首页
登录
职称英语
Some of the most memorable scenes in films have revolved around money. Think
Some of the most memorable scenes in films have revolved around money. Think
游客
2023-12-03
45
管理
问题
Some of the most memorable scenes in films have revolved around money. Think of Michael Douglas declaring "Greed is good" in Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio’s share scams in The Wolf of Wall Street and, most memorably, Jimmy Stewart’s desperate attempts to save his local bank in It’s a Wonderful Life.
That Hollywood’s portrayal of finance tends towards the caricature is hardly surprising: its portrayal of most things tends towards the caricature. A realistic depiction of a day on a bank-trading desk, or the life of the typical fund manager, would not make for gripping viewing.
A more pertinent criticism is that Hollywood’s approach towards finance, indeed towards capitalism in general, is almost relentlessly negative. Stewart’s banker may be the hero of It’s a Wonderful Life, but his heroism stems from his opposition to the rapacious Mr. Potter. In Trading Places, we applaud when Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd make a killing in the orange-juice futures market, but only because the result is the ruin of the villainous Duke brothers.
Generally, the role of businessmen and financiers in films is as pantomime villains, ruthlessly pursuing profit at the expense of human life. In The Poseidon Adventure, the actor Fred Sadoff, playing the shipowner’s representative, forces the captain to proceed at full speed without taking on extra ballast so the ship can meet its deadline: the result is that the ship capsizes when hit by a tidal wave. In Rollerball, the public’s hero-worship of James Caan’s sports star poses a threat to the power of the corporate elite, who scheme to have him killed. In The Constant Gardener, an activist played by Rachel Weisz is killed by the pharmaceutical company whose dangerous drug-testing she is trying to expose.
Even where the central character is involved in finance or business, the standard film plot has the protagonist learn that monetary rewards pale when compared with the simple pleasures of life. Richard Gere’s corporate raider is softened by Julia Roberts(playing a classic "tart-with-a-heart")in Pretty Woman: as "Citizen Kane" Orson Welles dies alone, in a vast stately home full of the trophies of success, still pining for the sled that represented the happiness of his childhood. The new film Steve Jobs, about the late head of Apple, depicts the tech guru as an emotionally warped man who spent far too much time fixated on the wrong things, such as computers, instead of his daughter. Despite his remarkable success and genius for innovation, the man is redeemed only when he finally recognises that the most important job of all may be to be a dad.
Perhaps the classic example of this trait occurs in The Social Network, which implies that Mark Zuckerberg(as played by Jesse Eisenberg)created Facebook merely to impress an ex-girlfriend: at the end of the film, he repeatedly presses "refresh" in the hopes that she has "friended" him on the site.
That said, The Social Network is blessed by a literate script(from Aaron Sorkin, who also penned Steve Jobs), and it provides a reasonably realistic portrayal of the trials and tribulations of founding a business. Yet entrepreneurs are rarely presented in a sympathetic light. An exception was Tucker: The Man and His Dream, a Francis Ford Coppola biopic about a car designer, played by Jeff Bridges: but even in this film(a box-office flop), the designer’s hopes were crushed by the giant auto companies.
There is an irony in the trumpeting of an anti-business and anti-capitalist message by highly paid film actors and directors, working for multinational media corporations, and selling tickets to consumers guzzling their Coca-Colas in cinema multiplexes. Even The Lego Movie, a film essentially devoted to selling plastic bricks to small children, has a character called "Lord Business" as its chief villain.
If fictional films are bound to exaggerate reality, what about the wide range of documentaries that have concentrated on the financial sector? Some of these are powerful. Anyone who watched Inside Job, about the 2008 debt crisis, will recall the discomfort of academics and consultants quizzed about their perceived conflict of interest.
Documentaries can treat a subject in much greater depth than a Hollywood drama. But they exist to make a case. Perhaps that is because the process of producing(and particularly funding)a documentary is so difficult that only those with a passion for a cause will get involved. Audiences are also likely to find a polemic more compelling.
