Maizie Brown Candidate Number 1012.

Evaluation.

For my MS3 coursework I conducted an investigation into male materialism and

consumership in Wall Street drama films and how it represents power and wealth. I

focused my investigation upon two texts: ‘American Psycho’ (2000) and ‘The Wolf of Wall

Street’ (2013).

Through my research, I discovered that wealth and power is exerted through material gain,

such as expensive yachts in The Wolf of Wall Street, where as American Psycho explores

how brands equate to conformity and acceptance among others. In terms of R.W Connell’s

“Masculinity Hierarchy” , the character of Bateman relies on his hegemonic and complicit 1

features to gain his masculine pride, such as his facial products and choices of suit. This is

again achieved through colleague acceptance and gratification. His narcissistic nature and

deep concern with appearance also classifies him as a metrosexual male. According to

Belfort’s attributes in TWOWS, he is represented to be a hegemonic male due to his lack

of emotion, the way in which he leads his lifestyle and his assertion of dominance in order

to gain power and respect from both male and female characters. Unlike Bateman,

Belfort’s masculinity does not need to be confirmed through the eyes of his colleagues.

Connell, R. W., & Connell, R. (2005). Masculinities. Univ of California Press.1

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Maizie Brown Candidate Number 1012.

To present my findings, I produced one double magazine spread, a magazine cover, a film

poster and a DVD cover. I aimed to take conventions from both films and create my own

Wall Street drama, entitled “Hedonists”. The title itself is derived from the hedonistic nature

of both Belfort and Bateman. I aimed to reflect not only the visual conventions, but the

representation of males on Wall Street.

My magazine cover features a central image of my

model, clad in a suit, with well as neatly maintained

hair. This is shows conventions from American

Psycho, as I aimed to reflect the complicit nature of

Bateman. The saturated lighting enabled me to

conceal half of my models face, implying concealed

emotions or duel personality to his Yuppie outlook.

My chosen background was the American flag, as

through my findings, The Wolf of Wall Street has a

strong essence of what is it to be American and the

notion of The American Dream. This is further

anchored by the tag line “The All American Issue” and the choice of colour scheme: red

and white. I intended to replicate the patriotism with in The Wolf of Wall Street by doing

this. The gold typography was used for continuity and film recognition, as it is the same

typography and colour as my film titling.

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Maizie Brown Candidate Number 1012.My poster adopts similar conventions to my

magazine cover. Again, for continuity reasons, the

gold typography anchors the film, as well as

connoting power and wealth. The tagline “Know your

brand, forget your identity” sums up my research into

this genre of film, as the only thing that separates

colleagues from one another is brands. In American

Psycho, the idea of identity is erased as it’s only the

surface value that counts. This is also shown visually

through the removal of the models faces in the

poster.

Yuppie consumerism is reflected in the main image of of the poster. The relaxed posture of

both models reflects the representation of Belfort being a flippant character in the film, not

taking responsibility, living life in excess and pursuit of self-gratification. It also relates back

to the title “Hedonists”.

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Maizie Brown Candidate Number 1012.

My DVD cover followed the region 2 format, with an 18 age rating and other required

features, such as the production company logo and copyright, the barcode, icons and

credit block. To keep a uniform and brand to my artefacts, I used similar imagery of suits

and other formal attire that business men wear. I also used quotes from a well known

newspaper and film magazine, to contextualise my DVD cover. Sticking with the colour

theme of white and gold, connotations of wealth and power are seen in all four of my

products.

The texts I have studied at act as a promotion to the male gender to aspire to lead such an

extravagant lifestyle. Reinforcing the American Dream ideology that anything is possible

and riches equate to security and a pleasurable life. I aimed to replicate this through my

products, by using Yuppie conventions from both films. To conclude, I believe I achieved

my intended representation that Wall Street drama films hold the ideal masculinity, that a

male dominated audience should aspire to.

WORD COUNT - 730.

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