Lane Kocovsky
August 14th, 2015
Film Critque
Disregard for Ethics
In any given movie that one may watch, you can break it down and look at the philosophical meaning behind it and create an ethical perspective. One could take bits and pieces of the movie and compare them to the ethical theories of either one or multiple theorists, with the goal being to create a better understanding of what the film’s ethical basis is and how exactly they incorporate the theorist’s ideas into the film. One of the most recent films that caught the eye of theorists within the ethical department is the movie “Wolf on Wall Street”. In this essay I will present the critique of this movie, the multiple ethical dilemmas such as: Utilitarianism, virtue theory, and how the characters disregarded these ethics in their mission for wealth and success. First I will present a basic breakdown of the movie including: who the characters are, their roles, and plot summary. Next, I will present the arguments in regards to the theories of Utilitarianism and virtue theory, and how the film and characters conveyed them. From here I will show the breakdown of the meta-ethical aspects of the film in regards to human nature and how evil attempts to triumph over good. I will conclude by summarizing how these characters had complete disregard for ethics and their own morals. The movie begins in the year 1987 with a man known as Jordan Belfort who is a stockbroker on Wall Street. On the day known as Black
Disney Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. illustrates ethical issues and situations that range from being highly significant to minor decisions as well as being deeply personal to spanning upper-level corporate culture. As in other films, Pixar masterfully captures and teaches lessons to children and adults alike. This creative story focuses on the monsters that used to hide in our childhood closets and illustrates the trials and hardships in their own world and energy industry. The film acts as a metaphor for real world issues concerning personal and business based morality by inserting these dilemmas in a fictional world that can easily be applied back to reality. In this paper, I will focus on the ethical issues presented in the film, the positive and negative changes characters undergo, unethical rationalizations shown by individuals as well as the business, virtues highlighted throughout, my personal reactions to scenes and the film as a whole, and how Monsters, Inc. has affected the way I approach ethical issues in business.
The realities and practicalities of the world present steady suggestions that run through different movies with respect to ethical decisions. Just as business concentrates on efficient ethical decisions models to strike a balance between making profits, satisfying customers, and achieving stakeholder’s needs, movie directors continue to identify the right combinations of ethical decisions that main characters have to follow through their actions and scripts to foster ethical conduct. Ethical decisions made have causes and effects, consequences, framed in context of how a movie with different scripts can achieve its highest-priority themes and guarantee positive ratings. A 2012 film, The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross and 2014 film, Divergent, directed by Neil Burger presents two ideal films focusing on the ethical decisions made by the main characters. This essay aims at identifying the causes and effects of ethical decisions made by the main characters, the impacts of these decisions, how these decisions affect the society.
The movie takes place in the early 1990’s, when Jordan Belfort partners with Donny Azoff to start his brokerage firm, Stratford-Oakmont. After the introduction given by Jordan, we follow his life from the time that he is 22 years old when he had just started on wall street, all the way to the time of his arrest. Throughout the movie, you can see Jordan’s narcissistic personality aid him in his rise to the top and eventually lead to his fall.
The Movie that I choose to analyze was the movie The Wolf of Wall Street this movie is about a guy who is starting off his career wanting to earn money fast so he goes to Wall Street and works as a broker for a small firm, where he ends up picking up bad advice along with some bad habits that get him rich fast, but not in a very ethical way. Some of the main characters that I will be talking about in this essay are Jordan Belfort also referred to as Jordy, he is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, Donnie Azoff Played by Jonah Hill. There are many other characters in this movie, but these are the main characters that are faced with difficult dilemmas. A lot of the choices that are made in this movie are Unethical. Even though it seems that he does everything for greed you end up understanding the reasons he did those things, but even though they are done for the right reasons does not mean it is right.
In my opinion Wolf of Wall Street is a quintessential and satirical analysis of the ever growing population of businessmen on Wall Street and their respective lifestyles. The basis on which I believe so is due to fact that throughout the piece there is a slew of exuberant and lavish activities which in reality would’ve directed a large amount of attention towards him. In addition to the activities throughout the movie; the fact that director Martin Scorsese promoted the use of improvisation in his film only supports the fact that he wasn’t intending for many of the showings to be accurate or have a certain tact. Furthermore, he let Leo Dicaprio have full control over the character in pinnacle instances which, in turn only proves my belief that
Given these facts, the film can be seen as a cautionary tale considering the present-day homogenization of culture. With an increase in social conformity comes a decrease in personal morality. This is shown by the
Jordan Belfort’s The Wolf of Wall Street is a memoir that chronicles the author's rise and eventual fall in the early 1990s world of trading. Belfort includes details of his extravagant and at times vulgar lifestyle. In addition to this he includes information concerning the exact nature of his illegal stock brokerage firm. However, what literary value does this memoir by a misogynistic, drug addict, felon present?
I am hoping that this essay will expand my understanding of certain philosophical archetypes. In the film, I will recognize philosophical themes in scenes and within the characters. Once an understanding of the themes is achieved, then I will be able to categorize the film as a sufficient or insufficient example. In writing this paper, I hope to determine if “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” demonstrates key ideas and themes associated with relativism, pragmatism and moral realism.
What 2 logical arguments could you refute this film’s points? Take issue with a particular point or the whole idea. (2 marks)
The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese, takes the audience through the life of Jordan Belfort, showing the realities of crime, rampant corruption and fraud on Wall Street and the effects of it. He has everything and he knows it too. He didn’t have to convince the average person that they wanted to be rich. Belfort didn’t start out this way, he was just like the average person, barely making enough money to satisfy himself. He was always money hungry so he went to Wall Street, the financial capital of the world, to become a Wall Street stockbroker. Unfortunately, after Black Monday in 1987, he was fired from his job and forced to go to another brokerage firm on Long Island that focused primarily on penny stocks. After his huge
In addition to analyzing the film in terms of perception, I will also be tying in concepts of self-concept, self-presentation, and the influence that cultural differences have on perception of self and others. In the film, assumptions and misunderstanding are the key points of conflict. The way that the two groups view themselves and the way in which they view each other creates a discordant scenario. They both perceive themselves as being the rational ones, and the lack of access to information on one another leads to a situation in which they are each clinging to
5. How do you think the filmmakers want the audience to respond? Is there a social justice message? If so, what is it?
How do I understand the ethical choices of the central characters? The main ethical dilemma in
Money, sex, drugs, and greed-these four words are characterized and displayed profoundly throughout the movie Wolf of Wall Street. Based on a true story about the life of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), the movie is narrated and gives insight to the struggle, power, and addictions that surrounded Belfort’s life. Belfort was a stockbroker who learned his way as an entry-level worker on Wall Street before creating his own company Stratton Oakmont. Belfort quickly learned that success on Wall Street was a result of doing any means necessary, regardless if it was the truth or providing a false sense of hope. His main scam involved selling cheap stocks and inflating the prices so the brokers can sell at a high price. Although this was illegal, Belfort was so involved and addicted to money and drugs that his scamming ways were irrelevant.
'The Wolf of the Wall Street', written by Jordan Belfort, is a high end structured novel which purely embarks the reader onto a journey exploring one's destined route to social statistic success as well as rotten failure. Self-discovery can possibly conclude to radical reinforcements of amorality, revolting and great human attributes. The story of Jordan Belfort primarily explored these multifaceted concepts through two core values of trust and loyalty. With the benefits of using third person perspective, Belfort can exemplify his past through strong subsidisation of literacy techniques used throughout his novel. Conclusively, Jordan Belfort uses the narration to give his audience a brief insight to his ongoing self-discovery.