Savvy business students can do more than scrutinize the stock markets and work on their phone calculator apps if they desire a well-rounded education. There are several worthwhile educational documentaries for them to watch in order to gain greater insight into the world of business and finance.
Students in business majors, minors, and degree programs can benefit from watching some of these documentaries, for enrichment as well as to explore a variety of topics that they will cover in courses and internships.
Students on the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as high school students (especially those in programs such as Virtual Enterprise or The Stock Market Game), can learn a lot from documentaries. There are documentaries on finance, marketing, investing, business practices, and other topics as well as case studies.
Instructors and professors can provide students with guiding questions or specific questions so that when the students screen the films (on their own or in class), they will have specific things to follow. Students should be encouraged to engage with the film, find the pros and cons of the presentation and topics, and draw comparisons between other documentaries or fictionalized works on the subject.
It can (and should) be quite a different experience for a student to watch a documentary about Wall Street and compare and contrast it with the film 1987 Wall Street.
Many of these films are not easygoing; they tackle tough issues. Students should realize early on that these docs can function not only as exploratory but as criticism. Documentaries are not meant merely to sugarcoat academic subjects.
In addition, teachers should encourage students to look on YouTube, to find and watch short videos about economics, business, business ethics, and related topics. Ask students to be discerning and to critique their shorter-form presentations.
Among the topics they can explore are these:
Entrepreneurship
Startup.com (2001) The birth and failure of a media company.
Fyre (2018) What should have been a huge, splashy music festival flopped. How did this happen?
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019) The story of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes
Becoming Warren Buffett (2017) No business education is complete without a look at the Oracle of Omaha
Capital C (2014) The first documentary about crowdfunding.
Money, Explained (2021) A frank miniseries about money and related issues.
Finance
Inside Job (2010) An Oscar-winning film about the 2008 financial crisis.
Breaking the Bank (2009) A PBS-produced study of a banking scandal.
Freakonomics: The Movie (2010) Read the book, and see the film. Uncanny look at economics and financial issues.
Marketing
The Persuaders (2004, 2005) This PBS Frontline series is a frank and solid look at marketing industry practices.
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011) Morgan Spurlock is entertaining and in your face about marketing in the modern age. Also, check out his Supersize Me from 2004.
Art and Copy (2009) A spirited look at successful marketing campaigns.
Big Business Classics
Maxed Out (2006) Harsh look at personal and government debt.
Roger & Me (1989) A classic about corporations, layoffs, and tough related topics.
Banking, the Markets, and More
The Big Squeeze (2021) What happened to the once-popular chain GameStop is studied here, and related issues.
The Warning (2009) Another stark PBS Frontline doc, exposing threats to the financial system
Investment Banking (2007) Produced by UNSW, this is a short overview of the field.
The Ascent of Money (2008, 2009) This series is a historical overview of money.
There are many more videos and documentaries available for screening. Teachers and students alike can learn a great deal about business school topics and how they fit into the global economy by watching educational documentaries. Consider these titles if you are developing your academic library collection.
For more business documentaries, see Video Librarian's business topic page.