The Wolf of Wall Street is a 2013 American black comedy crime film directed by Martin Scorsese and based on the memoir of Jordan Belfort.
The film tells the true story of Belfort, who became a stockbroker in the 1990s and got rich quickly through fraud and illegality, eventually triggering his downfall and downfall.
In the film, Belfort is played by Leonardo dicaprio. Belfort is an ambitious young broker who joins a small stockbroking firm called Stratton Oaks. Here he meets a group of like-minded people, such as Donny Azaf, who are passionate about making profits by manipulating the stock market and defrauding customers.
As Stratton Oaks’ business grew, Belfort and his team began to live a life of luxury and indulgence, investing heavily in money and drugs. Their methods attract the attention of the FBI, and Special Agent Patrick Danvers, played by Kyle Chandler, begins investigating Belfort and Stratton Oaks’ transgressions.
“The Wolf of Wall Street” is a dark comedy about Belfort’s lavish lifestyle, his relationships with his team members, and how they bilked investors out of their money. The film shows the unbridled party culture, the extreme desire for money and the morally corrupt world of stock trading. However, with the FBI closing in and Belfort’s own internal struggles, he eventually faces legal prosecution and personal collapse.
The Wolf of Wall Street portrays the greed and corruption of the financial world in a vivid and exaggerated way, and presents audiences with a story of moral decay through satire and dark humor. The film received widespread acclaim.
Belfort’s greedy motives and actions
As the hero of The Wolf of Wall Street, Belfort’s greedy motives and behavior are one of the core elements of the film.
Greedy motivation:
Jordan Belfort was an ambitious young man with a desire for success and wealth. He is desperate to realize his ambitions and dreams through money. He wanted to live a luxurious life and achieve great success and status in the financial world. Belfort’s greed was motivated by his insatiable desire for power, status, and material comforts.
Greedy behavior:
Belfort exhibits a range of greedy behaviors in the film, including:
Manipulating the stock market: As a stockbroker, Belfort used fraud to manipulate stock prices to benefit himself and his team.
Defrauding clients: He used high-pressure sales and fraud to attract clients to buy low-quality stocks in order to obtain high commissions and profits.
Lavish lifestyle: Belfort spent his fortune on luxury properties, cars, private jets, parties and luxury goods to live an indulgent, lavish lifestyle.
In pursuit of further wealth, Belfort and his team engaged in illegal activities, including criminal acts of money laundering, tax evasion and fraud.
Belfort’s greedy behavior wasn’t just for personal gain, it had a profound effect on those around him. His greed led to financial losses for many investors and ruined their lives. In addition, his actions attracted the attention of the FBI, which eventually led to his own downfall and legal prosecution.
By depicting the greedy motives and actions of Jordan Belfort, the film shows how greed can lead to moral decay, personal degradation, and social destruction. It reminds viewers to reflect on the lure of money and power to human nature, and the consequences of greedy behavior.
The greed reflected in the other characters
In addition to the protagonist Jordan Belfort, other characters in the film The Wolf of Wall Street also exhibit manifestations of greed. Here’s a look at some of the key players and their greedy behavior:
Donny Azaf:
Azaf is a close friend and partner of Belfort.
Together with Belfort, he established Stratton Oaks and held key positions in it.
Azaf displayed extreme greed, using the fraud techniques Belfort taught him to defraud clients and make huge profits through high commissions. Like Belfort, he lived a luxurious and indulgent life, constantly pursuing material comforts and fame.
Mark Hannell:
Hannell is Belfort’s former mentor.
He was a successful Wall Street broker who instilled in Belfort ideas of greed and indulgence.
Hannell encouraged Belfort and other brokers to satisfy their desires by pursuing money and pleasure, ignoring morality and the law.
Patrick Danvers:
Danvers is a special agent with the FBI.
He was assigned to investigate the illegal activities of Belfort and Stratton Oaks.
While Danvers stands for justice, it is also revealed in the film that he has a thirst for power and success, as well as some of the unethical acts he takes to achieve his goals.
The avarice of these characters highlights the moral decay and the fragility of human nature in the financial world. In their pursuit of wealth, power, and pleasure, they neglect their own moral responsibilities and harm to others. The avaricious behavior of these characters in the film further highlights the culture of greed and moral hazard prevalent throughout the financial industry.
The source of desire and driving force of the task in the film
In the film “The Wolf of Wall Street”, the source and driving force of the characters’ desire can be discussed from the following aspects:
The desire for success and status:
The main character, Jordan Belfort, and the other characters in the film generally have a desire for success and status. They hope to realize their ambitions and aspirations through the pursuit of money and power. This desire drives them to chase more wealth and demonstrate their abilities and achievements in order to achieve great success and status in the financial world.
The pursuit of material comforts:
The characters in the film have a strong pursuit of material comforts. They chase material possessions such as luxury living, designer clothes, luxury estates, luxury cars and private jets. The driving force of this desire is to demonstrate one’s wealth and social status, as well as to satisfy one’s desire for luxury and pleasure.
Competitive and comparative psychology:
The characters in the film generally have competitive and comparative psychology, and they are eager to stand out and surpass others in the financial world. This desire drives them to constantly seek more wealth and success in order to maintain an edge in a competitive environment and win the recognition and envy of others.
