This presentation will examine the significance of the Bernie Madoff saga in terms of its impact on the American Dream and the American psyche. Madoff, the ultimate insider, friend to Wall Street and the federal government, former NASDAQ chair and confidante to Washington legislators, was for many years representative of Big Money and Big Success, he creator of a brilliant investment strategy that could outperform the market. Eventually, when the dream unravels after the economy folds and the pyramid scheme collapses, Madoff emerges as a strange kind of serial criminal.
Bernie does not represent the sex and drugs and flamboyance of the Wolf of Wall Street, but a much more mundane, insidious kind of corruption. Bernie is a wolf who dresses up as the grandfather to fool all of us – we’re Little Red Riding Hoods – even if we did not, unlike the celebrities (Kevin Bacon, Steven Spielberg, the Wilpon brothers who owned the NY Mets), the wealthy country club members and the charities, invest our money. We – all of us – are the easy dupes who want to believe that someone can beat the system … and Bernie is truly no evil genius. A bumbler with charm, he could have been caught multiple times along the way.
What does the saga say about our society? About capitalism? About how we can live ethically in such a complex world? Despite the lack of major motion picture appeal, the story resonates with the public. As rates for murder and other violent crimes fall, white-collar crime has become the scourge of the 21st Century, and Bernie – he was on a first-name basis with everyone – embodies the scourge.
About the presenterJonathan G Ripley
Dr. Jonathan Ripley is a Professor of Literature and Philosophy at Wentworth Institute of Technology. He has a Ph.D. in Modern American Literature from St. John’s University, a M.Ph.in Modern American Literature from St. John’s University; an M.A.in Modern British and American Literature from Adelphi University; and a B.A.in Philosophy from the University of Rochester.