It’s a story about America, starring a self-made billionaire. A former stockbroker, they built an empire based on the cult of their personality, and then tapped working-class aspirations to see that empire soar. They seem stylish yet authoritarian, with little appetite for small talk and a reputation for being rude. A New Jersey native, and convicted felon. I am, of course, talking of Martha Stewart.
Martha, a new documentary about the wunder-hostess and homemaker, has debuted on Netflix at a moment in which we are debating what makes some people wildly popular despite a personality so flawed. For days now we have been picking over the success of Donald Trump’s electoral campaign, and how he persuaded people to vote for him in greater numbers than before. I urge you to look to Martha for clues as to his success: I found its insights more revealing about US myth-building and iconography than many other hand-wringing entreaties currently being offered on the theme.