1987 movie Wall Street
Media is an important social catalyst in all societies, reflecting and shaping modern culture throughout the world.
This individual essay is designed to develop an appreciation of how media helps to present concepts that relate to the course material. It is an alternate way of looking at the world of business and can give some indication of how not only corporate structures have changed but how the attitudes of the wider society towards business in general have changed over the years. Business people have been presented in more nunaced ways in recent times but some of the old prejudices remain.
If we think of the rationale for this assignment we can consider that very few people would read a long sociological report on the plight of migrant farm workers during the Great Depression. But millions read John Steinbeck’s classic novel The Grapes of Wrath and/or watched the movie. The presentation of important social and political issues in a format which is accessible is therefore an important part of modern society.
Your assignment is to watch one of the movies, or read one of the books listed, and write an essay. This assignment does not require as much research as a regular essay. However, in all cases you must do some research on the objectives of the movie’s director, the writer who wrote the novel upon which the movie is based, or the general topic of the film.
The essay must be 1,000 to 1,400 words on one of the following topics:
2. Watch the 1987 movie Wall Street, directed by Oliver Stone and staring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen. The main character Gekko says: “Greed is good.” Compare Gekko’s philosophy of wealth creation and accumulation with that of Aristotle.