Do, Ray, Me
Jessica Derks
Mrs. Straub
Economics
April 21, 2015
Doe, Ray, Me 
Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name I call myself
Far, a long long way to run
When reading these lyrics I’m sure one can think of the catchy tune that captured the hearts of millions and is still so widely known today. This famous song is from one of the most popular musicals of all time, The Sound of Music. The story takes place in Austria in 1930 with a young woman Maria, who becomes the governess of seven mischievous Von Trapp children. Her kindness, joy and understanding is infectious and the children are drawn to her loving nature. Georg Von Trapp, father of the children and navy captain, also notices the much needed joy that enters the family and later falls in love with the simple governess. The romance that forms is then set aside, as Germany begins to take over Austria and the captain is faced with hard decisions that could change his family’s life forever. 
Just this March the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music and one may begin to ask what this has to do with economics? This classic film swept the nation with its lively and family orientated story. Millions of Americans are inspired by this heartwarming story and we continue to see the great impact it had within the economy. Wikipedia says, “the film was released in 1965 and became the number one box office movie after 4 weeks and then by November of 1966 it was the highest grossing film of all time.” The director, Robert Wise, took a huge risk and the trade off ended up being more than anyone was expecting. Numbers.com states that, “The estimated budget was $8,200,000 to make the movie but the film sold 283.3 million admissions worldwide and earned the total worldwide gross of $286,214,076.” After adjusting for inflation, this is equivalent to $2.336 billion in 2014, quite a blockbuster movie. The outcome was better than even what actress Julie Andrews (played the character of Maria) was expecting. According to billboard.com Julie Andrew states, “I don't think I could have possibly guessed, ever, that it was going to be iconic as it has become. If anyone had told me that 50 years after the fact I'd be still speaking to you about it and it's magic, I could not have anticipated that or believed it. But I think once it had opened and become a success I realized that we had a very good thing in that movie, that it was a good movie.” At the time , she was undiscovered and the TV world hadn't yet seen her. Robert Wise had to decide to either go with popular movie stars of the time or find unknowns that the world wasn't familiar with. This opportunity cost raised a big decision for Robert Wise. He could simply gain more attraction through the popular actresses of the time or risk bringing newcomers to the big screen. Fortunately, he chose the young 28 year old, Julie Andrews. She is now known for her astonishing voice and abilities to act. Little did Julie know, that her life would change from being Maria . In later years the film got five Academy Awards, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Motion Picture, and Best Actress and it is the 5th highest grossing film of all time. The revenue that the movie industry gained from this movie truly helped the economy and still does today, not only did the American economy benefit, but Austria’s economy did as well. According to 20/20 ABC, “about 6.5 million tourists a year tour Salzberg, Austria to see where the movie was filmed and to see where the actually Van Trapp family lived.” This film has become a classic that generations have come to know and love. The music and songs are brilliantly done and continue to resound throughout the world. This film continues to teach all generations that it’s never too late to walk out the gates and find ones dreams, to go over that mountain and not be afraid of what the future will hold. 
Strecker, Erin. “Julie Andrews Talks Phone Calls with Lady Gaga and ‘Sound of Music’ Memories.” Billboard.com. Billboard, 2015. Web. 16 April 2015.
“The Sound of Music.” The Numbers. Nash Information Services, 1997-2014. Web. 20 April 2015.
“The Sound of Music.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 2015. Web. 16 April 2015.
The Untold Story of the Sound of Music. David Sloan. Diane Sawyer, Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. ABC Television Network. 2015. Film.
Its interesting to think about the risks that came with this kind of thing because its not just with this movie, everyone who wants to make any investment in every movie, every play, really anything they want to make they have to weigh the opportunity costs and decide if the good outcomes outweigh the chance of failure. It's lucky the risk was taken on this movie because if they had not it never would have been created, but think about all the other people who weighed the risks and decided not to make their creative idea a reality. Maybe the world missed out on some great movie or play that now well never even get to know about. I think that weighing opportunity cost in econ is logical and what should be done to make decision, but in real life sometimes people have to fight whats probably going to happen and make their creativity a reality anyway, and hope it works out.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see the risks people will place. This also includes movies. * million dollars isn't that much for a movie today, but 50 years ago those figures are a lot. And not only did it pay off literally, but to still be a loved movie 50 years later is a sign the benefits truly were greater than any cost.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to think about how the movie is still generating revenue even fifty years after its initial release. Although most goods only make money when they are first purchased, movies provide a good opportunity for revenue after the initial release. Home video sales would greatly increase the earning potential of a movie, especially one as highly regard as The Sound of Music.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I love love love this movie! After reading the economics blog, I am so surprised how everything can relate to economics -- even a 50 year old classic. Great job utilizing economics jargon, especially the inflation example. It is crazy how movies compare. I also enjoyed and admired how you incorporated photos and lyrics to the oh-so-famous song. It made your post even more unique. If there was something to change, just make sure you look over for little grammatical errors; they didn’t impede on comprehension, but you always want to make sure your writing is well done structurally. Great job, Jess!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy the Sound of Music. It is really intriguing to see that the movie still collects revenue long after its release, and indeed this is in part why it has become such a great classic. The unique production of this movie separates it from others in its time, as well as even movies in current times. The demand for this movie has never really disappeared, which places a lot of smiles on a lot of people's faces.
