Mr Nobody Sociology

For my film choice, I chose Mr. Nobody (2009) (Van Dormael). It is a film starring Jared Leto, Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger, Linh Dan Pham, Rhys Ifans, Natasha Little, Toby Regbo and Juno Temple. The film is extremely artsy and experimental, I honestly chose it only because I knew nothing about the film and wished to challenge myself to see if I could find any hidden economics in a random Netflix pick. The premise of the film is that a young boy is split between staying with his father and running away with his mother after they split. This is not shown or given away until we go through the many outcomes of his life based off of multiple decisions, as portrayed by the older version of himself living as the last mortal in a world of immortals.

During the first half of the film it was rather difficult to discern what, if any, economics were shown in the film. After wrapping my head around the various uses of chaos theory, string theory and the butterfly effect, it was easy to see that the central theme of the film revolves around the utility theory and opportunity cost.
What is utility theory? The basic cost benefit analysis as stated in our text as:
“The marginal utility of this item divided by its price is greater than the marginal utility of other items divided by their prices, so I am going to make this purchase because it will increase my overall utility.” (Arnold)
Or as it is put in the film, the utility of this decision divided by what I give up is greater than the utility of another decision divided by what is given up by me, so I am going to make the decision that will maximize my utility.

Alongside of utility theory, opportunity cost is given many examples. Opportunity cost being, “The most highly valued opportunity or alternative forfeited when a choice is made.” (Arnold) In this film a great number of opportunity cost are weighed and

shown.
Because opportunity cost and utility theory go hand in hand, every example of on includes an example of the other throughout the film.

Furthermore, because the film is based on a young boy’s ability to weigh every decision while he stands on the train tracks between his parents, he is able to see every opportunity cost in his lifetime and make decisions to maximize the utility of the outcomes. One of the most poignant uses of these is when he is given the choice at the bakery to choose between two pastries. The narrator even states that there is a cost to every decision. It is ultimately undecided which pastry he chooses, as he walks away from the bakery. Throughout the film, we are given convoluted glances at the choices between three female lovers in his alternate and intertwined lives. With each one he gets to see the benefits and is allowed to weigh the costs of giving up the others. This includes, but not limited to, what homes he lived in, how many children he has, what type of work he does and does not do, adventures he has, and even when and how he will die. All of this branches out of the decision over which parent he decided to live with after their divorce. The film itself is a nonstop barrage of examples of opportunity cost and on boy’s attempt to figure out which decision will maximize utility for him. Within the film, opportunity cost is shown better than any other film I have seen. No other film, to my knowledge, explores the importance of reflecting on

opportunity cost. With the exception of the part of the film where the narrator states that it is sometimes not to make a decision, which specifically he means not to spend money on a pastry because you cannot go wrong with not deciding. This is incorrect, since he knows both are the same value as the coin he has in his hand at the time, and we know that what is a dollar today may not be a dollar tomorrow. Unfortunately, it also throws everything about utility theory out the window at the end of the film. We are left to formulate our own opinions on what the best decision would be for Mr. Nobody at the end of the film. When asked by a reporter at the end of the film which life is the right one, after divulging every decision and opportunity cost of his multiple lives, Mr. Nobody states that they are all the right decision. This response negates utility theory, which would argue that one must maximize utility greater than all the others. With that being said, the film dabbles in areas outside of economics, mainly in quantum theories, which allow the elder version of Nobody to have knowledge that he is yet to decide. Additionally, given his current state, all options and realities discussed have greater utility than his current reality.
In conclusion, the film does an amazing job at portraying utility theory and opportunity cost. If it were not for this course, I definitely would have missed it and tied it in with all the other crazy going on throughout this film. I would say that it is on the outer boundaries of acceptable material for the younger academic setting, but it is a must watch for any economic and business student to understand some fundamental concepts outside of a consumer and business perspective.