Ben Berkman

Benjamin Button Disciplinary Essay

COMM 150H



The Economists Lens: Analyzing Industry in
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button


Ben Berkman

COMM 150H
Ben Berkman
Benjamin Button Disciplinary Essay
COMM 150H

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button the story of a boy born eighty years old
that ages backwards is ultimately a tale of self-discovery. In many ways, it mimics the
many uncertainties that I have faced in finding a major, or an academic area of
concentration that best suits my interests. As Benjamin experiments with sailing, sex,
alcohol, and love, I have equally tested the waters (pun intended) of various scholarly
pursuits: geography, journalism, and the social sciences to name a few. And just as the
protagonist eventually settles upon chasing the love of his life, Daisy, I believe Ive found
my educational passion in a combination of economics and French.
As such, for this discussion, I hope to analyze the cinematic concept of industry
through an economic lens. (Much to my chagrin, though Benjamin is born in French-
influenced New Orleans and falls in love with a woman who frequents the French art of
ballet, I did not find enough French inspiration in the film to warrant a lengthy dialogue.)
More specifically, I will examine how the use of groundbreaking industry technology in
the film was an investment an economic risk on part of the directors. But because the
technological innovations proved successful, the demand for the movie an economic
good increased. As a result, the movie made an impressive third of a billion dollars at
the box office.
Before exploring the economics within the industry construct, its necessary to
comprehend the cinematic risk the directors took in utilizing unseen technology
throughout the film. At first glance, it appears that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
doesnt have any true special effects. There are no explosions, transformers, or wild
zombie creatures. In fact, these special effects are so well blended into the picture that
they appear seamless, a feat that earned it an Oscar for visual effects. In other, potentially
Ben Berkman
Benjamin Button Disciplinary Essay
COMM 150H
lower-budget flicks, multiple actors would have been used for the various stages in
Benjamins life. But in this work, Brad Pitts (who plays Benjamin) face was
superimposed and altered to reflect the different ages.
A digital head was created through computer programming to mirror Pitts
actions. An NPR story more succinctly summarized this accomplishment: What the
audience is actually seeing in the first third of the movie [in which Benjamin is an old
man] is a computer-generated copy of Pitt's head, which the studio aged digitally. If it
acts like Pitt on the screen, that's because Pitt was filmed performing all of the scenes
from the first third of the movie and the special effects gurus then mimicked his
movements on the digital head (Sydell).
Its difficult to analyze one specific section of the film in which this technology is
most salient, primarily because the effect is best seen as the film progresses, as
Benjamins age changes but the intricacies of his face remain the same. However, in one
scene, Pitts on stage experience and brilliance blends in perfect conjunction with the
technological prowess the film exhibits.
Early in the film, when Benjamins person is still that of an old man (or, as he
aptly describes it Im seven, but I look a lot older), the old youngster is taken to a
church where a pastor urges him to walk for the first time in his life. Benjamin does walk,
to some extent, and the audience sees Pitts facial grimaces through the computer
generated, much older looking model. In the same interview with NPR, the movies
executive producer of digital effects, Ed Ulbrich, explained that Pitts movements were
unlike those any animator would have considered. He ends up getting this kind of crazy
kind of Popeye look on his face, and he's just thrilled," Ulbrich is quoted as saying. "I
Ben Berkman
Benjamin Button Disciplinary Essay
COMM 150H
don't think that it's something that any of us would have thought of had Brad not done
that" (Sydell).
Still, its hard not to question whether this process in which a computer-
animated face can supersede that of an actor will ultimately render the actor obsolete
altogether. While Benjamins facial expressions are those of Pitt throughout the film,
seven different actors play the body of his character. Moreover, modern movies such as
Avatar, and The Lord of the Rings feature primary characters that are almost entirely
generated through computers. That all being said, American cinema relies on the concept
of the movie star, so this trend may be a bit premature.
Now, with the technological risk established, its time to assess industry in The
Curious Case of Benjamin Button through the aforementioned economics lens. A quick
disclaimer: only a freshman, my economic knowledge is greatly limited to supply and
demand graphs, and other rudimentary intro to macro and micro concepts. Regardless,
the films budget was $150 million. Independent of my fiscal expertise, I know thats a
lot of money. Get Smart, which grossed one spot ahead of Benjamin Button in 2008, was
made on almost exactly half that amount. As such, by instilling the innovative motion-
capturing facial expression technology, the producers were taking a risk. In economics,
we can call this an investment, a noun that Investopedia defines as an asset or item that
is purchased with the hope that it will generate income or appreciate in the future
(Investment Definition). And, as most investors hope for, this investment paid off. The
film reeled in $333,932,083 in box offices revenues, strong enough for the twentieth
highest grossing film that year (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)").
Ben Berkman
Benjamin Button Disciplinary Essay
COMM 150H
Moving along, we can also look at the film in the economic-industry paradigm as
a good. Using the Macroeconomics textbook that sits on my desk, a good is, quite
obviously, a product or service that can be bought or sold for a price (Hubbard). For
each good, where its demand and supply graphs intersect, is a set price, called
equilibrium. This is the price people are willing and able to pay for the good. However,
different determinants can shift the supply or demand curves to the right or to the left,
thus changing the equilibrium price. A technological change is an example of a demand
shifter. As such, by employing face capture technology a technological advancement
the demand curve for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, shifted to the right, or
increased. By default, equilibrium also increased, and thus people are more willing to buy
this good. For that reason, not exclusively but in large part, the film performed admirably
at the box office.
But in order for the demand to shift right,
and thus increase the equilibrium, people need to
be cognizant of the high-tech improvement.
Further diving into the notion of cinematic
industry, this is where the films advertisement
team comes into play. In this nifty little poster
presumably created by said squad, Benjamins
face is shown at three distinct stages in his life. Throughout the periods we see the
characters facial features remain the same, thus indicating the proficiency in technology
by the producers. Benjamins face looks like the same actor, just at different ages. It does
not look like three different actors playing the same character. Id imagine that when a
In this poster, Benjamin Button (Brad
Pitt) is shown at three separate stages
of his unconventional life.
Ben Berkman
Benjamin Button Disciplinary Essay
COMM 150H
potential viewer stumbled upon this poster, he or she would become excited for the film,
if only for the technological aptitude evident in its billboard. As Pramaggiore and Wallis
suggest, it becomes more and more difficult with each passing year to lure costumer into
movie theatres (Pramaggiore & Wallis, 6). These technological developments enhance
the industry because, more than anything, they reap in new audiences.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a unique film, one enhanced by
impressive acting and even more extraordinary technology. Staring a character that ages
backwards, the films producers instilled cutting edge facial capture technology to make
Benjamins unconventional progression appear, at least physically, somewhat natural.
This achievement can best be economically observed through the filmic idea of industry,
in which the films technology in fact increased the demand for the film, leading to
greater rewards at the box office.
Ben Berkman
Benjamin Button Disciplinary Essay
COMM 150H
Works Cited
Hubbard, R. G. Macroeconomics. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print.
"Investment Definition." Investopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Pramaggiore, Maria, and Tom Wallis. Film: A Critical Introduction. 3rd ed. Boston:
Pearson, 2011. Print.
Sydell, Laura. "Building The Curious Faces Of 'Benjamin Button'" NPR. NPR, n.d. Web.
22 Apr. 2014.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Brad Pitt and Cate
Blanchett. The Kennedy/Marshall Company, 2008. DVD.
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved
2009-12-14.