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It’s been several months since I’ve discovered a new money movie to share with you. I love these things, but I’ve exhausted most of my sources for Public Domain material. However, while browsing the Prelinger Archives again the other day, I discovered a little gem that had slipped my notice before: “What Makes Us Tick”, a short cartoon from 1952 that describes how the stock market works.
“What Makes Us Tick” is a 12-minute cartoon (in Technicolor!) that extols the virtues of the stock market: “Common stock investments have helped to make our country prosperous and powerful. Owning a share of American industry is like owning a share in the future of our nation!” Like many of my favorite old educational films, this one was produced by John Sutherland.
“In a typical city or town,” the film begins, “on a typical residential street, we find a typical home occupied by a typical American family. Like millions of his fellow Americans, John Q. Public earns enough money to keep up the payments on a new car. He takes great pride in owning a fine new long-term mortgaged home that was built to last a lifetime.”
Yes, John Q. Public is embracing the new American lifestyle of debt! But he longs for a little more: “In spite of the high cost of being a husband and a father, John Q. has a private little nest egg. His practical nature tells him that it ought to do more than collect moths.”
The rest of the film illustrates how Mr. Public can take his nest egg and use it to invest in industry, helping the country grow while also earning a little dividend for his trouble. It’s fun stuff.
I love this film — and others like it. I love the way they cheerlead and educate at the same time. And, especially, I love the glimpse into American culture from a bygone era, when consumerism was just beginning to thrive.
This article is about Basics, Funny Money, Investing, Odds and Ends Saturday, 20th June 2009 (by J.D. Roth)
June 20th, 2009 at 5:40 am
“Owning a share of American industry is like owning a share in the future of our nation!”
Indeed. The neatest part (to me, at least) is that now you can actually do just that! (Whereas index funds weren’t around back in the 50s.)
June 20th, 2009 at 5:42 am
I love the glimpse into American culture from a bygone era, when consumerism was just beginning to thrive.
I agree that it’s edifying to see that.
We are influenced by our culture today too, of course. The tricky thing is that when you are a part of the culture you don’t see the effect that it has on you.
It doesn’t make us dumb that this is so. It just makes us human.
Rob
June 20th, 2009 at 6:27 am
“Naturally, when stockholders invest in a business, they hope to receive dividends to help pay for necessities of life”
As a dividend investor, that’s exactly why I own most individual stocks - to receive enough dividends to spend at my whim..
Great cartoon…
June 20th, 2009 at 6:31 am
It’s interesting how the video seems to think the economy will produce mostly manufacturing jobs. I doubt they could have foreseen the deindustrialization of the country.
Good video overall, but for some reason it creeps me out as propaganda. This is coming from an ardent capitalist with significant funds in the stock market.
June 20th, 2009 at 6:37 am
I’ve often wondered how people had car payments and mortgages back in the “Andy Griffith Days” But then cars weren’t so inflated in price (as compared to salaries) and neither were homes. Credit wasn’t so easy to come by either - very few people qualified for a credit card, and a bank loan wasn’t easy to come by. People also didn’t have as many other options for spending their money either - like cable tv, cell phones (or landline phones for that matter), and stuff, lots and lots of stuff!! Even today I think debt is manageable with just a mortgage payment and a car payment assuming both are within your means. Its just all those extra consumer wants that really eat at us and our paychecks.
June 20th, 2009 at 7:41 am
Great cartoon. Very simple.
June 20th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Good Video. I especially like the little blurb “Mr. John Q., because of a 40 hour week, has the leisure to dream about his favorite sport.” The average work week in the U.S. was 53 hours in 1900 and 67 hours in 1850. Not too much leisure time in the old days.
The examination prior to stock listing is quite funny as well, with John Q. in his boxers and 3 stock list department doctors examining him with a moving microscope. Funny how we moved away from the movie’s claim that the “corporation must have substantial assets in plants, tools, equipment, and cash.” Good thing the NASDAQ came around in 1971 so we could have the technology growth that now dominates our economy, as AppleMan alluded to.
June 20th, 2009 at 8:06 am
JD, It was fun watching this little educational video.
I am sure this can be an excellent launching pad for young minds wanting know how stock markets work, and how investors contribute to the economy by investing in it.
The darker sides of it are something that we can more easily educate, once they understand this. It replaces hours of teaching and reading.
I plan to refer to this in my blog that I’ve recently launched for the Indian audience.
Vijay
June 20th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Great Video. They could show it for the next 100 years and it would still be relevant.
June 20th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Did ya catch the part at the end that a capacity to produce goods to ease lives in time of peace can protect us in times of war. At that point the plant switched from cars to war machines. I used to wonder about farmers lobby power, and some of the strange subsidies (like mohair), and if these are more strategic than economic. But nowadays I’m wondering about GM and Dodge relevance to national defense.
June 20th, 2009 at 10:10 am
My husband and I really enjoyed this video and showed it to our 8 and 9 year old daughters so that they could learn more about stocks!
June 20th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Great film per se… however when we now see the devastating effect of debt in our economy, and the tremendous burden the next generations will bear, it’s quite a tragic piece of archive.
June 20th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Notice how they spent all of 10 seconds discussing the risk of stock ownership?
June 21st, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Gee whiz! That technicolor sure is something!
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:59 pm
First off, Great Video Find!
Second Off, @ Wearsunscreen — I’m glad someone else noticed it. Near the end, they talk about how the growing expansion of industry is great for security as they can convert manufacturing to war-time industry if needed. Now, A couple of thoughts about that:
1) Are we more insecure because our economy has moved beyond industrial and manufacturing and into more of a service economy?
2) Are wars different now that, we could still convert? for example, will future wars be played out by computers, hacking, robots, engineering? Is the grand industrial wars with new tanks, etc still necessary?
3) Is it time for the U.S. to focus on manufacturing again?
What are your thoughts?