It's the Stupid, Economy

I think that most everything I know about economics comes from watching TV and movies. I mean, I get the basic stuff like "dollars is good" and "if you paint my house I won't kill your dog" and I have a sense of some of the bigger ideas like "dividend checks help pay for my dry cleaning" but beyond that my general attitude about the economy is that if ignores me, I'll ignore it.

The movie "Trading Places" is a constant tutor, introducing me to ideas like "sell something you don't have when the price is high so you can buy a lot of it with that pretend money when the price is low." True, I'm not clear on all the details but any insight I have into the Futures market comes from that movie and it's a sequel, "Back to the Futures Market." I don't know exactly how the story-lines mesh but the life lessons are clear.

Another movie with has taught me about money is "Brewster's Millions." Richard Pryor has 30 days to spend $300,000 so he can inherit 300 million. Or something like that. Of course, the economy has shifted in the 30 or so years since the movie came out. In the movie, only a certain amount could be spent outright. A huge chunk had to be lost through poor investing. These days, I could write a check for private school tuition, buy a piece of kosher steak and be done with the expenditures. And as for the poor investments? They seem to be rather easy to come by, at least for me.

Apparently the movie "Boiler Room" has something to do with money but I haven't seen it because I don't like boilers. If you can think of any other movies which can teach me about the economy, please feel free to leave a comment with the title and the underlying economic truth so that I don't actually have to watch the movie. Don't suggest anything by Fellini. I'm allergic.