Martin Scorsese’s most recent work, The Wolf of Wall Street, has engendered a significant amount of attention, for both its content and quality. The most vocal critics of the film have focused on the depictions of the lavish lifestyle Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his compatriots lived, arguing that the film endorses those behaviors. Though I believe this view is misguided, I think the attitude that many filmgoers may find repulsive is best on display in a single scene from Oakmont Stratton’s trading floor. This scene, where Jordan Belfort beseeches his employees to “deal with your problems by becoming rich,” reminds me of a scene from another famous Hollywood movie, Glengarry Glen Ross. These two scenes, which can be celebrated as “motivational” and “inspiring” actually display the base, animalistic behavior of greedy businessmen, but leave it to the audience to find that interpretation.

It is easy to come under the thrall of Belfort’s exploits, at least initially. It’s thrilling to watch this guy take over the world, do exactly what he wanted to, and be an asshole in the process- you get caught up in the pace and the excitement of the moment. Take, for example, this scene:

DiCaprio does a truly amazing job here, as Belfort imploring his employees to solve their problems by getting rich. It’s pure animalistic insanity. He screams at them, they scream back, you can almost smell the drugs and testosterone through the screen. Let’s compare this to Alec Baldwin’s scene from Glengarry Glen Ross:

The tone, lighting, mood of these scenes are completely opposite. Wolf shows DiCaprio in a well-lit room, hyped up on drugs, surrounded by hundreds of traders. In Ross Baldwin speaks to a handful of salesmen in a dark, solemn, grimy room. Belfort’s audience eats up his every word, while Baldwin’s incredulously stares back. But when it comes to content, Baldwin and DiCaprio are like mirror images. Both of these are all about making the sale, and doing everything you possibly can to close it. Each callously shoves morality to the side, and then reminds the audience that he will still be living the high life long after they’re gone. Material goods, watches and cars, are symbols of power and wealth.

These men represent the ideal of a testosterone-riddled ultra-rich American. They don’t just have to be wealthy; they have to do so in the most ostentations manner possible. It is completely acceptable for them to achieve that goal by any means necessary. When people take issue with Wolf of Wall Street, like the daughter of a Belfort compatriot who denounced the film, they think that these scenes serve as entertainment, and promote the same individualistic values. Some people, like a few Wall Street bankers, certainly did see Wolf as an endorsement of a lavish lifestyle. But the fact that a character like Jordan Belfort or Alec Baldwin’s unnamed character is portrayed does not mean it is an endorsement- the audience should be clearly able to recognize that what they are saying is insane, because money cant solve all problems.