Ask yourself, “What would Tanya do?” And then do the exact opposite
It starts with a organic structure in a casket , which should have been the first clue . Yes , it is paired with dramatic trailer shots of pristine beach , set in a glamorous refuge full of beautiful the great unwashed , and every frame is packed with idealised leisure time . But it ’s justly there , up front — even if you missed the seize with teeth sarcasm , the skin - creep cringe , or the omnipresent caricature of the Ugly American . Go back to the beginning , and remember : A human being is dead . The White Lotusis nottravel inspiration .
Yet it ’s hard to refuse the glamour in their solipsism , movie - star aura with surface - stage prayer . As we near the season 3 premiere of Mike White ’s show , the resort sprightliness aspiration political machine is in full effect . There aremerchcollabs , activations , and countlessonline guidesexplaining how to travel like the fantastic personalities at the Congress of Racial Equality of the show .
Thrillist has foundthatThe White Lotusconsistently turns its locations into objects of serious itchy feet : In spring 2023 , month after season 2 captivated viewers with lingering nip of the Four Seasons in Taormina , Sicily , the hotel experienced an uttermost crush — the bar manager report literal tear from tourists who could n’t get in , and the hotel had to modify policies to make indisputable their guests could get at service without being sweep over by starstruck plebeian lookie - Adolf Loos . As a further , and perhaps more modern , datum point : entanglement hunt forSicilyspiked some 50 % higher than usual after the show wrap at the death of 2022 , agree toSkift .
Illustration by Lille Allen for Thrillist
But the fabricated guests on HBO ’s outstanding anthology series are the last masses you should emulate on vacation : time of year 1 role player Steve Zahn ’s Mark Mossbacher , an insecure , philandering , habitual oversharer who is largely blind to his own privilege , and his on - screen house are fully dysfunctional . In time of year 2 , Jennifer Coolidge ’s Tanya McQuoid is an unstable narcissist who stumble her way through a serial of deeply helter-skelter relationship , both intimate and financial . time of year 2 ’s Aubrey Plaza takes amasterfully polarizingturn as Harper Spiller , a sharply misanthropic attorney whose wedding is in an unhappy , bickering groove , and that ’s just the beginning . Almost every character display horrify degrees of unkindness and entitlement as they go about tread staff , local culture , and each other like red-hot , bad bullshit in a 5 - superstar china shop .
In truth , they are all of the things that a good traveler should never be : unlettered , closed - off , incurious , boorish . In other run-in , they ’re truthful outsiders parachute in for a self - absorbed stop in a country and culture they view as little more than airplane propeller and backdrops for their vacations . But how are you even suppose to enjoy the opinion if you ca n’t get your head out of your atomic number 33 ?
The White Lotushas become such a cultural touchstone surrounded by so much hype and hype that it has left a profound impact on stamping ground - goers . An Instagram search for “ White Lotus vibes ” yields sempiternal , mostly unironic effect . Even those vacationist who are distinctly unlike the in - universe Guest find themselves wondering what Tanya would do . That is to say , you could no longer go to a resort without compare it to the show .
There was a standardized phenomenon around the release ofThe Menuin 2022 , a movie that went out of its manner to skewer the culture surrounding fine dining restaurants , and o.k. diners themselves in particular . At some point during any nice dinner party out , someone was obligated to bring up in a half - awestruck , half - smirking direction how much it felt like the picture show , as if adding a layer of irony or ego - cognizance to say , “ Yeah , ok , sure . We like fine dining , but we ’re not reallylike that . Right ? ”
Now , after two season of melodramatic megalomania in HBO ’s prime Sunday night prison term time slot , when someone come back from a visit to a hangout , they citeThe White Lotusin much the same mode . Whether the trip was to Thailand on a honeymoon , Hawaii with the kids , or an all - inclusive in Cancún , the show has become an integral part of our popular excogitation of “ lavishness , ” what it means and what it entails , and most of all how itlooksin the modus vivendi - influencing age . It is a pointed topic of condition , from the planning stages through the return flight , scouting out on the button how to match that luxurious facade , even if chaos awaits back home . With , maybe , some petty thought as to how you may avoid being as frightful as the Di Grasso men from season 2 .
So , then , the lingering question : ShouldThe White Lotuskeep you out from resort travel ?
Let ’s not make the baby out with the bathwater . resort are fun , and it ’s nice to give in to coddle once in a while , specially in a particularly pregnant time in the world . Merely going to a resort does n’t make you an unconsidered oaf . In fact , many of the folk at Thrillist are already on the phonograph record asfans of an all - inclusive experience . So , here ’s the moral rather : get the show be a word of advice , not a conviction .
Is n’t that what art should do anyway ? shove us out of our routines , shake us alive with perverted mimicry , and give us insight into our own habits by showing antic impersonation of our grimly recognizable ego ? As a show and as art , The White Lotusis a success . It is hold a mirror to our worst tourist instinct , that we may advantageously avoid them in the time to come .
Just remember , when you do take aset - jettingvisit to The Four Seasons in Maui , or Taormina , or Koh Samui , to be a good guest and a secure worldwide citizen . Be more inquisitive , open , and kind . Bask in luxury , but do n’t be an asshole about it . And if you find yourselfpromising to go into businesswith a particularly inspirational resort employee , well , maybe follow through on that .
