In 1983, director John Landis helmed a movie that took a comedic yet serious look at how society and its culture, values, traditions, and expectations shape a person. The film “Trading Places” starred comedy geniuses Dan Akroyd and Eddie Murphy as Louis Winthorpe III, a top Wall Street stockbroker, and Billy Ray Valentine, a street hustler, respectively who are used in a study of human behavior by the Duke brothers named Mortimer and Randolph (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy). The theory of the brothers is that once the social circumstances of a rich man are altered, he shall turn to a life of crime. While, when the circumstances of a poor man are altered, he will rise above his original station in life and become a success.
After wagering a dollar bet, the brothers proceeded to choose the men whose lives they would alter. Choosing Winthorpe and Valentine, they hatch and enact an elaborate plan that sees Winthorpe lose everything he worked for in his life, his social status, and his girlfriend while also landing himself in jail for a trumped upcharge. At the same time, Valentine lives the life of Winthorpe and proves that even an uneducated man can rise above his shortcomings in life once given a chance to do so. What he lacked in education, he made up for using his powers of observation and street smarts.
Winthorpe struggles to rise above the gutter he suddenly found himself in with no success at the start. But, after Valentine accidentally overhears a conversation between the Duke brothers pertaining to their successful experiment, Valentine decides to help Winthorpe turn the tables on the brothers and teach them that people’s lives cannot be played with and that human beings are not guinea pigs that they can freely experiment on.
This movie can be considered to be based in part upon the nature versus nurture discussion as it pertains to human behavior. As we can glean from the bet made by the Duke brothers, they supposed that man has an unknown basic nature that he shall turn to in order to survive once the familiar situation he was originally in is threatened, altered, or, as in the case of Winthorpe, taken away from him. Winthorpe, although obviously raised and living in an affluent manner, did what he had to do in order to survive once he lost everything that made him who he was.
Turning to the life of crime by attacking the office he once worked for was exactly what the Duke brothers hoped he would do. Thus proving that the most basic instinct of man is survival and that any man will turn to a life of crime in order to do one of two things: survive or prove his innocence.
In the meantime, Billy Ray Valentine proved that every person also has the ability to learn about social roles, as well as social expectations, through observation and can become a success in life provided he is given the proper instruments with which to reach that goal. This also proves that sometimes, luck is just common sense in disguise, as he proved with the way he handled the pork belly trading situation.
Having said that, what exactly does the movie tell us about the importance of social roles in the development of a person? First of all, society is the foundation by which our interactive lives are created. If you study the character of Winthorpe, you will understand what I mean. Winthorpe was raised in a certain affluent atmosphere. It was in this social circle that he learned how to conduct himself in public and in private. The way he led his life was textbook perfect when we consider his status in life at that point. Society in effect told Winthorpe how a man of his stature was expected to behave and conduct himself in public, as well as what was expected of him as a person.
The same can be said of the character of Billy Ray Valentine. Raised in the lowest class of society, his social circle taught him that in order to survive, he must lead a life of crime. Survival of the fittest. But, this movie also shows us that if turning to crime is an instinct that man has once up against a wall, a person will also opt to lead a clean life once he is offered a chance to do so. Why does the movie depict social roles this way?
We have to understand that the movie wants the viewer to believe that there are two aspects to every man. That is the dark and light side. Now, depending upon the social roles that are assigned to a person, he will either be a Winthorpe or a Valentine. All because social classes are clearly divided, and the social roles portrayed by these people are assigned practically from childhood through observation of social roles, values, behavior, and expectations.
Man will always react in the best possible way that will aid him in his quest. That is what Trading Place teaches the viewers. The best possible way to achieve his quest will all depend upon his current social role in life and how he chooses to play it out.
After viewing this movie, I came to realize that social roles are not permanent in life. It can change in the blink of an eye, and a person must be prepared to respond to changes at any given time. Society is the one constant factor that is always shaping and reshaping our values, behavior, and expectations towards one another.
Work Cited
Trading Places. Dir. John Landis. Perf. Dan Akroyd, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy. 1983. DVD. Paramount Home Video.