Episode 43 is an Oscars special! We explore philanthropy at the movies: what films there are about philanthropy (if any), what insight they can offer, and some ideas for future films that could be made. Topics covered include:
- Why aren't there any genuinely great portrayals of philanthropy or the big questions it raises on film?
- Fictional philanthropists in movies
- The philanthropist as plot device or cinematic shorthand
- Do comic book adaptations offer the most insightful portrayal of philanthropy issues in the movies?
- Is Tony Stark (Iron Man) an example of the challenge of doing good with tainted money?
- What does X Men's Charles Xavier tell us about enlightened self-interest?
- Is The Marvel Avengers: Civil War storyline really about the tension between philanthropic liberty and democratic accountability?
- Does Black Panther highlight the challenges of issue-based vs place-based identity in philanthropy?
- Is Thanos an effective altruist?
- Pitching some of the great philanthropic stories we could tell on film:
- Carnegie, Rockefeller and the Walsh Commission
- Julius Rosenwald and the Civil Rights Movement
- Angela Burdett-Coutts and Charles Dickens: the philanthropic odd couple
- William Rathbone: head vs heart
- James Oglethorpe and the founding of the State of Georgia
- John Howard: the grumpy Indiana Jones of philanthropy
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