A good example could be found at a recent festival of films about finance at London’s Barbican. Life and Debt, a 2001 documentary about Jamaica’s debt problems, and the country’s reform programme from the IMF, was clearly designed to make viewers angry about the way Jamaica was treated. The country’s still-parlous economy certainly indicates the programme was not a success. But this was not a balanced analysis. Stanley Fischer(then of the IMF, now at the Federal Reserve)was included as a talking head, but the film was cut so as to portray him as a smug bureaucrat who ignored reality. The film’s narration also seemed to treat tourists as rich-world party-goers, oblivious to the nation’s poverty, rather than as a vital source of income for the island’s economy.
Alas, negative portrayals of finance, and of capitalism in general, are here to stay. Popular narratives often demand a hero or a villain, and film-makers clearly find it an easier sell to present businessman in negative roles. Audiences will continue to lap up this message, before chiving away in their privately produced cars to their privately owned homes, fondly believing, at least for a few minutes, that they are not part of "the system". [br] Which of the following statements is NOT correct?
选项
A、In Steve Jobs, the tech guru finally recognises what really matters is his family members.
B、In The Social Network, Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook to impress an ex-girlfriend.
C、In Trading Places, the Duke brothers are portrayed as heroes.
D、In The Constant Gardener, the pharmaceutical company killed an activist for her attempt to expose its dangerous drug-testing.
答案
C
解析
细节题。第三段最后一句话里的villainous意为“恶棍似的”,说明C错误。第五段提到…the man is redeemed only when hefinally recognises that the most important jobof all may be to be a dad,说明A正确。第六段提到Mark Zuckerberg…createdFacebook merely to impress an ex-girlfriend,说明B正确。第四段提到In The ConstantGardener,an activist played by RachelWeisz is killed by the pharmaceutical company whose dangerous drug-testing she istrying to expose,说明D正确。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3240978.html
相关试题推荐
Morethan2,000yearsago,thephilosopherSocrateswanderedaroundAthensa
Morethan2,000yearsago,thephilosopherSocrateswanderedaroundAthensa
Morethan2,000yearsago,thephilosopherSocrateswanderedaroundAthensa
Morethan2,000yearsago,thephilosopherSocrateswanderedaroundAthensa
Morethan2,000yearsago,thephilosopherSocrateswanderedaroundAthensa
Morethan2,000yearsago,thephilosopherSocrateswanderedaroundAthensa
Withthenewschoolsemesteraroundthecorner,millionsofChinesestudentsare
Somepeoplesaylovemakestheworldgoaround.Otherssayitisnotlove:i
Somepeoplesaylovemakestheworldgoaround.Otherssayitisnotlove:i
Somepeoplesaylovemakestheworldgoaround.Otherssayitisnotlove:i
随机试题
[originaltext]W:I’vejustpreparedrelevantpresentationmaterialsoftheWint
[originaltext]Goodmorning,everybody.Intoday’slecture,wewilltalkabo
国家环境标准中的环境质量标准和污染物排放等标准为强制性标准( )。A.强制性标准
以下关于DHCP协议的描述中,错误的是()。A.DHCP客户机可以从外网段获
从全班60名学生中按学号随机抽取6名学生调查其上网情况。6名学生的上网时间(小时
功能行气调中止痛,善理脾胃大肠之气滞的药物是()。A.木香B.香附C.乌药D.
常具有长效作用A.静脉注射给药B.口服给药C.直肠给药D.经皮全身给药E.肺部吸
关于血浆代用液叙述错误的是A.血浆代用液在有机体内有代替全血的作用 B.代血浆
爆破工程中适用于无瓦斯和煤尘爆炸危险的炸药是()。A.铵梯炸药 B.岩石膨化硝
麦角新碱的哪项作用可用于产后止血A.直接收缩血管 B.使子宫平滑肌强直收缩,压
最新回复
(
0
)