Financial Darwinism in recent American feature films 1

Abstract

The notion of a certain identity crisis in capitalist culture, along with the traditionally critical portrayal of business in American film, becomes particularly manifest in cinematic narratives concerned with financial markets, stock trading, speculation, and the boundless possibilities of personal enrichment in such environments. Ever since, Hollywood brokers have tended to appear under the light of excessive masculinities and anti-social conducts, opposed to both their families and the economy, and they are often linked to criminal activities and hypersexualized hedonism. This chapter explores, through film analysis focused on characters and dramatic devices, the ways in which the contemporary heirs of Wall Street develop and reinforce the dark undertones of this archetype. It focuses on Margin Call, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Big Short. The Wolf of Wall Street fictionalizes the historical rise and fall of financial crook Jordan Belfort between the late eighties and nineties.