In my essay, I examine three criticisms of the movie The Wolf of Wall Street and I evaluate their claims that the movie is immoral. My claim is that even though the movie shows a lot of immoral behaviour and shows how fun it can be, the movie in itself is not immoral in the same way that the movie Cars shows how fun driving fast is, but it is immoral because it may make people want to drive fast.
Does The Wolf of Wall Street Give The Financial Sector A Bad Name?
One of the biggest criticisms of the movie was the fact it shows a bunch of rank amateurs, liars and fraudsters achieving a lot of success whilst acting as if they are a legitimate company. The people in the movie are simply acting with the veneer of professionalism and people invest millions in them. Some say they give the financial sector a bad name, but it is an example of events that have been going on for years. Plus, when you add to the fact that over the last ten years millions of ordinary citizens have lost their money because of banks and yet the people that run the banks get millions in bonuses, this movie it hardly gives the financial sector or related services a bad name.
Does This Movie Encourage Financial Misconduct Through Showing How Easy It Is?
People that make this criticism are overlooking two vital elements in the success of the Wolf Of Wall Street characters, which are personality and luck. Similar criticisms of Fight Club were made when some said it encouraged urban terrorism, but the film is driven by one person’s very distinct personality, plus it is loaded with times when luck was on their side. The same is true of the Wolf of Wall Street. It is their personalities that made them rich, along with a lot of luck (even if that luck is present via things that didn’t happen).
Does This Movie Tarnish Blonde Women and Paint Them As Money Grabbers?
This movie doesn’t make blonde women look like money grabbers. The character in the movie knows that she has very little earning power, so she uses her looks and sex in order to make money from the men in her life. She makes herself more beautiful because it is what makes her money. Though the way she makes her living is unconventional, it is hardly new! Her motivation to lie in order to be with a rich man does come from a place of greed, but it also comes from a place of necessity. Added to which, the man/men in her life should have been more careful.
Conclusion
There are plenty of areas in the Wolf of Wall Street where one may consider morality and ethics, and its critics have done a lot of work trying to pull down the movie for being immoral. My conclusion is that the movie is neither immoral, nor does it overtly make broad sweeping statements that are not true in some part of our world. Is there a lot of immorality in the movie? Yes there are, but is the movie immoral in itself? No it isn’t.
