Jackpot Dreams: How Lottery Wins Power the Story in Movies and TV
Winning a contest can be a fascinating plot point
We all fantasize about winning something by chance. We play the lottery, enter contests, and generally throw our hats in the ring hoping we’ll get lucky. Winning a lottery is rare, but it’s a fantastic plot point for story and character development–especially if that lottery is less than ideal or leads to an unexpected outcome. We put together a list of lottery winners in fiction who got more than they bargained for.
Hurley, Lost
In the hit TV show Lost, the lottery plays a pivotal role in the life of Hugo “Hurley” Reyes, one of the survivors of a plane crash that lands on a remote island. Prior to the doomed flight, Hurley wins a massive jackpot using the mysterious numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42. Instead of bringing happiness, his winnings seem to bring misfortune, as strange and tragic events follow him, leading him to believe the numbers are cursed. If you’re a fan of the show, you know this concept ties into its overarching themes of fate, destiny, and the supernatural, as the same numbers appear repeatedly throughout the series. The numbers (and other weird coincidences) hint at the crash victims’ deeper connection to the island’s mysteries.
Charlie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
In the classic 1971 movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory as well as its remake in 2005, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a worldwide contest allows five lucky children to find Golden Tickets inside Wonka chocolate bars. These Golden Tickets win the recipient a tour of Willy Wonka’s magical factory. Great marketing, right? For poor but kind-hearted Charlie Bucket, finding a ticket is a life-changing stroke of luck, granting him the chance to escape poverty and ultimately inherit the factory. But for the other winners, things don’t go as well. The lottery aspect of the story explores themes of fate, greed, and morality, as the children’s true natures are tested once inside the factory. Does winning a lottery grant you unearned prosperity? Or does who you are as a person really matter? Some things cannot be earned with a Golden Ticket.
Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games
In The Hunger Games series, the lottery takes the form of the brutal “Reaping,” where children from each district are randomly selected to compete in a deadly televised battle. Unlike a typical lottery that brings fortune, this one determines life or death, forcing tributes to fight for survival in a dystopian society controlled by the Capitol. Katniss Everdeen does not win this lottery, rather her sister does. But to protect her, she volunteers herself as tribute. The Reaping highlights themes of inequality, oppression, and the illusion of chance, as wealthier districts train their tributes while poorer ones suffer the consequences of the so-called random selection.
Charlie and Yvonne, It Could Happen To You
Inspired by a true story, the 1994 movie It Could Happen to You is a romantic comedy-drama where a kindhearted New York cop, Charlie Lang (played by Nicolas Cage) promises a waitress, Yvonne Biasi (played by Bridget Fonda), half of his potential lottery winnings as a tip when he realizes he doesn’t have enough cash for her. Miraculously, he wins a $4 million jackpot and stays true to his word, splitting the money despite his greedy wife’s objections. The lottery serves as a catalyst for themes of generosity, integrity, and love, ultimately bringing Charlie and Yvonne together while highlighting the contrast between selflessness and material greed.
Preston, Blank Check
Young Preston Waters feels decidedly unlucky in life. His older teenage brothers are running their own business and his dad has a well-paying job but offers very little spending money to Preston. Preston wonders where he can get some money for the things he wants, and to break out of the shackles of, well, being a kid. It seems he’s hit rock bottom when a criminal accidentally runs over his bike. The perpetrator, escaped convict Carl Quigley, doesn’t have time to waste with Preston, so he hastily hands him a blank check to avoid trouble. With that quick and careless action, Preston’s luck is about to change. Seizing the opportunity, Preston fills it out for a million dollars and successfully cashes it, using the money to live out his wildest dreams—buying a mansion, fancy gadgets, and enjoying a lavish lifestyle. Every kid’s dream! However, his luck soon runs out when the criminals come looking for their missing money, forcing him to outsmart them and learn valuable lessons about wealth and happiness.
Alice, Welcome to Me
In the 2014 film Welcome to Me, the lottery serves as a turning point for Alice Klieg (played by Kristen Wiig), a woman with borderline personality disorder and living on disability benefits who wins an $86 million jackpot. Her win lands her on the local news, but she’s cut off by cameras when she starts talking about her lifestyle on air. A fan of Oprah Winfrey, she decides to use the money she’s just won to create her own space for her brand of TV commentary. She spends her winnings on creating her own eccentric talk show, where she shares personal stories, reenacts past traumas, and indulges in bizarre on-air antics. How far can the show go before getting itself canceled? With a ton of money funding it, who’s to say? The lottery win in this movie highlights themes of mental health, self-obsession, and the consequences of unchecked wealth, as Alice’s newfound fortune amplifies both her aspirations and her struggles.
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