Using the Movie Joy to Teach Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Film and video clips have been used in the classroom to bring economic concepts to life. We use the 2015 film Joy to animate Joseph Schumpeter's The Theory of Economic Development, a foundational text on the theory of innovation and entrepreneurship which remains relevant for students today. We outline Schumpeter's theory of innovation and entrepreneurship and connect it to various scenes in Joy that illustrate the key points Schumpeter seeks to make. Beyond its value as a teaching tool for making sense of Schumpeter's often dense prose, we argue teaching Joy can also have a positive effect for undergraduate women in economics through its strong female protagonist.