Very Important People is an ecological study of the VIP nightlife industry, with a focus on the interaction between promoters, “girls”, and the wealthy men that frequent the nightclubs.
For me, the takeaway is that everybody in this sociological system is being exploited in one way or another. The women, many of whom work in the fashion industry, are pitched that showing up to these events will give them career advantages – meanwhile, they are obviously objectified and used as lures to bring wealthy men to clubs. The wealthy men, in turn, crave the attention and societal status achieved from being surrounded by attractive women. The promoters, who bring the women, are deluded by the belief that they are peers of the wealthy men, while in reality they are mostly excluded from the elite circles they help to maintain:
Promoters were crucial to putting these dreamworlds together, and they were heavily invested in the belief that they too fully belonged in them. For all of their dreaming, promoters remain mostly shut out of the elite.
Mears explains the VIP nightlife system with reference to the idea of conspicuous spending (Veblen goods), and in particular, the concept of a “potlatch” – a type of Native American festival that usually involves elaborate feasts and the destruction of property. The VIP nightlife scene is a product of 21st-century capitalism, with luxury consumption and the pursuit of status driving a new desire for high-status objects and experiences. Nevertheless, it is fascinating that the conspicuous spending applies narrowly to the wealthy men paying for drinks/tables in the club – monetary transactions in any other part of the system (e.g. if promoters pay women to show up) are considered very taboo:
In paying for wildly inflated prices on alcohol, clients buy the invisibility of the labor it took to bring girls to them; they pay to not have to bring girls themselves, or to pay a broker outright to procure girls. They are buying, in part, the illusion of spontaneity.
Overall, Mears gives a balanced take on the system, explaining it for what it is rather than imposing moral judgments. There are even hints of optimism, for example when Mears shares the stories of people who have played their cards right to transcend the system – though tragically it is these successes, few and far between, that inspire many others to make poor decisions. From a personal perspective, I enjoyed the book because it explains a lot of my empirical observations of nights out, such as but not limited to getting turned away at the door of several NYC nightclubs. I am grateful that I can blame the system rather than myself!