Trading Places (2002) is the story of a poor guy and a rich guy who cross paths by accident. This accident, however, changes life for both of them. Two rich and powerful men, Randolph and Marty Duke, make a million dollar bet as to whether the rich guy can maintain his virtues in the face of poverty and if the poor guy can become virtuous in affluence. The two brothers manipulate the situation and put each guy in the other guy’s situation. The movie is a business comedy about how the two guys think and act in situations that are completely alien to them. Are people what they are because of genetics or of environment? This is a long standing debate in psychology and behavioral studies. The movie favors the environmental explanation as changing the environment influences the behavior of both the rich guy and the poor guy. However, that’s not only reason to watch the movie. It is also a fun movie to learn about many finance-related concepts that most people don’t think about in their daily lives.
Of course, Eddie Murphy makes the movie a fun watch anyway. The guy was made for comedy movies!
Categories: Movies
Tagged: environment, Finance, genetics, Hollywood movies, stock market
Wall Street is a movie about two men- a young, ambitious broker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) and a Wall Street legend Garden Gekko (Michael Douglas). Bud is an impressionable upstart who is impressed by the power and status Gekko has. Gekko, on his part, is a good judge of people- He sees the ambition in Bud’s eyes and the weakness in his character. Gekko offers to help Bud succeed on Wall Street and Bud gets pulled into Gekko’s world, even as it takes him away from his own father. A must see movie for every person interested in the business world!
When President Clinton campaigned in 1992 he promised to end the greed culture of the 1980s. Garden Gekko took the opposite stand- “Greed is Good” he declared emphatically. Most people don’t know that the “Greek is Good” speech that Gekko gave in this movie is based on an actual speech Ivan Boesky, a russian immigrant who was a major player in the 1980s Wall Street insider trading scandal, delivered at the University of California-Berkeley in 1986.
Categories: Movies
Tagged: ethics, Finance, insider information, investments, stock market
Trading Places (2002) is the story of a poor guy and a rich guy who cross paths by accident. This accident, however, changes life for both of them. Two rich and powerful men, Randolph and Marty Duke, make a million dollar bet as to whether the rich guy can maintain his virtues in the face of poverty and if the poor guy can become virtuous in affluence. The two brothers manipulate the situation and put each guy in the other guy’s situation. The movie is a business comedy about how the two guys think and act in situations that are completely alien to them. Are people what they are because of genetics or of environment? This is a long standing debate in psychology and behavioral studies. The movie favors the environmental explanation as changing the environment influences the behavior of both the rich guy and the poor guy. However, that’s not only reason to watch the movie. It is also a fun movie to learn about many finance-related concepts that most people don’t think about in their daily lives. 
