A World of Pure Imagination
Nicola Biggerstaff
Scotland has once again taken centre stage in the international news. And once again, unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons. A ‘Willy Wonka Experience’ event hosted in a warehouse in Whiteinch went viral after attendees who paid up to £35 for a ticket and promised a ‘chocolate fantasy like never before’, were instead greeted by lacklustre décor, terrifying characters and three jelly beans for their trouble.
The story has since captured the world’s attention, reported on in Forbes, the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and as far away as SBS News in Australia. It has inspired a new horror movie, signage from the event is selling online for thousands, and has been recreated in the popular video game Fortnite.
It has also since been dubbed the ‘Fyre Festival for kids’, in reference to the 2017 failed music festival by convicted fraudster Billy McFarland, who scammed festival-goers out of thousands of dollars each and left them stranded on a remote island in the Bahamas.
This is, of course, not the fault of the actors involved, who were equally scammed, left to improvise on the day, and tried their utmost to keep the kids happy despite remaining unpaid at time of writing, after being promised £500 for two day’s work.
The London-based House of Illuminati, who hosted the event and only registered with Companies House in November last year, has made a lot of effort to cover their tracks since, with no posts to their official Instagram page and their official website devoid of ‘Latest News’ any later than December last year. Yet, peculiarly, the event’s official, garish, typo-riddled website still stands at time of writing.
All of which, according to experts, was generated using AI, which would corroborate the stories of the actors from the infamous day, some of whom claim their scripts were just “fifteen pages of AI-generated rubbish”.
House of Illuminati appears to be a one-man show by founder Billy Coull, whose track record also includes far-right conspiracy driven novels, also allegedly written using AI.
And while I could sit here lamenting about how this is just another example of both AI and alleged fraudsters once again trying to ruin the very fabric of society, there is a bigger issue at play here, and a bigger takeaway for all of us.
Much like last year’s Raac scandal, what could stand as a better metaphor for the state we’re in than rationing treats and the tears of small children? Late stage capitalism has allowed those who have the means to extract as much from those they can con for as little cost as possible.
Have you ever been overcharged, or charged twice, for a product or service, then struggled to get a refund due to some contractual loophole? You’ve been Wonka’d. Have you had to just suck up the increase in prices of food, fuel and insurance, despite knowing full well you’re getting no respective increase in quality or service? You’ve been Wonka’d.
This idea that absolutely anyone can rock up and take money from local communities before disappearing again is not new. AI, cryptocurrency and other new tech has just given more people the ability to swindle than ever before.
And this isn’t even the first time a Glasgow-based event has left locals feeling ripped off. Five years ago, the first ever Christmas-themed Elfingrove was hit with many negative reviews when the event which charged for tickets was described by one visitor as a tour of the otherwise free museum “with the lights turned off”.
The event returned in December 2021, revamped to include a large outdoor ice rink and food and drink stalls, but was suspended again for 2023 due to rising costs.
We here in Scotland seem to have this illusion of grandeur when it comes to our international image. That we’re a stalwart of social progressiveness, a shining example of what can be achieved with the limited resources and power associated with devolution, thus gaining international sympathy for the independence movement.
Our initial COVID-19 response, the COP26 conference and the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as well as efforts to reduce knife crime and period poverty have all received international acclaim at one time or another, but this is all just a shiny façade. One carefully curated to maintain and improve our reputation to those who don’t know where to look otherwise, who don’t see the cracks.
Rates of poverty have never been higher, and civic pride has never been lower. Our supposedly centre-left government make regular promises to tackle both, yet make contradictory policy which will only make our problems worse in the long-term.
Like the latest suggestion to reduce its taxation powers through ‘mini-enterprise zones’ for pubs, when alcohol and binge drinking culture remains one of the staple issues affecting communities. Like continuing to support new oil and gas licenses, despite also committing to net zero by 2045.
The double standards on display would be enough to make anyone who voted these people into power feel just as conned. Maybe we really are living in a world of pure imagination.