In Wes Anderson's Rushmore, we see two general social classes interacting with one another: rich and not rich. I don't want to say middle-class or upper or lower middle class because as a viewer, I can't identify which one Max or Rosemary or any other of the supporting characters belong to. Max is certainly part of the "not rich" category while Bill Murray's character, Herman, is rich. Anderson's choice to make the two main characters come from different economic classes was a good one because it made their relationship more valuable. When Rosemary is put in the middle of Herman and Max, it's not a war between social class but rather between age. I think this shows that factors like age and things like gender and physical appearance are more dividing than social class. When Herman asks Max about his dad's job, Max lies because he doesn't want his dads job as a barber to affect his social standing. Being on the lower end of the spectrum, Max is definitely more aware of his social standing than his classmates at Rushmore are. However, the students all wear the same uniform and attend the same school, so Max doesn't stand out. Ironically, when Max goes to public school, he's automatically richer seeming because of the way he dresses and how he presents himself. Max was born into his not rich lifestyle, but he doesn't allow that to hinder him in anyway.
Social class can essentially be procured by an individual's physical presentation. If you put two, well groomed, intelligent sounding boys in blazers side by side, they would be classified the same. Max doesn't talk about money unless it's brought to his attention by someone else. I think that social class is only somewhat dependent on economic status. The rest is up to the individual. In the United States, an individual can make their dreams come true by working hard, which is what Max does throughout the movie. With scholarships, students like Max have the power to earn their education. Each individual decides for themselves how much effort and work their willing to put in in order to achieve the economic and social status that they want to be a part of. Class rank is not a definite thing, for it can be raised or lowered. Everyone starts off on a different rung on the social ladder and they can choose to climb up or down.
I actually feel that Max's low economic status puts him in a higher social class - or it should anyway. If Max's financial background has him working harder, doing more, achieving more, shouldn't that make him better off in life than his classmates? Sure, they're already wealthy, but as a result of that they don't really have the drive that Max does to succeed. There are too many factors that go into someone's social class that it's hard to point them all out. For example, take the student body of New Trier. When it comes to economic status, we're all pretty much on the same page give or take, yet many would argue the social standings of their peers. Social class is just too bendable to be taken too seriously.
