Topic > Corruption in the film Wall Street and the play Macbeth

In the film "Wall Street" directed by Oliver Stone and in the play "Macbeth", written by William Shakespeare, it is shown that corruption plays an important role in everyone's lives . To begin with, the director and playwright both suggest that the ambitious are easily corrupted; furthermore, they believe that corruption is contagious; however, in "Wall Street", Stone suggests that there can be redemption for those who are corrupt, while Shakespeare indicates that the ambitious are doomed due to their rebellion against nature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay For starters, in both “Macbeth” and “Wall Street,” the ambitious are easily corrupted. This is demonstrated through Stone's characterization of Bud. Bud initially proves ambitious, but unsuccessful. Stone describes this through the reason for the phone call to show Bud's desire to be "on the other side." However, Bud becomes corrupted by Gekko, who manipulates him. This is shown in the taxi scene. Stone uses lighting to show Bud's cooperation, knowing that he is losing his morality. Similarly, Macbeth becomes corrupted after learning of the prophecy from the witches. This causes his "deep black desires" to fester within him, as he devises a plan to move up the social hierarchy. By killing the king, Macbeth begins his path which corrupts him because he is ambitious. Through Bud's corruption by his actions led by Gordon Gekko and Macbeth doing the same, Stone and Shakespeare demonstrate that the most ambitious people are the ones who are easiest to corrupt. However… Secondly, “Wall Street” and “Macbeth” both suggest that corruption is contagious. In 'Macbeth', the protagonist begins as someone who is seen as a “valiant… and worthy gentleman”. Shakespeare demonstrates this by comparing it to the lion, considered the noblest of animals in the Jacobean era. However, after Macbeth meets the witches, they pass on their corruption to him, causing him to go from "righteous to foul." Shakespeare ultimately describes corruption as passed on to the ambitious through supernatural intervention. Similarly, in "Wall Street", Bud starts out like everyone else and uncorrupted. After meeting Gordon Gekko, he is increasingly corrupt but still questions Gekko's ways, wondering "how much is enough". Over time, Gekko passes his corruption on to Bud leaving him "changed" as he does whatever it takes to make money. After being corrupted himself, Bud attempts to corrupt others, such as Roger, who he tries to convince by saying that "everyone does it" when he is unsure. This suggests that corruption has not only spread to Bud, but to all people. As the witches corrupt Macbeth and Gekko corrupts Bud, Stone and Shakespeare demonstrate that corruption is passed from one person to another in an endless chain. Finally, Stone suggests in "Wall Street" that someone who is corrupt can still redeem himself, while through "Macbeth" Shakespeare claims to believe the opposite. In "Wall Street", as Bud becomes more and more corrupt, he begins to harm those around him, damaging his reputation with those people in the process. After some time, he begins to see the errors in his ways as he tries to right his mistakes and follow in the footsteps of "the only honest man I know." In this way, he regains the respect of his friends and family, showing Stone's point of view that you can always redeem yourself if you try. However in 'Macbeth', after the protagonist becomes a corrupt murderer, he realizes that he has "entered so far that, if he no longer waded,.