The 16th Essay: The Sting (1973, USA)

Ryoden Kouki Engineering Co., Ltd.

Company Newsletter Series: “How about Taking a Short Break?”

Now updated.

Human society contains a “structure of desire” that cannot be explained by effort or diligence alone. Envy of others’ success and the impulse to take advantage recur across cultures and eras.

Aesop’s fable The Ant expresses this in its most primitive form: a human transformed into an ant continues to steal the harvest of others, symbolizing the unchanging nature of desire. The film The Sting (1973) refines this fable-like structure into a story of deception and revenge, where notions of justice and retaliation become entangled within larger schemes, blurring the line between good and evil.

This structure also echoes real events such as the AIJ Investment Advisors scandal, where vast sums were extracted through sophisticated schemes, leaving victims with lasting psychological damage and no clear path to recovery. Fraud is not only a crime, but a force that destabilizes the foundations of trust in society.

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Kayukawa Clinic