Our material can be integrated into various course and lecture formats. The clips and the related questions were specifically designed to be adaptable to multiple teaching and learning styles so that students learn economics concepts while being exposed to various diversities (geographical, language, cultural, ethnic, and sexual identities).
Necessary Preparation and Considerations
The material we present is based on series that did not have for main aim of being taught in a classroom. Some series are recommended only for a restricted public and sometimes contain violence, strong language, and other triggers. While we did our best to remove most uncomfortable scenes, some of the clips may not be appropriate to all viewers. Therefore, it is paramount for the instructor to preview the scenes entirely and evaluate whether they are appropriate for the instructor’s students and that they meet the instructor’s specific teaching needs.
Lectures
The most common use of such video clips is to utilize them to illustrate concepts directly in the classroom. The questions and exercises we provide directly relate to the selected Netflix Originals series. They help generate classroom discussions and conduct related activities. Instructors can utilize this material following Think-Pair-Share methodologies by briefly discussing the series’ synopsis, playing the relevant video clip, then asking the discussion questions. Subsequently, students can work in groups to draft an answer that they could share with their group or the class. Alternatively, instructors could use the questions to introduce or illustrate economic concepts during lectures. The material presented on this website can also be used during remote teaching sessions. Remote teaching offers additional opportunities and closely targets students’ needs in an online learning environment. For instance, breakout rooms are recommended and can facilitate Think-Pair-Share sessions.
Assignments and Exams
Our material can also be used to create more engaging assignments for students. It can be easily implemented without changing too much of an instructor’s habits or grading scheme by transposing the material into various forms of testing, such as graded homework, exams, or extra credit assignments. The instructor can extract questions from different shows to assess students learning. For instance, if an instructor wants to evaluate students on the difference between real and nominal prices, questions from two shows can be used, i.e., the American series “Stranger Things” and the Indian series “Sacred Games.” For example, an instructor could use the following questions from “Money Heist” in a Money and Banking exam, by using the background paragraph and the following three questions, without the need of introducing the clip:
Background: The mastermind of the heist (the “Professor”) argues that the European Central Bank (ECB) “made 171 billion euros out of nowhere” in 2011 and that the public did not call the institution a thief. Instead, the ECB called it “liquidity injection.” The professor also says, “I’m making a liquidity injection, but not for the banks. I’m making it here, in the real economy.” He rips up a banknote, explaining to inspector Raquel Murillo that “it’s nothing, it’s paper.” In Part 3 of the TV show, the professor tried to destabilize the economic system by using an airship to scatter 140 million euros above Madrid, in the form of €50 and €100 notes. The people rushed to gather the bills.
Question 1: What was the intent of the ECB when it created this money? Is it comparable to theft?
Question 2: Can this also stimulate the real economy?
Question 3: Why does the professor consider these bank notes “nothing”?
Discussion Board in Learning Management Systems
The instructor could use the Learning Management System (LMS) to allow students to post answers on the discussion board. The discussion board could encourage further interactions and discussions outside of lecture hours. In addition, incentives, in the form of extra credit, can be offered for actively participating in the discussion board. After watching a clip from Squid Game, students could discuss the effects of a price ceiling on the market for human organs available for transplant, using a supply and demand diagram. Students would analyze the effects of legalizing the purchase and sale of human organs, while including ethical considerations in their analysis.
Asynchronous / Self-Paced Online Courses
Our material can be integrated into an LMS page for students to work independently with this material. Picture 1 presents an example of how we implemented questions in an asynchronous Principles of Macroeconomics course. Typically, the information necessary to answer the question is directly visible to the student visiting the exercise page. Once they answered the question, students could click the ‘Reveal the Answer button’ to view the solution and verify if they answered adequately. Students’ questions about this material can be discussed during office hours or synchronous online sessions if the course has such students-interactions planned.
More Information?
More detail on how to implement the lesson plans and the answers to the questions available on this website can be found in the following papers:
– Ben Abdesslem, A. and Picault J. (2023), Bounty Hunters Can Teach Microeconomics Illustrations from Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop, Eastern Economic Journal 49 (3), 349–367.
– Ben Abdesslem, A. and Picault J. (2023), Using Netflix Original Series to Teach Economics: a Diversity and Inclusion Approach, International Review of Economics Education 44, 100278.