The Big Short

The Big Short: The Moral Dilemma College

It is often said that the morality of an act is shown by the intention of the subject, not its consequences. In the film, The Big Short directed by Adam McKay, characters are faced with a moral dilemma that is so unbearable, the only thing they can do is service one's self-interest. The film is based on actual events of the financial crisis of 2007 as depicted in the novel by Michael Lewis, The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. Adam McKay tells this story of morality in the form of a farce, comedy, and outrageousness. He bases the film on the context that people that work in finance are the best bank robbers as the financial crisis was famously described by many as an “Inside job.” The film tells the story of the financial crisis in three separate stories. The characters in this film never come into contact with one another physically. The single idea of the crisis is what brings them together. The film surely conveys a moral dilemma; If achieving something entails other people losing, should it be right?


There are a number of well-constructed characters. Whoever is the villain or hero is pretty much up to the audience. As the character Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) described them as, “the gigantic lie at the soul of the...

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