Emerald Fennell’s <em>Saltburn </em>as a Cinematic Study in English Class Conservatism

This article examines Emerald Fennell's Saltburn (2023) through the lens of English conservatism, exploring the film's portrayal of rigid socio-economic hierarchies and class stratification, and their interaction with British cultural institutions. Central to this analysis is the main character Oliver Quick, whose nefarious bourgeois aspirations of coveting the aristocratic seat of Saltburn, and whose antagonistic manipulation of the titled Catton family, serve as a potent symbol of the threat posed by the social ascendancy of British middle classes to the English upper classes. Saltburn depicts the invasion of upper-class circles by the plotting bourgeoisie, disrupting the natural order of property ownership and thereby triggering aristocratic class anxieties rooted in traditional and cultural conservatism. Drawing on media and cultural studies, Saltburn is analysed as a work that reinforces an ultimately classist status quo, resonating with hegemonic conservative ideals by endorsing anti-bourgeois sentiment through its villainization of the protagonist, Oliver. By engaging with the film's thematic, narrative, and aesthetic choices, this study seeks to uncover the broader implications of Saltburn's Anglophilic core, positioning it as a cinematic reflection of conservative values enduring in British visual media.