Glass Onion: What the new film can teach Australian startups about the risks of the genius founder myth

This article contains major spoilers for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

Glass Onion could not have come at a better time. Director Rian Johnson’s new whodunnit challenges the myth of the startup founder at a moment when real-life billionaires are facing their own reality checks: dramatic business failures, tumbling valuations, and the odd social media meltdown all backdrop the big-screen successor to Knives Out.

Those parallels — plus a cast led by Daniel Craig, Janelle Monáe, and Edward Norton — have led Glass Onion to become one of Netflix’s most-watched movies, with a third instalment all but guaranteed. And even though it’s a work of pure fiction, the film has some lessons for an Australian startup community reckoning with challenges that the next tech ‘disruptor’ won’t be able to solve on their own.

It’s not about any one founder, but the founder myth

Glass Onion centres around Miles Bron (Norton), a billionaire who echoes the self-confidence and world-changing idealism exhibited by many big-name founders. However, audiences have drawn the most direct comparison to Elon Musk, whose tumultuous Twitter buyout crowded headlines through Glass Onion‘s premiere season. Johnson is aware of the comparisons, too. “It’s so weird,” Johnson told WIRED of his film’s uncanny parallels.

“It’s very bizarre.”

The likenesses don’t stop there. Bron operates an omnipresent global delivery business, echoing Amazon and Jeff Bezos. He bankrolls a controversial, right-wing social media personality, mirroring the backing of a conservative video platform by Peter Thiel. One shot mimics Elizabeth Holmes. Even the downfall of Bron’s island retreat is reminiscent of FTX’s corporate implosion in the Bahamas.

Like some other real-world figures, Bron is eventually outed as a fraud, who stole his business idea from deceased co-founder Cassandra Bland (Monáe). However, equating Bron with any particular founder misses the point. Glass Onion critiques a callous, win-at-all-costs mindset more than any individual, no matter how apt the comparisons may appear.

“There’s a lot of general stuff about that sort of species of tech billionaire that went directly into it,” Johnson told WIRED.

Of course, not every founder with a too-good-to-be-true origin story is pushing technology with the power to literally explode planet Earth, but Glass Onion could cause the Australian startup scene to question whether founder myths match reality.

Some viewers are already conscious of how media representations like Glass Onion are challenging wholly positive startup narratives. It is one of a stream of new films and TV series which skewer a category of “malignant, narcissistic tech bros”, said Farah Azizan, a communications expert with experience working alongside startup firms.

“The lines between satire and reality are blurred.”

True leadership means empowering others

Glass Onion delights in disruption. The coterie of scientists, politicians, and influencers assembled on the island was handpicked for their disruptive capabilities, and what Bron described as the ability to overturn established norms. Yet the film unpacks this myth, too: those branded as disruptors are ultimately revealed as sycophants or cowards, who back Bron and his dangerous status quo.

The film shed light on “the negative effects of exploitative leadership, with some characters being too afraid to speak up and challenge authority,” said Aaron Bassin, CEO of bridging finance startup Bridgit.

Ultimately it is Helen Brand (also played by Monáe), the twin sister of company co-founder Cassandra, who emerges as the true disruptor. She only arrives on the island after smashing a complex puzzle box, containing her sister’s invitation, into pieces. In the climactic scene, she sets the island ablaze while toppling priceless artworks. She moves fast; she breaks things.

And Benoit Blanc, the Southern detective played with utter joy by Daniel Craig, presents a more constructive form of leadership. In his quest to solve the mystery of Cassandra Bland’s death, he is the one who empowers Helen to attend the island party in disguise, breaking the case open.

“It serves as a reminder that true leadership involves fostering and inspiring others to reach their full potential, rather than exploiting their talents for personal gain,” Bassin added.

More regulatory scrutiny is on the way

The film takes place in 2020, in the midst of COVID-19 lockdown protocols and social distancing measures. This also means the world of Glass Onion occurs in a world before soaring inflation and interest rates clamped down on record-breaking tech valuation growth. In one scene, business leaders question Bron’s plan to launch a risky, highly volatile fuel source he bills as a green alternative to fossil fuels, but those concerns are overruled by one of his chosen ‘disruptors’.

In the real world, founders may have a tougher time winning over investors in today’s market, who are increasingly unlikely to back business decisions with such profound risk profiles.

Outside regulation is rapidly closing in on false claims of green innovation, too. Any Australian founder hoping to woo investors with their sustainability claims will need to need to back it up if their company goes public, now the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is cracking down on ‘greenwashing’ and false environmental declarations.

Hubris and lies saw Bron’s island set alight and his business empire in ruins. Savvy Australian investors and market watchdogs intend to stop the same fate from afflicting local companies, and the leaders driving genuine change.