5 Vital Life Lessons From Netflix’s ‘Fyre’ Documentary
7 min readStreaming platform Netflix released a lot of heavy hitters the last few weeks—we lovedTidying Up with Marie Kondo so much that we dedicated one article for that alone.

One other Netflix original—a documentary this time—is also making waves. And we’re more than excited to share with you the things we loved about it.
Where there is smoke, there is Fyre
Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened provides viewers with a more insider approach to one of the most bizarre events of 2017.
The documentary tells the story of the botched Fyre Festival, supposedly a “luxury†music festival in the Bahamas. The festival was put up by entrepreneur Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule.
Although there was much hype that surrounded the event, thanks to the massive influencer marketing employed by the organizers, the entire event itself was anything but FOMO-inducing.
If you haven’t seen the documentary yet, we strongly encourage you to do so. But if you’re still on the fence as to whether or not you should watch it, we’ve handpicked some nuggets from this surreal event. Trust us, you can get more than just a healthy dose of schadenfreude there.
1. Not all influencers are made equal
In this day and age, everyone wants to be social media famous. But it doesn’t stop there: people who want to
Through the power of influencer marketing, thousands of people were convinced to part with their
Posts by people like Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, and Hailey Baldwin—social media personalities with legions
Although influencers aren’t inherently bad, Fyre revealed a sinister side about our relationship with our favorite Instagram-famous personalities.
First, it shows how gullible people are
Since influencers are now deeply embedded in our collective online DNA, the least we can do is become more discerning with the people we follow as well as the products and services they shove down our throats. Just because some model tells you to jump doesn’t mean you’ll ask, “how high?â€
(Read: 10 Ways Being A “Tita” Actually Saves You A Lot Of Money)
2. Learn how to stave off FOMO
Fear of missing out (FOMO) is one of the nastiest diseases of this epoch with a huge effect on not just our feelings but our finances (as we’ve covered before). It turns our social media habits against us so we will have this miserable feeling gnawing us from the inside. Unfortunately, brands exploit our social media-driven frustration to turn our despair into sales.
Going back to the case of Fyre, the
Those who put more premium in the number
In one of the outtakes used in the documentary, McFarland even admitted that they’re “selling a pipe dream to your average loser.†Guess who’s the loser there?
3. Learn how to cut your losses
Hubris is a dangerous game to play. It gives you the mindset that everything is doable even if the odds are astronomically slim.
Although influencers played a huge part in creating this
When the cracks in the festival preparation were beginning to reveal themselves, McFarland still insisted they
All this and more could’ve been prevented if they nipped it in the bud before it even escalated. It was eventually revealed that McFarlane doesn’t know how to stop. This is even evident when they talk about his other
Whether you have loans you must settle or some personal issues to contend with, you must deal with your problems one
(Read: How Debt And Financial Distress Can Affect Your Behavior)
4. Walk away when it’s too much
Although Fyre Festival is full of villains, there are a few diamonds in the rough—one of them was seasoned
At one point in the documentary, the ordeal became surreal after the Bahamian customs blocked the importation of four containers of water for the guests. With no drinkable water for the guests, McFarland contacted King and insisted on the latter giving sexual favors to the customs officer to get the water. In a stunning twist of events, King was ready to comply—only for the containers to be cleared without any favors given.
What can we learn about the whole ordeal? Sometimes, we are willing to risk life and limb for people even if
(Read: 5 People Share How They Paid Off Their Debts)
5. Do not overpromise
In a report by the Washington Post, the author wrote that the Fyre Festival
Case in point: McFarland’s Magnises, a membership club giving subscribers exclusive access to some of the
Unfortunately, the festival
Netflix’s Fyre can be a lot of things: a case study on influencer marketing, a cautionary tale about overpromising and underdelivering, a hilarious
Also, we all need a friend like Andy King in our lives.
Sources: Forbes, The New Republic, Pitchfork