Wall Street came out in 1987 at the height of the 1980s’ culture. The movie, starring Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas, features a young stockbroker that is desperate for success and the greedy executive that takes him under his wing. It portrays the conceptions of Wall Street during the eighties, including insider trading and unethical corporate deals. Wall Street accurately reflects the economic culture of the eighties in many ways such as the corruption of business, greed of the generation, and the rise of “Reaganomics.”
In a scene where Bud Fox (Sheen) and Gordon Gekko (Douglas) are out to lunch, Gekko encourages Bud to take part in insider trading, an illegal activity when an executive buys stock in his company when the rates go up. Bud knows this is illegal, but Gekko ensures him that no one will notice. Gekko, like many of the business people of the eighties, was interested in only himself and his success. His actions and attitude influence Fox to get caught up in the corrupt lifestyle that Gekko is living. This is an example of the status seekers of the eighties.
Known as the “Me!” generation, these men and women were willing to sacrifice their morals and take the risk of conviction and jail time in order to experience success at any cost. Gordon Gekko is the epitome of a big business player in the eighties generation. He is deceitful and immoral. His wealth and success is based on illegal stock transactions from insider tips. By influencing Bud Fox and encouraging him to be the same way in order to live the “great” life he is does, he is only furthering the problem of the greedy businesses and executives. He is a representative of the stereotypical 1980s corporate raider.
The economic culture of the eighties and Reagan’s presidency introduced “Reaganomics.” “Reaganomics” gave more power to corporate businesses and weakened the United State’s working-class. In turn, this worsened conditions in US inner-cities. The power of the Republican Party gave rise to conservatism. This prevented the turn around of the business corruption and the “Me!” generation. Wall Street focuses on the politics of large, successful businesses and their wealthy executives. Gekko would obviously be a strong supporter of Reaganomics and everything that came with it.
Unfortunately, Gekko’s behavior was not uncommon in the eighties. Wall Street, Gekko, and Fox are excellent representations of the economic culture of the big businesses, their wealthy executives, and success-starving employees in the 1980s. The main themes of Wall Street can still be seen in today’s corporate world in cases similar to Martha Stewart’s conviction and the Enron situation.
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