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

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slick guy with a gift to use his tongue. Regarding this, Hubbard comments “Despite the male-oriented nature of the environment, one longs to see Roma chat up a female or two, if only for comparison. One has little doubt that by the end of a few rounds of drinks, he would have her convinced that it would be to her advantage to take a load in the face without objection.” Although some may argue that this is an over literalization of the scene, Roma’s use of sexual metaphors is simply a way of creating a false sense of intimacy with Lingk. Roma is basically trying to convince Lingk that if he listens to him, he can put him on the road to being the guy he always wanted to be. So it is clear that rejecting ethics is the only way for them to get ahead.

Now, when watching Margin Call, a very interesting parallel can be appreciated. We take a look at a very different and yet so similar perspective to this issue. Chandor’s movie, although fictional, shows a very accurate resembles to actual events occured during the summer of 2008. He tries to somehow portrait the human nature of the "bourgeois society" as Marxs called them. A.O. Scott of the New York Times says with a sarcastic tone “And it is true that those poor, hard-working souls have been demonized and caricatured. Surely the much-reviled 1 percent does not consist of plutocrats in top hats or predators in blue suits, but of human beings just like the other 99 percent of us, albeit with more money and perhaps more to answer for.” There is no doubt that for John Tuld (not to be confused with Dick Fuld, Lehman’s last CEO) and as stated by Blake, Alec Baldwin, in Glengarry Glen Ross, clients are just “…Sitting out there waiting to give you their money!”, the question that follows is “Are you gonna take it? Are you man enough to take it?” Throughout the film one expects the answer to those questions, and someone to show some integrity and perhaps step out since they all well aware of what is down the path they are heading to, specially “Kevin Spacey’s Sam, an anguished occupant of an upper-echelon post, and Stanley Tucci’s Eric, a senior analyst who must weigh the personal risk of coming back into the fold after having been cast out for the twin sins of wisdom and honesty” (Morgenstern, 2011). They are both depicted throughout the movie as the icons of unbreakable righteousness. In the scene when Cohen, senior executive, requests Emmerson to “do what’s right” when the moment of truth comes and Sam bails out; Emmerson is not only implying morally correct Sam is but also that, ironically, he would do the same when he answers “- I have no doubt. That Sam will make the right decision. But, just to make it clear. He and I always have the same interpretation, Of what’s right. No matter, How acute...the situation.” However in the end, everyone, even Sam and Eric, break before money and stick around although, along the story, it has been foretold otherwise.

To sum up, both movies manage to pull off two very life-like stories of the dark side we all assume exits but never get the chance to see. It is clear whether we like or not, someone has to collect the trash from our houses or clean the sewers every now and then; so everything has a dirty job that has got to be done so that we can continue enjoying the comfort and lifestyle we have nowadays. No matter the economic model, even in communism, in reality there will always be the rich and the poor.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Capitalism, definition. Wikipedia.com, available on World Wide Web at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism

2. Capitalism, definition. Oxford Dictionaries, available on World Wide Web at: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/capitalism

3. Chisholm Kenneth, Margin Call Review, May 2012, available on World Wide Web at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1615147/?ref_=ttqt_qt_tt

4. Dominick Patrick, Glengarry Glen Ross Review, available on World Wide Web at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104348/

5. Glengarry Glen Ross, Wikipedia.com, available on World Wide Web at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glengarry_Glen_Ross

6. Marigin Call, Wikipedia.com, available on World Wide Web at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margin_Call_(film)

7. Ebert Roger, Chicago Sun-times, October 2011 available on World Wide at: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/margin-call-2011

8. Scott A.O., New York Times, October 2011, available on World Wide Web at: http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/movies/margin-call-with-zachary-quinto-review.html?_r=0Dominick Patrick, Glengarry Glen Ross Review, available on World Wide Web at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104348/

9. Morgenstern Joe, ’Margin Call’: Thrills, Chills of Financial Ills, Wall Street Journal, October 2011 available on World Wide at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204618704576642831705591542.html

10. Hubbard Larry, Ruthlessreviews.com, March 2006, available on World Wide Web at: http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/1940/glengarry-glen-ross/

11. Marx Karl, El Capital, Siglo XXI Editores. 2001

12. Kiyosaki Robert, Rich Dad Poor Dad, April 2000, Warner Books