn't the reason for Global Warming, because they got there in a pig poop powered bus and have a Celtic tattoo. Glastonbury is now about which fashion designer made your wellington boots. Getting covered in mud, rained out, wind swept, sun burnt, dehydrated, not eating for 2 days were part of the experience. One thing you could rely on was that fellow festival goers would help out if you needed it, there was always a sense of camaraderie. Even the original Woodstock, a living hell, was turned into one of the greatest ever experiences because of the love shown to each other by total strangers. The common factor back in the day was that these festivals had grown from nothing, were organic, the bad ones died off, the good ones grew. Not FYRE, my God, not even close. The more I watched this doc' the more vindicated I felt about my own views of what the festival scene has become. It's now riddled with fakers, fraudsters, wannabes, poseurs, social media addicts and worst of all...people that don't even love music, just themselves and their Instagram accounts. From the beginning, although I have no conclusive evidence, I suspect cocaine was a huge factor. Macho Alpha's trying to out snort each other and construct more elaborate party schemes to promote an app' until they ended up with FYRE. Surely buying Pablo Escobar's island, and then promoting it as such is a clue? (The festival was on that particular island until cancelled by PE's lawyer after FYRE used his name). The oneness and kinship often displayed at other festivals in the past when things got tough was missing here. The slightest adversity turned 5,000 socialites into a baying mob that turned on each other for toilet roll. Imagine Lord Of The Flies but without the rescue at the end? Welcome to FYRE on day 1, day 1 !!! In all of my time I've never heard the cry 'Where's my villa'?! You were lucky if you had a 2 person tent and it was definitely a luxury. FYRE had large domed tents with beds and mattresses in, but just weren't good enough, apparently. As organisers fled the blood thirsty, vengeful mob and unpaid contractors we're left looking at the wreckage and an island ripped of by rich guys yet again. This is a story of greed, machismo, hype, fakery and blatant fraud. But also a moral tale. Karma does exist and it really doesn't care how much money you have. I laughed so much I'm about to watch this again. It's my new happy place.

I had no idea what Fyre was until I saw it on Netflix and then on social media. Fyre was supposed to be the biggest and grandest music festival in 2017. To the guests, they promised private jets, luxurious villas, meals cooked by celebrity chefs, and the coolest bands and music. What happened were leftover tents, two pieces of brown bread and cheese for lunch, canceled bands, no music, and very little food and water. Guests, who were filthy rich young people, literally fought for food and shelter. It was simply outrageous. I really think that entrepreneur is a psychopath and charming liar. I don't know, his smile tells something. I feel a little sorry for the guests, but at least they're filthy rich and they can easily recover from it. What's actually sad here is the unpaid staff. They paid $250,000 to Kendall Jenner just to post one stupid Fyre advertisement on IG, and they can't pay the hundreds of workers and the restaurant owner? What's going on with this world? What's more shocking is the story of one of the staff, where he was willing to perform a sexual act just to save the festival. Shocking. It is a very interesting and eye-opening documentary. Must watch.