Capitalism: A Glimpse at Its Dark Side Through the Big Screen

Capitalism: A Glimpse at its Dark Side through the big screen

Comfort and acquiring wealth and goods is an idea that appeals many people who move to America in hopes of achieving the American dream. Who hasn’t dreamt with having a nice car or buying a lovely house in the country side? The United States of America, a country whose customs and traditions (language, religion, and economy among others) are, mostly, part of the British heritage, has been well known in the past centuries as a world power. Since their independence they have made their way up the top of worldwide politics and economy, to the point that they involved in almost every situation that occurs in the globe. Capitalism, one of its most recognizable features, was established by the British, who have always been associated to its practices even from the first times it started to appear. It plays a main role in providing American citizen as well as foreigner these hopes since the competition between markets and businesses creates more productivity in the work place, allowing the rate of technological innovation to increase, which causes the society to advance while the costs of goods and services tend to decrease.

However, every coin has two sides, and, this is not an exception, unfavorable perceptions of this model have come up along the way. Karl Marx was the first to talk about term capitalism in its modern use and it is mostly due to his criticism that abrogating ideas started to rise. The rename of the concept capitalism for the modern Free Enterprise or capitalist for investor or rentier, which were brought about by its defenders as a response to these negative perceptions, clearly shows how the views and opinions about this economic model have changed. Arts have always been a way to express ideas and opinion toward several topics and Hollywood and its film industry, ironically one of America’s most thriving business, has produced a number of movies that deal with this topic in which these views are depicted. Glengarry Glen Ross and Margin Call are two examples of movies that reveal the dark side of capitalism and which will be analyzed through this paper.

First of all, Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), directed by James Foley shows the story of low-life Chicago real-state staff members (Shelley Levene, Dave Moss, George Aaronow, and Ricky Roma, who is not present in that moment) who are given a peculiar, however strong, motivation by Blake, an arrogant representative from downtown office, to succeed at a sales contest: First prize, a Cadillac El Dorado, second prize, a set of steak knives, and third prize is the sack! Despair is unleashed and to top it all of a robbery takes place leading these men to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts—from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation and burglary—to sell undesirable real estate to unwitting prospective buyers. On the other side, Margin Call (2011), directed by J. C. Chandor, is the story of which could be considered the last good day at Wall Street. It begins with an unannounced mass layoff at an investment bank in which Eric Dale, head manager of the risk department, is fired. On his way out, Dale gives a USB with an unfinished work to Peter Sullivan, his protégé, and asks him to take look at it. Sullivan finishes it late into the night and then frantically calls his colleagues in about the company's financial disaster he has discovered. What comes ahead is tense and panicked night as this omen goes up the corporate ladder and the senior members try to do whatever it takes to unravel the mess where they’ve gotten into and come to a solution that will lead them to an unethical abyss.

Separated for more than a decade, these two movies unveil the dirty job that has to be done so that the big wheel of capitalism keeps on moving. From the opposite corners of social classes: the low-life salesmen who work for a living and barely manage to make ends meet, and thriving Wall Street corporate workers with a six-to-eight-figure income a year, we can see that the ultimate goal of capitalism (to make a profit) can create scenarios in which integrity cannot be a part of it. In both movies we can appreciate clear examples of this in the beliefs and behaviors of the characters. Larry Hubbard from ruthlessreviews.com says, in a review of Glengarry Glen Ross, “Not one person in this film — a perfect microcosm of our culture, if not the world — has a genuine attachment to anything.” In Shelly “the Machine” Levene and Ricky Roma for instance, we can see how far can they get in order to accomplish the task given. Levene, former top seller of the office, who now drowns in despair as he is unable to “close” is willing to go beyond the usual unethical labor: lying to sell worthless lands, when he tries to bribe his boss in order to get the coveted Glengarry leads. This shows how detached these men are from values and integrity, Hubbard also adds “Even Shelley’s frantic calls to check on his daughter’s condition seem forced — not by Jack Lemmon as an actor, but by the man himself.” Hubbard, 2006. Moreover, when we take a look at Roma, played by Al Pacino, Hubbard says “Not one word escapes his lips that isn’t calculated for maximum effect.” Take the scene when Roma tries to “close” a client, James Lingk, for example; you can feel that the various sexual references in this speech, particularly the line "You think you're queer? I'm gonna tell you something, we're all queer," hint at the fact that Lingk may be homosexual and Roma has sensed this and is exploiting it. Roma is a very