Wall Street By Stone Essay Research Paper

Wall Street By Stone Essay, Research Paper

"Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works." If any three simple

sentences could sum up the 80s, those are probably the ones. The 1980s were an

age of illusions, one that was hedonistic in nature and self-loathing in

practice. As Haynes Johnson recalls, it was "a society favored with

material riches beyond measure and a political system whose freedoms made it the

envy of every nation on earth." Released in 1987, Oliver Stone’s Wall

Street was made in the height of 80s greed and materialism. The film revolves

around the actions of two main characters, Bud Fox and Gordon Gekko. Bud is a

young stockbroker who comes from a working-class family and Gekko is a

millionaire whom Bud admires and longs to be associated with. The film is

successful at pointing out how tragic it is to trade in morality for money. The

character of Gordon Gekko personifies this message, and yet receives a standing

ovation at a stockholders meeting after delivering a "greed is good"

speech. The underlying theme of the movie, however, is that greed is bad.

Economist George Gilder would say that individuals like Gekko who pursue only

their self-interests are led, "as by an invisible hand," toward a

greater welfare state. He says that people pursuing self-interest demand comfort

and security and that they don’t take the risks that result in growth and

achievement. At the start of Wall Street, Bud Fox is young and very na.ve about

the business world. He is a typical broker seeking new clients and offering

second-hand advice regarding the buying and selling of stock. "Just once

I’d like to be on that side," he says, dreaming of the day when he will be

a corporate big shot controlling the flow of millions of dollars, like his hero,

Gordon Gekko. In pursuit of his dream, Bud makes a visit to Gekko’s office with

a box of Havana cigars on his birthday in hopes of winning him over as a client.

He wants to sell him stocks, and hopefully one day be like he is. Bud is

desperate to do business with Gekko and he passes on some inside information

about the airline company that his father works for. Gekko makes some money on

the deal and opens an account with Bud. As the relationship between the two

develops, we see a drastic change in Bud’s character, as he becomes aware of the

corruptness and ruthlessness of the industry in which he works. Gordon

"Greed" Gekko is a money hungry, lizard-like (hence, the name "Gekko")

corporate millionaire. He is the embodiment of the popular idea of

"something for nothing." Throughout the movie, he says such things as

"if something’s worth doing it’s worth doing for money" and

"greed captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit." He has

everything he could possible want–wife, family, estate, pool, limousine,

priceless art objects–and yet, he seems unhappy. He represents the 80s of an

insatiable desire to have more. Money to him is nothing; it is merely a way of

keeping score to him–it is all a game. At a board meeting for a certain

company, he concludes a speech by saying, "The point is, ladies and

gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed

works." Although at times during the movie Gekko’s success can be

applauded, in the end, it is shown that his greed has many subsequent negative

effects on those people that surround him. He is accused during the same board

meeting of being a "destroyer of companies" and responds by

proclaiming that he is a "liberator of companies!" However, his sole

reason for buying into Bud’s father’s airline company is to make his money and

split. It is only when Gekko betrays Bud by wrecking his father’s airline

company that Bud begins to realize that his actions are immoral and heeds the

advice of his father, "Stop going for the easy buck and start producing

something with your life. Create, instead of living off the buying and selling

of others." Bud learns that greed is in fact bad and that it hurts other

people. The target of Wall Street is not those criminals on Wall Street that

commit illegal activities like that of Bud and Gekko. It is the value system of

the 80s that places profits and wealth above any other consideration. The movie

is clearly an attack on the greed and self-loathing of the 80s and shows the

negative effects that it can have on society. A famous supply-side economist of

the 80s, had George Gilder been a character in Wall Street, he would have given

the same advice that Bud’s father gave him about creating and producing. In

Wealth and Poverty, he gives a simple and very similar quote that says,

"Give and you will be given unto." Gilder believes that there are such

things as absolute truths like this and that soc

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