ABSTRACT
How does wealth creation and economic growth factor into contemporary movies? In general, they don’t. Contemporary films are strikingly unsophisticated and simplistic in their depictions of economic growth. This chapter dives deep into the tropes as revealed in movies such as The Magnificent Seven, Elysium, The Hunger Games, and Star Wars. In many films, particularly science fiction movies, future economies appear to be magically dynamic and advanced without any understanding of the social, cultural, and economic mechanisms that propel technological change, improvements in standards of living, and impacts on quality of life. Several movies, including Gangs of New York, Slumdog Millionaire, and Lion, provide intriguing windows into whether economic growth and wealth fundamentally alter character trajectories and the trade-offs implied in prosperous versus poor economies. The chapter concludes with thoughts on how a more sophisticated understanding of economic history and institutions can provide more layered and compelling stories.
