Movies and My Research

I really liked the movie Margin Call. I had just read the book the Big Short by MIchael Lewis, and had learned, in simple terms, how the 2008 financial crisis developed and how people profited from this crisis. In a similar way, Margin Call presents with far more flair and drama the internal workings of people profiting from this crisis. In general, I like narratives and the presentation of complex ideas in simpler ways that people can understand, but nonetheless preserve the complexity of the phenomenon. 

I also liked Margin Call because it illustrates well organizational learning, my great fascination. The firm featured in the film must confront a change, which challenges the individuals' and the organization's beliefs, values and assumptions. A classic case. Some people's beliefs, values and assumptions change markedly; other people's beliefs, values and assumptions withstand the change and continue unabated; and the winners and losers because of changes or continuity to beliefs, values and assumptions are unclear. In other words, there are no clear winners and losers at an individual level.  Of course, since organizational learning ultimately deals with an organization's relationship with change, in terms of beliefs, values and assumptions, it is easier to determine a winner at the organizational level. The organization survives the financial crisis change, its beliefs, values and assumptions emerge victorious. On the other hand, the change wins if the organization does not survive, regardless of change or continuity to beliefs, values and assumptions.

I'm watching Real Steel on the flight from Incheon to Hong Kong. I like this science fiction movie, and science fiction movies in general. I like to imagine the continuity from the present to that (likely dystopian) future. I wonder about the changes brought on by technological change to people's beliefs, values and assumptions in this continuity. Obviously, these changes do not happen overnight. And I wonder about the instrumental people who brought about these changes. Who was the Steve Jobs in that continuity? In the case of Real Steel and its context of fighting robots, how did we go from a society which only recently welcomed mixed martial arts between humans to a society where unsanctioned mixed martial arts between robots is commonplace? In an absolute sense, this technological change is great, too great for the near future, I believe. After all, there should be more protests against this movement as laggards delay this technological adoption; but everyone in the movie appears enthusiastic about this sport. It appears that the whole ecology, nay, even education, has changed. What an amazing process!