The Lotos-Eaters

This special issue examines the popular TV series The White Lotus as a site for anthropological provocation to examine contemporary systems of privilege. The introduction analyses how power, desire and inequalities are orchestrated. It points to the show's attempt to criticise commodity capitalism while reproducing the commercialised relations it criticises. This parallels the storylines of the show: every attempt to escape or critique the current system, whether through moral posturing or romantic, social or spiritual seekings, becomes reabsorbed into it, often resulting in reproducing privilege itself. The issue's contributions reflect the multifaceted infrastructures – material, affective and economic – through which privilege in luxury tourism and wellness industries operates.