ReplyDeleteThat was a really interesting topic! I love seeing how the opportunity cost of not going with famous actors payed off by discovering Julie Andrews. I was surprised at how much money the film made compared to how much money was put into it. Also, by starting out with that well-known song you easily intrigued readers, it really added to your piece and made it stand out.
ReplyDeleteThe Sound of Music is a classic. It is amazing to hear that it is still generating revenue 50 years after its release. I never really thought about the risk directors take in casting big-name stars versus lesser-known rising actors. Robert Wise definitely had a tough decision, but looking back now, it is obvious that the benefits of casting Julie Andrews as Maria greatly outweighed the costs. Also, it was interesting to see the effects that the film had on the economy of Austria through increased tourism.
ReplyDeleteJess, I thought that your topic was super interesting and very unique! No one has done something similar to this idea before so it was very interesting to read, and I immediately was interested in your topic. I felt that you incorporated a lot of good economics terms and ideas, which I wouldn’t have thought correlated with this movie. It is amazing to find out that the actors of the movie were not highly known, yet they created this iconic and memorable movie that has lasted many many decades. I felt that you had a little too much summary on the paper, but it was good to know more about the movie and what went into making it. I feel that your blog post was very good, but it would be even better if you took out some of the synopsis of the movie and added more economic content.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing to see how this film that had been filmed many years ago. But since it has been filmed many years ago we can still see that this movie that everyone seems to like is still drawing in many people today. Since this movie had been made back in the day its been cool to see how they made the movie back then to how they are making this into a DVD. I do agree that this does relate to economics well because there could be relations in this movie that had been an icon to many. But also we can see this movie getting higher on the charts by people making movies like these into live performances. Overall good job on this top for your blog comment.
ReplyDeleteI think it's amazing that the Sound of Music was able to make that much revenue! To think in today's amount of money over a billion dollars is crazy, not many movies now come close to matching that. I feel as though that the demand curve may never diminish all the way down to 0, and some out there will want to watch this movie 50 years from now.
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing to see the profound impact on the movie industry and the economy in general. It is also kind of surprising to see that the Sound of Music is still relevant to us today even though a lot of the so-called “blockbuster” films consist of subject matter that is totally different. There has been a surplus of films of the superhero and adventure genre, and because more people pay to see things like that, more filmmakers create films like that. The fact that the Sound of Music is still in demand after fifty years almost makes it a durable good, because it has not outlived its relevance or intrigue. It will be interesting to see what the movie industry’s impact will be on the economy in another 50 years.
ReplyDeleteTo think that first, a movie can have that big of an impact in such a little amount of time is remarkable. But also, to bring in around 6 million tourists a year to the location just because the movie was shot there is also unbelievable. It's also cool to look at how much the inflation has affected the total income brought in from the film. Overall, I liked this post and thought it was an interesting way to introduce the topic through a little background information.
ReplyDeleteThis Movie was a big success there's no arguing that. Fifty years later the movie is now considered a classic,the film has been made into a Broadway play. This film has made millions and above all has stood the test of time.
ReplyDeleteIt’s crazy how much money The Sound of Music made in such a short amount of time. It is still a popular movie today, even though it was made such a long time ago. It was a big risk to cast actors who were not as famous, but it definitely paid off. It’s interesting how more people wanted to go to Austria to see where the film was made, and I’m sure it helped their economy a lot.
ReplyDeleteMusic, Movies are fun to watch it's one of the most entertainment hobby for people. I like that the hoe you used economic words like opportunity cost. I like opportunity cost of not going with actors payed off by discovering Julie Andrews. People watch movies dependents on famous actor or actress because they select the story very well and producers like to spend lot of money on movies because he know that money come back any way. Same thing happen in this article. Today fast and furious 7 made big hit because it's good story and also because of Paul walker. Fifty year later the movie is now considered a classic. The film has made millions of dollar. More then money people like that movie.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this movie so this was really interesting to read. I know that both of the main characters didn't really think the movie would be successful, so I think it's cool to see how great it turned out! I also think it's interesting how it's still bringing in revenue today, even to the country of Austria! My friend went to Austria recently and went on the Sound of Music tour! This was a great post and I liked how you related it to economics.
ReplyDeleteat was a really interesting topic! By starting out with that well-known song you easily intrigued readers, it really added to your piece and made it stand out. It's interesting to see that this movie is still bringing in revenue and how people still go to visit the place where it was filmed
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ReplyDeleteI was first drawn to read this post because I am really involved in music and sing the scale all of the time. Once I started reading though, I actually learned a lot. I didn't really recognize how much of a success The Sound of Music actually was, I mean I knew it was a popular movie, but didn't know it was THAT huge. Now I really do understand how much it helped the economy in America as well as other countries. I thought it was cool that you included the fact that it helped Austria's economy by bringing in 6.5 million tourists a year. That's a ton and it really shows the positive effect the movie had on many people and the world. I also think that beyond economic positivity, the movie brought more interest to music as a whole. It actually sometimes is even used as a teaching tool for learning the solfege scale. I have even been shown the clip from the movie that does so in my own music classes. It was a great movie with impacts that will last a lifetime!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see how successful the movie was and how much money it made, despite the initial expectations of the director. I didn't know that the movie was making so much money for America as well as Austria. The movie has come a long way, so it was interesting to read about its success and learn more about it.
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