Wall Street: Analyis - Movie Review Example

Wall street: movie analyis Does history repeat itself? The age old adage may ring true, especially when it comes to an analysis of the Great Depression and the parallels with the economic crisis of today. Financial instability over the past forty years is a result of free markets run wild, unscrupulous investors, greed and the universal entrenchment of capitalism. In his 1987 blockbuster Wall Street, Oliver Stone brought home the excesses of the greed-driven stockbroker industry and 1980s consumerism. In a powerful movie which shares many parallels with the current economic crisis of today, Stone assembled a high-profile cast which included Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen & Daryl Hannah. The character of Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, earned the actor an Oscar for his persuasive portrayal of a money-hungry capitalist bent on taking over the world. An incredibly timely and topical movie in light of the global economic crisis, this essay will explore the major themes discussed in the movie and demonstrated how the plot compares to social issues in today’s society. We will argue that Wall Street remains relevant and topical, especially as it relates to greed and individualism in America today. Greed is an important theme explored in Wall Street and the following will provide a historical overview of the role of greed in stimulating capitalism and in individualism as part of the cultural revolution of the 1960s. Greed and the Triumph of the Individual Gordon Gekko, the main protagonist played by Michael Douglas exemplifies the ideal characteristics of capitalist investor. He is a shrewd investor, a corporate raider, and individualist only concerned about himself and the bottom line. Accordingly, greed motivates Gordon Gekko and his most famous line, one which probably earned him his Oscar award in 1988 was, "greed, for lack of a better word, is good". According to renowned social historian and economic scholar Eric Hobsbawm, the rise of the individual in modern American society can be traced to the cultural revolution of the 1960s. Thus, while the “hippie” movement of the 1960s was perceived by many as a peaceful and loving movement which rejected consumerism, it actually paved the way for the supremacy of the individual in American society. One must be individualistic for greed to exist and Eric Hobsbawm traces this cultural revolution to the young: teenagers started wearing jeans – prior to that only farmers wore them – and rock music became the voice of a generation (Hobsbawm 324). In fact, industries saw the potential of this young and increasingly powerful generation and catered to it through the “flourishing industries of cosmetics, hair-care and personal hygiene” (Hobsbawm 326). Hobsbawm asserts that the social revolution of the 1960s was as much a capitalist venture as a social and cultural revolution. The result of this “concentrated mass of purchasing power” (Hobsbawm 326) was the development of a sort of cultural hegemony, with blue jeans and rock music the identifiers of modern youth. Cultural symbols of identity thus perpetuated an Anglo-American global cultural hegemony. Additionally, "the cultural revolution of the latest twentieth century can thus best be understood as the triumph of the individual over society, or rather, the breaking of the threads which in the past had woven human beings into social textures" (Hobsbawm 324-330). In addition to the rise of individualism and the concurrent mass concentration of capital in the United States, greed paved the way for self-centered traders such as Gordon Gekko and the now infamous Bernie Madoff. Greed and Global Economic Crisis Wall Street provides a persuasive critique of an economy based upon greed, speculation and unscrupulous investors. Accordingly, the United States is presently in the worst economic crisis in American history since the Great Depression. While Bud Fox is a young, emerging stock broker committed to getting to the top of the corporate ladder, Gordon Gekko exemplifies the aggressive, shrewd, and greedy type of investor who precipitated the economic crisis of today. Intent on maximizing profit and driven by greed, investors such as Gordon Gekko paved the way for the economic mess that this country now finds itself in. While virtually uncontested at the helm of the world’s strongest economy, the United States has recently witnessed ominous signs of an impending economic meltdown. A variety of factors precipitated the current economic crisis, an event which draws parallels with the Great Depression eighty years ago. Some of the precursors to the current financial crisis include the implosion of the American sub-prime lending market, a mortgage market in crisis and an induced credit crunch with global ramifications. Banks for foreclosing, people are losing their homes and the international economic situation is precarious as global lenders are closing their doors and filing for bankruptcy. The correlations with this financial crisis to the Great Depression of 1929 are so similar that it is eerie. Attempting to understand the reasons for the Great Depression, John Kenneth Galbraith analyzed the economic situation in the United States leading up to the Depression and outlined the preconditions for the crisis. Seeing the rise in speculation as perhaps the most important precondition for the Great Crash of 1929, Galbraith emphatically argues that an economy based upon speculation, such as through stocks, bonds, currencies, real estate, derivatives, and commodities is inherently unstable from a macroeconomic perspective and prone to a burst in the speculative bubble. Optimism is a characteristic of the speculative investor and Galbraith argues that an economic system with a speculative basis is liable to crash and subsequently a shaky basis for an economy. Gordon Gekko made his livelihood through speculation and greed motivated each and every of his actions. Greed drove Gekko and Fox as well as Bernie Madoff and the thousands of other aggressive investors whose actions directly paved the way for the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1929. In addition to the risks caused by a speculative market, income inequality, so pervasive in the United States today has contributed to an unstable economy and this income distribution imbalance exacerbates instability. People like Gordon Gekko and Bud Fox thrive on this inequality and Oliver Stone’s Wall Street has done an excellent job highlighting some of the major issues surrounding greed, individualism and unrestrained investors. Concluding Remarks The blockbuster movie Wall Street is incredibly timely in light of the rise of greed, individualism and the current global economic meltdown. Oliver Stone’s all-star cast of characters did an excellent job highlighting the predatory nature of investors and the dependence on speculation for the American economic market to function. Oliver Stone has done an excellent job exploring the excesses of a greed-driven economy and 1980s consumerism. While the issues raised in the movie were particualr to the mid-to-late 1980s, many of the issues remain true today. Accordingly, the movie Wall Street remains incredibly in light of the global economic crisis, and relevant more than twenty years after it was first produced. Works Cited Galbraith, J.K. The Great Crash, 1929. New York: Penguin Books, 1992. Hobsbawm, Eric. Age of Extremes: The Short History of the Twentieth Century: 1914-1991. London: Abacus, 1994. Wade, Robert. The First-World Debt Crisis of 2007–2010 in Global Perspective. Last Accessed October 1, 2009 http://www.challengemagazine.com/extra/023_054.pdf Wall Street. Oliver Stone. 1987. Read More