Reviewing Movies for Economic Principles

Economists are concerned with the question of scarcity, which means how we decide to best satisfy our unlimited wants with scarce resources. Humanity has struggled with the problem of scarcity for as long as we have been alive, and this problem arguably has more to do with how our societies and cultures have emerged than any other problem we’ve faced.

When you start to look for how people respond to scarcity you find examples everywhere. How we choose to allocate our money, time, and energy is a constant part of our lives. The tension between making one choice versus another one can be great at times! This is why economics is such a big part of any kind of storytelling including stories in movies and in music.

Consider a story like Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack had to decide whether to take his family’s last cow to the market to sell or to accept some magic beans for the cow instead. He chose the beans, and his mother was not thrilled by that decision. Economics in action! Several current movies or movie series come to mind as well, such as Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Divergent.

Movies are influential voices in popular culture. They both interpret and influence public opinion. Those who write scripts and even the associated song lyrics need to understand how people respond to incentives if they hope to have a successful career.

If you choose this project, you will review a movie of your choice, and you will write about the economic principles presented in the script and even the soundtrack lyrics if you would like.

Economic Principles

When you choose your movie, find examples from the movie that demonstrate at least ten economic principles. These may or may not be defined in the glossary of our textbook. If you discover an economic principle that interests you, please feel free to include it. When you consider which principles are highlighted, look for some non-obvious or surprising examples. To help you do this, I’ll quickly describe a movie scene that could apply and how you could write about it. (You can include images if you would like.)

Selected Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship, consisting of Aragorn, Boromir, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippen, Legolas, and Gimli were invited with others to a council held in Rivendell by the elf king Elrond. The meeting was held to discuss what to do with the One Ring, an instrument of incredible evil forged by the Dark Lord Sauron. The ring was given to the Hobbit Frodo by his uncle Bilbo. Bilbo had discovered the ring while on an adventure with the dwarves that took him deep in the Misty Mountains. The ring had been held by the devious creature Golum for 500 years before Bilbo, by chance, took the ring and eventually brought it back to his homeland known as the Shire.

In order to destroy evil in Middle Earth the One Ring needed to be destroyed. However, destroying the ring was no easy matter! It was an enchanted ring that could only be destroyed by bringing it back to “the fires of Mt. Doom” where it was originally forged by Sauron. Someone would have to carry the One Ring to Mt. Doom, a journey of incredible danger. After much discussion, Frodo volunteered to take the One Ring to Mt. Doom. The other six members of the Fellowship volunteered to help him.

Frodo’s decision is an example of the economic principle of rationality. A rational decision is made when known benefits of a decision are considered to outweigh the known costs of that same decision. The benefits discussed in the Council of Elrond included the potential to “destroy evil forever.” However, the costs were great. Boromir stated, “One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The great eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire, ash, and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly.”

Some members of the Council believed that the costs outweighed the benefits, but Frodo felt differently. This was a good example of how economics is a subjective science. The choices we make are individual. We weigh our own opportunity costs, that is the value of what we give up when we make a choice. When Frodo made his choice to carry the ring, the other members of the Fellowship felt that even though the costs were still high the benefits seemed more attainable. They made their decision to support the quest.

As the story unfolded, we learn that the decision made by the Fellowship might better be described as an example of bounded rationality. They did not have all the information to make the decision before they had to choose, but they made the best decision they could based on what they knew at the time. It turned out to be a good choice as the One Ring was destroyed in the end.

If the economic principle of rationality or bounded rationality was not applied to this story, it would have made little sense. The tension between the great benefit weighed against the great costs makes the story real, because we often feel this same tension. For example, going to college can bring me great benefits in life. On the other hand, it is very difficult. The costs are high for me. Still, when I weigh the benefits against the costs I believe that going to college is the right choice. It is a rational decision for me.

As you see in this short example, three economic principles were discussed. At least seven more principles would need to be highlighted to meet the requirements of the assignment.

Here are some additional instructions for the movie review.

Highlight at least 10 economic principles. Begin your review with a list of the principles you chose. Provide the definitions of each. Bold each principle when it is found in your review.
Begin the body of your paper with a summary of the plot. Remember your instructor may not have seen the movie.
Describe how each of the principles fits into the movie plot.  Add enough detail so that it is clear how the principle is used in the movie.
Formatting: Your review should be a minimum of six pages long with at least 1200 words. If you include images, your review will likely need to be more than eight pages in length. Text must be 11 or 12 font size, double-spaced. Your review should have a cover page with your name, our class name, the semester, the title of the movie selected.
Neatness and Grammar: It is expected that you will write neatly, correctly, and at a college level. You do not need to add additional citations, but you may choose to do so.
Each criterion is equally weighted. Scores for each will be on a 100-90-80-70-60-0 basis.