You might have been a bit revolted by the excessive greed, exploitation and general dickhead-ery in The Wolf Of Wall Street, but Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal of money-hungry Wall Street trader Jordan Belfort (a man who actually exists in real life) was apparently so inspirational that applications to become a banker have risen by 44 per cent since the film’s release.
Even though Jordan spent 22 months in prison for security fraud, some people are so enamoured with his cash, blow-jobs, cocaine and pool-party lifestyle that they want to emulate it, or at least the money that comes with it. According to Indeed.com, a job website, searches for banking jobs have soared. And an incredible graph displays how searches spiked after the UK and US release dates of the film.
Oh, and in Essex, searches for the job rose by a whopping 177 per cent following the film's release. Not really quashing that stereotype of wide-boy bankers, but there you go.
‘It is really interesting to see the effects movies and popular culture have on the job seeker,’ David Ruddick, VP of international markets at Indeed, told The Telegraph. ‘For many people the inspiration for their career choice was based on a TV or film character. In the case of The Wolf of Wall Street it seems the proof is in the data.’
Even though a couple of years ago bankers the great enemy of the state, blamed for society’s downfall, it seems they’re now back in our good books. Maybe it’s just a case of if you can’t beat them, join them?
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.