The Capitalist System and Human Greed in Wall Street (1987) Essay

The Capitalist System and Human Greed in Wall Street (1987) - Essay Example Bud becomes an insider trader and involves himself in illegal activities, so that he could give vital information to Gekko. This essay analyzes the elements that Stone used to depict the film's theme. Stone used plot, character development, and editing style to depict the theme that the capitalist system has its excesses, but individual greed is still to be predominantly blamed for the system's immoralities. The capitalist system has a propensity for greed, because of its focus on material wealth as an end itself. The capitalist focuses on material wealth as an end itself, thereby treating other human beings as means to an end. Stone's plot started with the capitalist system's external features, such as buildings and workers. He used establishing shots too in Gekko's office to demonstrate his power and wealth. His office is filled with computers and expensive furniture and painting to underline his amassed wealth as a Wall Street player. Later on, the plot builds to the climax throug h depicting the showdown between Gekko and Bud. Bud ensures that Gekko loses Bluestar to his rival Sir Lawrence Wildman (Terence Stamp). Gekko takes revenge and whistles to the police about Bud's insider trading activities. The resolution of the story says that it does not help to treat people as means to an end only. To highlight the composition and implications of the capitalist system, Stone employed both standard and non-standard editing styles. He used standard editing to show the continuity of human greed. Stone employed dissolves to establish the setting of the film, where workers are shown first and then the skyscrapers. The dissolve transitions illustrate the illusion of material wealth and how it affects workers, the main developer of capital growth. Stone also employed a long shot to establish the setting of stockbrokers in Jackson Steinem & Co., a local Wall Street stock and trading firm. Young and old stockbrokers are talking about companies and hinting on their long-st anding careers that may or may lead to financial success or not. In addition, the capitalist system teaches people to pursue materialistic goals, but they still have a choice, if they want to change the system from within. Stone uses cut-in and cut-away to demonstrate that despite people who are jam-packed in the elevator, as they are also packed into the capitalist system, they remain isolated from each other. They are isolated because of their individual goals. In addition, Stone also used deviations in editing to emphasize the theme of human greed. For instance, he used a montage to depict the differences in how Gekko treats Bud. In his office, cut-in, cut-away editing emphasized their differences in personality and social status. After investing in Bluestar and profiting for it, they meet in the restaurant and Stone uses the shot to both show them together. This time, they are â€Å"equals,† because of their parallels in human greed. The film also showed that the individu al can reinforce the excesses of the capitalist systems, in terms of pursuing relentless profit growth. The individual becomes a product and creator of the capitalist system. People like Bud become products of greed. Bud idolizes Gekko, because the latter makes tens of millions in his deals. He tells his father that there is no â€Å"

Literary Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Literary Analysis - Essay Example The works under discussion contain autobiographic motive, because the writers have experienced disadvantages of being bilingual. The novel â€Å"Native Speaker† describes life of a mixed marriage in New York through the prism of power of language. Henry Park is a non-native speaker, who has made a successful career in Glimmer and Associates, but is not separated from his national roots. He works among multicultural staff, that’s why he should be tactful and flexible enough. His wife Leila teaches English at school and comes across linguistic barrier and conflicts in multi-cultural society. In the essay â€Å"Mother Tongue† the author demonstrates variety of language in everyday life. Tan’s mother belongs to a well-known and respected family in Shanghai and has been living there for several decades. For people of her age it is not so easy to adapt to new social and cultural conditions in the USA. â€Å"The lack of shared languages and cultural logics remai ns a central theme throughout all the narratives in Tan’s book. This absence transcends the simple linguistic dichotomies or cultural misunderstandings.† (Bloom et al, 2001) In this case, poor knowledge of language is the main obstacle for Asian Americans. It affects perception and attitude towards representatives of ethnic minorities in different spheres of life. The episode at the hospital shows that medical staff breaks official rules and treats Mrs. Tan improperly only because they lack of time to find a lost medical record. She is a middle-aged Asian American, who speaks emotionally and makes many mistakes; thus, many English native-speakers would consider Mrs. Tan as a limited, slow-witted person. This is a long-term effect of a wrong historical theory that white race prevails over other ethnic groups. Although US society is multinational, Eurocentric model of thinking is a