The pursuit of personal identity and self-worth:
The characters in the film aspire to achieve personal identity and self-worth through the pursuit of wealth and success. They hope to prove their value and ability through the acquisition of money and power, and gain the appreciation and respect of others. This desire drives them to constantly work hard and pursue higher achievements in order to satisfy their inner pride and satisfaction.
In general, the desire sources and driving forces of the characters in the film mainly include the desire for success and status, the pursuit of material comforts, competition and comparative psychology, and the pursuit of personal identity and self-worth. These desires drive them to engage in greedy and unethical behavior in the financial world, but also bring moral and ethical challenges and conflicts.
The effect of desire on the hero and his team
Desire has a profound impact on protagonist Jordan Belfort and his team in the film The Wolf of Wall Street.
Power and power source:
Desire became the primary source of action for Jordan Belfort and his team. Their desire for success, wealth and status fuels their drive to strive, take risks and push beyond themselves. The desire keeps them focused and motivated in the competitive financial world, constantly striving for higher goals.
Influence behavior and decision making:
The desires of the protagonist and his team have a significant impact on their behavior and decisions. To satisfy their desires, they engage in unethical and even illegal practices such as risky investment strategies, market manipulation, and customer deception. They take risks and break the law in order to gain more wealth and profits, putting personal gain above morality and ethics.
Form a team culture:
Desire forms a specific team culture within the protagonist and his team. They share similar desires and values, pursuing personal gain and team success. This team culture stimulates competition and cooperation among them, creating a highly stressful and competitive work environment.
Impact on interpersonal relationship:
Desire has a profound effect on the relationships of the protagonist and his team. Belfort’s greed and lust caused him to become estranged from his family, friends, and his marriage. There are also negative feelings of mutual use, betrayal and jealousy within the team. Driven by desire, interpersonal relationships become fragile and unstable.
Psychological and moral effects:
Desire has a huge impact on the psychology and morality of the protagonist and his team. Belfort’s inner greed and desire led him to gradually lose his moral bottom line and concern for others in the process of pursuing wealth and success. This psychological influence also spreads through the team, causing them to gradually lose their ethics.
Risky behavior and risk-taking in movies
The importance of risky behavior:
The film’s protagonist, Jordan Belfort, and his team demonstrate the risky behaviors required to pursue success and wealth in finance. They take risks and adopt bold investment strategies, such as manipulating the market, hyping stocks, etc., in pursuit of high returns. These risky behaviors reflect the nature of the financial industry and the courage and determination required to pursue wealth and success.
The driving force of adventure:
The characters in the film display a strong spirit of adventure that drives them to constantly chase greater profits and success. They seek excitement and challenge, are willing to take high risks, and believe that taking risks can bring greater rewards. This adventurous spirit motivates them to seek breakthroughs and innovations in the highly competitive financial world.
Consequences and costs:
The film also reveals the consequences and costs of risky behavior and risk-taking. While these actions can bring great profits and success, they also come with high risks and uncertainty. The protagonist and his team get into moral and legal dilemmas in their quest for wealth and success, and end up paying a huge price, including the loss of family, friends, freedom, and reputation.
Mental Challenges and growth:
Risk-seeking behaviors and risk-taking bring about psychological challenges and growth. Jordan Belfort, the protagonist, gradually lost his moral bottom line in the process of pursuing wealth and power, and his psychological state was greatly impacted. At the same time, he also experienced self-reflection and growth, and realized that money and success are not the only sources of happiness.
Overall, by showing the importance and consequences of risky behavior and risk-taking, the film reminds the audience of the need to think carefully about risk in the pursuit of success and wealth, and to recognize what risky behavior can lead to.
peroration
The film allows the audience to see the cost of pursuing desire, and risk symbolizes the cost of pursuing desire in the film. In pursuit of wealth and success, Jordan Belfort and his team take risky actions and investment strategies, but ultimately pay a huge price, including moral degradation, legal punishment, and personal loss.
The financial world is cold, and risk in the film also symbolizes the cold nature of the financial world. The financial industry is full of competition and uncertainty, and it requires taking risks and taking high risks to achieve great returns. The film reveals the cruelty and unrelenting nature of the financial world by showing the risks the protagonist and his team take in their quest for wealth.
In the process of pursuit, moral and ethical challenges are inevitable. Risk in film is also closely related to moral and ethical tests. Protagonist Jordan Belfort and his team take unethical and even illegal actions in pursuit of wealth. These risk-taking and risky behaviors not only have an impact on their personal ethics, but also call into question the moral bottom line of the entire financial industry.
Confusion is a level that every successful person will experience, and the movie exposes the weakness and loss of human nature. The protagonist Jordan Belfort gradually loses his moral bottom line in the process of chasing wealth and success, and his greed and desire lead him to become cold and heartless in the financial world. Risky behavior reveals the dark side of human greed and desire.
In the film, it also triggers the protagonist’s self-cognition and reflection. In the face of risks and consequences, Jordan Belfort gradually realizes that wealth and success are not the only sources of happiness, and he experiences self-reflection and growth.