Finding the Dark Triad in Wolf of Wall Street

Running head: FINDING THE DARK TRIAD IN WOLF OF WALL STREET
FINDING THE DARK TRIAD IN WOLF OF WALL STREET
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FINDING THE DARK TRIAD IN WOLF OF WALL STREET
Introduction
In this discussion of the dark triad of narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy, the
character that has been chosen is Jordan Belfort from the movie Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
directed by Martin Scorsese (Imdb.com., 2019). The movie starred Leonardo DiCaprio in the
lead role as Jordan Belfort. After watching the movie, it is clear that Jordan Belfort has the
characteristics of narcissism and Machiavellianism. This discussion will provide evidences and
arguments to prove the character’s possession of the two traits.
Discussion
The movie is based on the real life character of Jordon Belfort, a broker and his journey
from rags to riches and then to rags again. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the part quite convincingly
making the viewers both hate him and love him. The character has all the features of
Machiavellianism and some features of narcissism as well. in order to comprehend the character
and its alignment with the dark triad, it is important to first explain the the concept.
The dark triad – narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy – is a set of personality
traits in psychology. These traits are referred as ‘dark’ because of the malicious qualities these
traits have (Jones & Paulhus, 2014). While narcissism refers to an individual’s pursuit of
satisfaction from pride or egotistic appreciation of one’s self image and qualities,
Machiavellianism is simply being manipulative, exploitative and cynical. Machiavellianism also
refers to the extreme focus on self-interest and cheating. Psychopathy on the other hand, relates
to anti-social behavior, selfishness, impulsivity and remorselessness (Jones & Paulhus, 2014)..
In the movie, the character demonstrates behaviors that could be easily aligned with
narcissism and Machiavellianism. The character demonstrates the traits of narcissism in the