The Representation Of Economics In Cinema

"This wonderful book can make you aware of some splendid works in the "seventh art" that already influence, or should influence, anyone who wants to understand economics. It can be used to teach an economics class in an innovative way, or simply to enjoy economics and movies differently." - Antonio Cabrales, Professor of Economics, Universidad Carlos III Madrid. "In this outstandingly entertaining book, Professor Sanchez-Pages uses the lens of a micro-economist to dissect some of the most seen films of our time. The perspective is startlingly brilliant and unique. Once you have read this book you will want to see these movies again, but from a completely novel perspective." - Shanker Satyanath, Professor of Politics, New York University. Cinema articulates the economic anxieties of each generation of filmmakers and audiences. It has an influence on people's views on various economic issues and many orders of magnitude larger than that of economics as a discipline. This book offers a sweeping study of the representation of economics in cinema across a wide range of areas and genres, from the conflicts over resources in the lawless Old West to the post-scarcity societies of science fiction futures. This book studies how films have portrayed trade unions, scarcity, money, businesses, innovators, migrant workers, working women, globalization, the stock market, and the automation of work. It aims to be useful to those who are interested in cinema with economic themes and to those who want to learn about economics through cinema. Santiago Sanchez-Pages is associate professor in economics at King's College London, UK. His academic research focuses on political economy, economic theory, and experimental economics. His articles have been published in leading international journals. He also writes on film and popular culture and has published several short stories.

Cinema articulates the economic anxieties of each generation of filmmakers and audiences. It has an influence on people’s views on various economic issues and many orders of magnitude larger than that of economics as a discipline. This book offers a sweeping study of the representation of economics in cinema across a wide range of areas and genres, from the conflicts over resources in the lawless Old West to the post-scarcity societies of science fiction futures. This book studies how films have portrayed trade unions, scarcity, money, businesses, innovators, migrant workers, working women, globalization, the stock market, and the automation of work. It aims to be useful to those who are interested in cinema with economic themes and to those who want to learn about economics through cinema.

Cultures of Representation is the first book to explore the cinematic portrayal of disability in films from across the globe. Contributors explore classic and recent works from Belgium, France, Germany, India, Italy, Iran, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Senegal, and Spain, along with a pair of globally resonant Anglophone films. Anchored by David T. Mitchell and Sharon L. Snyder's coauthored essay on global disability-film festivals, the volume's content spans from 1950 to today, addressing socially disabling forces rendered visible in the representation of physical, developmental, cognitive, and psychiatric disabilities. Essays emphasize well-known global figures, directors, and industries – from Temple Grandin to Pedro Almodóvar, from Akira Kurosawa to Bollywood – while also shining a light on films from less frequently studied cultural locations such as those portrayed in the Iranian and Korean New Waves. Whether covering postwar Italy, postcolonial Senegal, or twenty-first century Russia, the essays in this volume will appeal to scholars, undergraduates, and general readers alike.

This book explores the complex interplay of culture and economics in the context of Philippine cinema. It delves into the tension, interaction, and shifting movements between mainstream and independent filmmaking, examines the film distribution and exhibition systems, and investigates how existing business practices affect the sustainability of the independent sector. This book addresses the lack or absence of Asian representation in film distribution literature by supplying the much-needed Asian context and case study. It also advances the discourse of film distribution economy by expounding on the formal and semi-formal film distribution practices in a developing Asian country like the Philippines, where the thriving piracy culture is considered as ‘normal,’ and which is commonly depicted and discussed in existing literature. As such, this will be the first book that looks into the specifics of the Philippine film distribution and exhibition system and provides a historical grounding of its practices.

The movie industry boomed in the twentieth century, and is still going strong today. However, the economics of movies has been curiously under explored until now. Innovative and informative, this accessible book, which includes contributions from some of the leading experts in the area, is a huge step forward in our understanding of this important topic.

What does the movie Lion tell us about why some societies grow rich and others remain poor? What can the global box office juggernaut, Jurassic World tell us about entrepreneurs and the ethics of business? Can the movie Passengers give us insight into human motivation and decision making? This book surveys more than 40 movies to answer these questions and much more. Movies do more than entertain. They project important insights, often unintentional, into the way the world works and the values society cares about. Indeed, their stories are often grounded in the real-world experiences of everyday people. As part of this, movies also provide a window into understanding and evaluating economic behavior. Economics is, after all, the study of how scarce resources like labor, capital, and technology are used to improve (or reduce) our welfare. It also helps us to more fully understand the consequences in our lives that result from those choices and decisions. Through exploring a wide range of films from Passengers to Victoria and Abdul, this book delves into economic concepts such as opportunity costs, profit maximization, greed, business ethics, monopoly, economic growth, and entrepreneurship. Contemporary Film and Economics is a must read for anyone interested in how movies project and interpret economic ideas, craft popular narratives for how economies operate, and explore motivations for economic behavior. Economists will find it useful in starting discussions on key concepts, while filmmakers will find the discussions of economic concepts a provocative way of thinking about how to craft engaging stories that are grounded in practical experience.

Contrary to the assumption that Western and Eastern European economies and cinemas were very different from each other, they actually had much in common. After the Second World War both the East and the West adopted a mixed system, containing elements of both socialism and capitalism, and from the 1980s on the whole of Europe, albeit at an uneven speed, followed the neoliberal agenda. This book examines how the economic systems of the East and West impacted labor by focusing on the representation of work in European cinema. Using a Marxist perspective, it compares the situation of workers in Western and Eastern Europe as represented in both auteurist and popular films, including those of Tony Richardson, Lindsay Anderson, Jean-Luc Godard, Andrzej Wajda, DušanMakavejev, Jerzy Skolimowski, the Dardenne Brothers, Ulrich Seidl and many others.

From hairdressers and caregivers to reproductive workers and power-suited executives, images of women's labor have powered a fascinating new movement within twenty-first century European cinema. Social realist dramas capture precarious working conditions. Comedies exaggerate the habits of the global managerial class. Stories from countries battered by the global financial crisis emphasize the patriarchal family, debt, and unemployment. Barbara Mennel delves into the ways these films about female labor capture the tension between feminist advances and their appropriation by capitalism in a time of ongoing transformation. Looking at independent and genre films from a cross-section of European nations, Mennel sees a focus on economics and work adapted to the continent's varied kinds of capitalism and influenced by concepts in second-wave feminism. More than ever, narratives of work put female characters front and center--and female directors behind the camera. Yet her analysis shows that each film remains a complex mix of progressive and retrogressive dynamics as it addresses the changing nature of work in Europe.