Wall Street 1 Movie Analysis Essay

Introduction

Wall Street 1 is a 1987 movie co-written and directed by Oliver Stone when the finance in New York was irregular, and the "yuppie" generation was on the rise (Wall Street 1, 1987). The yuppie was a group of greedy young experts who made profits from the stock market. The main actors are Gordon Gekko, an unscrupulous corporate and wealthy older guy, and Bud Fox; a young stockbroker brought up from a respectable working-class family (Wall Street 1, 1987). The latter admires Gordon because of his entrepreneurship skills and success in the stock business. They work together and using the inside information from Bluestar Company. Bud starts to get richer, but unknowingly his dealings attract Securities and Exchange Commission suspicions. He is however caught in a dilemma when he finds out that Gekko plans to buy the company, leaving his family penniless, which he does not agree with, and he devises a plan to bring him down. He is sentenced for his unethical dealings, but he brings Gordon down with him (Wall Street 1, 1987). This paper focuses on the ethical side of the story, not the financial activities surrounding the Wall Street. It focuses on the prospect where Bud looks for Gekko for specified business activities until Bud re-evaluates his mind to continue with the business that Gekko introduces him in. The major center of attention to the economic phase of the movie is how the aspect of greediness affects our current society.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Ethical analysis of the movie

Wall Street's central theme is greed (Ethics Paper, 2016). Gordon and his protege Bud use greed as motivation to outdo the other stockbrokers. The promise that the ambitious young professional will live a high life prompts Bud to betray his principles, but a shift is seen when he learns of Gordon deceitful plans. The disadvantages of greed are shown where the damages come at the end because his father and other innocent workers are almost left penniless. Bud also loses his trophy girlfriend, Darien and end up in police custody (Ethics Paper, 2016). The plot shows to what extent the stockbrokers can go to get rich and the question of how much is enough springs up. Gordon is already wealthy, but he still wants to go behind Bud and buy Bluestar Airline Company. The two main characters lack honesty because unlike other brokers who have no clue of the stock; they use inside information to manipulate the stock. Instead of guiding Bud on the acceptable way of rising in the business, Gordon fails in his civic duty of shaping the young mind by sending him to spy on the moves that British CEO, Lawrence Wildman makes.

Legal Insider trading

Gordon makes a huge chunk of money from the stock bought by Wildman at an inflated price so that the latter can carry on his take-over of the steel company. Bud is caught up in his get-rich-quickly scheme, and in the process, he does not keep the information he learns confidential but instead he tells it off to Gordon putting the other businesspersons at a disadvantage. In the end, justice is served because the two men end up in jail although Bud gets a lighter sentence for telling on Gordon (Ethics Paper, 2016). The main idea in the movie used to show greed is insider trading. It is where an individual has access to information that is not known to the public about a trading corporation, and he or she uses the information to trade the company's stock. Bud engages in illegal insider trading and gives the information to Gordon; therefore, betraying the company's confidentiality clause (Essays, 2018).

The little man versus a big business is another idea that the movie depicts, which Carl, Bud's father, portrays. He watches as his son forgets his life's values and is swallowed in the big industry in his quest of making more money. There is a form of antagonism between him and Gordon because he is honest and puts his colleague's interests first. The hostility is projected to his son who is frustrated at how his father is blind to making deals that can cause an upsurge for the economy creating more jobs (Essays, 2018).

Effect of the movie on the society

Additionally, the director uses conformity and superficiality to show that in the business world attention to appearance is paramount. For Bud to "fit" in, he has to get a fancy apartment, wears the right clothes and takes his meals from the right restaurants befitting a corporate person. It thus shows that business people can do anything to be stylish and in the process end up being involved in unethical practices because the honest way of living could do not afford Bud a "decent life."

Crisis on loyalty is another idea that the movie introduces where Bud has to give Gordon specific information about the stocks, but he also wants to be true to his father. He also has to stay loyal to Gordon because of the business deals, but the latter does not believe in loyalty as he goes ahead to betray Bud. When Bud tries to beat him at his own game, he is livid, but they both lose everything due to the prior's choice of loyalty (Essays, 2018).

The director of Wall Street 1, Oliver Stone, is influential to the movie because of the life of his father who was a stockbroker. He creates a character for Bud in a stable family, which contrasts with his professional turmoil, and his ambitious nature, which makes him unethical as he looks up to the older archetypes. Stone also pushes Douglas to get deeper into the character of Gordon so that the greed of the stockbrokers is fully shown. Wildman takes the role of a stockbroker regularly in competition and outplayed by Gordon. Carl takes the part of an honest businessman who perceives the business as a means of providing for his family. Darien helps Bud create a professional image due to her constant involvement with wealthy stockbrokers (Wall Street 1, 1987).

Conclusion

Wall Street1 is intriguing because its target is not on the common criminals of Wall Street who break the law but the business people who value winning above anything. They will do anything to make profits and amass wealth even if they are involved in unethical dealings with the argument that their activities do not cause any harm. The movie attacks the atmosphere, and the competitiveness witnessed in the finance industry. It also shows how ethics are sidelined in the industry and the irrelevance of the law just like in wrestling where the referee is just placed in the show, but he is not part of the main event.

References

The Film Wall Street Ethics Paper. (2016, Jun 24). Retrieved fromhttps://studymoose.com/the-film-wall-street-ethics-paper-essay

Essays, UK. (November 2018). Ethical Dilemmas in the Movie Wall Street Philosophy Essay. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/philosophy/ethical-dilemmas-in-the-movie-wall-street-philosophy-essay.php?vref=1

Wall Street 1 Movie, (1987)