Dialogue and Dissonance in The Wolf of Wall Street

Most fascinating about this movie is its diction. It switches from elevated to vulgar in a beat. It mixes money, sex and drugs with the financial markets that move the world. Perhaps the film's game is to serve up what the nightly news revolves around (a subject likely to bore many) with something that will titillate some yet repel others.

The film opens with a brokerage-firm's commercial advertising "Stability, Integrity, Pride." Then the film contrasts the real firm throwing a dwarf-throwing contest with $25000 on the line. In an off-angle shot, Belfort (the narrator/protagonist) is shown having sex in a Ferrari while driving, and flying a copter while under the influence of cocaine. But Belfort has his own definition of those terms.

A person might be interested in ethical finances may not be interested in vulgar living. Looking at Amazon's unusually U-shaped reader-rating statistics makes the divide in audiences clear.

Try on this brilliant opening monologue that spells out what you're in for in this movie (and whether you'll want to watch it):

"On a daily basis, I consume enough drugs to sedate Manhattan, Long Island and Queens for a month. 

"I take Quaaludes for back pain Adderall to stay focused, Xanax to take the edge off, pot to mellow me out, cocaine to wake me up again, and morphine, well, because it's awesome. 

"But of all the drugs under God's blue heaven, there is one that is my absolute favorite. You see, enough of this shit will make you invincible, able to conquer the world, and eviscerate your enemies. [Sniffs coke] And I'm not talking about this. I'm talking about this. [Snaps one hundred dollar bill and tosses it in trash.] 

"See money doesn't just buy you a better life, better food, better cars, better pussy. It also makes you a better person. 

"You can give generously to your church or political party of your choice. You can save the fucking spotted owl with money."

Some of the film's best parts were these monologues. Belfort is told and appears to accept he's an idiot. If so, he's a uniquely clever one.

Martin Scorsese's movie is written by Jordan Belfort, the movie's protagonist, and Terrence Winter, writer for The Sopranos. This movie critic supposed the audience hated the movie because it was 1) too excessive (even for a movie about excess), 2) released on Christmas, and 3) marketed with the wrong tone. (Caution for slow internet users: The link is packed with videos and advertisements.)

Spoiler: The ending, too, may feel like a let-down. The viewer has to ponder what Scorsese was up to. Audiences expect change. When Belfort walks out on stage as a motivational speaker, we don't think he's changed. He sobered up and then rushed back to the drugs. When given opportunities to turn around, he passes them up. It's just a new game: different players, different rules but the same con. At least, so the film suggests. Leonardo DiCaprio in an interview thinks differently:




Observe Scorsese's reaction shot. I'd be curious to hear/read Belfort's thoughts on a film he co-wrote.

Here's a list of other memorable quotes.

Should You Watch/Read Ender's Game? 10 Reasons to Consider

Ender's Game, the movie, comes out on 11/1/13 (trailers), starring Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley.  Card's personal views on gay marriage spurred this campaign.

1. Here is K. W. Jeter's interesting claim:  That voting against the movie before seeing it votes against making movies from living writers.  You can read his reasoning here.
2. I can't find it now, but one writer advocated seeing the movie and donating to your favorite charity.
3. You don't have to agree with an author to read his work.  The same holds true for many authors.  Many left-leaning writers read Robert Heinlein--even when his writing game had fallen.  People still read Ezra Pound, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, or H. P. Lovecraft whose personal beliefs were less pleasant.  I haven't read Mein Kampf, but I don't advocate boycotting it either.  Although I'm a Christian, I read atheist writers and other religious/philosophical affiliations opposed to mine.  Mario Vargas Llosa's Nobel prize speech states the necessary mental state of readers and writers when approaching fiction:
   
   "When [various unfortunate events occur in fiction], the shudder is the same in the reader who worships Buddha, Confucius, Christ, Allah, or is an agnostic, wears a jacket and tie, a jalaba, a kimono, or bombachas."
   
4. Art should be about art or its aesthetics, rather than its advocacy of any one stripe of politics.  Politics change.  What's popular now may fall into disfavor, not only invalidating but also stamping censorship on any literary work.
5. SF is supposed to be a genre of ideas--even or especially ideas we disagree with.
6. The author should be separate from the work, which is not unrelated to Roland Barthes' "The Death of the Author".  In this case, the work has nothing to do with the writer's belief (see discussion of Ender's Game theme here.)
7. Boycotting could have the opposite effect:  Drawing attention to what you what want to hide.
8. You might change your mind, or find that what you thought, wasn't the case.  I once signed a petition against bringing the Martin Scorsese's movie The Last Temptation of Christ to theaters because it misrepresented Christ.  Later, curious, I watched it.  One, the movie opens stating that it was not representing the gospels. Two, while the first half exceeded credibility, the second was extremely moving.  Atheists have said it made them feel religious.
9. I suspect Orson Scott Card bases his belief primarily on religious conviction, not because of animosity. 
10. My strongest claim is that this action advocates a political censorship.  Mario Vargas Llosa writes that dictatorships favor censorship because they fear the imagination.  If we disagree, we are free to state so.  However, if we openly suggest that many should boycott a work because of our disagreements with an author, this opens the door to the same thing happening to works you agree with.  This economic battle hurts no one but the already difficult financial prospects of artists.

Your mileage may vary.  Feel free to comment but with reasons and with courtesy.