We can see economic concepts throughout the episode when Fish learns that he is rich because of a small savings account he opened 1000 years ago. Thanks to interest rates, his money has grown to billions. When Fish and his friends try to order a pizza, he finds out that anchovies no longer exist because of overfishing when humans arrived on the planet. Zoidberg notes that his people killed the anchovies because they always believed one more wouldn’t have an impact.
Brooklyn 99 — Ramen as Currency
With Jake stuck in prison, he needs to find a way to get a cell phone. His prison pal, Caleb, tells him about an opportunity to get a cell phone from another inmate in gen pop (general population), but it’s going to cost Jake. It turns out that since cigarettes have been banned in the prison, various flavors of ramen noodles are now the preferred currency. This new medium of exchange makes it where Jake can finally get a cell phone
EconStores — Keynes vs Hayek Debate
The great debate between Keynes and Hayek in rap form!
A Knight’s Tale — Investing in Training
William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) in A Knight’s Tale convinces his friends that they should take their winnings and invest it in better training so that they can win bigger prizes in the future.
The League — Medium of Exchange
Most principles of macroeconomics classes teach the three (or sometimes four) functions of money. The main function is always its ability to be used in exchange for goods and services (use as a medium of exchange). In this clip from season 3 episode 7 of the league, Taco uses Jenny’s underwear covered in stamps in exchange for goods and services.
Source: James Tierney
Teen Titans Go! — Bees as Money
This was forwarded along by the good folks at Norton Economics. The characters on the show go on to discuss bees as currency, which would be a great intro for a principle of macroeconomics course.