When I teach game theory on the Susquehanna University campus, all students must complete a final project. This year, instead of a just a paper, I allowed students to submit a video presentation. Some of them are so outstanding in both their analysis and presentation quality that I will be sharing them with you. (With permission, of course.)
The first is about Martin Scorsese's The Departed, which can be analyzed using game theory methods. In this video, Susquehanna University Game Theory student (and now graduate) Ruben Tolentino chose to do his final project analyzing this movie.
Ruben presents Game Theory concepts from "The Departed," highlighting the Prisoner's Dilemma and infinitely repeated games. The movie's main players are Frank Costello, Colin Sullivan, and William Costigan, with conflicting goals: Costello and Sullivan aim to protect their identities, while Costigan and Sullivan seek to uncover each other's identities.
The Prisoner's Dilemma is exemplified in the movie as both Costigan and Sullivan have dominant strategies to reveal each other's identities, leading to a risk of career or death when they do so. Infinitely repeated games, with strategies like the "tit for tat" or the "Grim strategy," are discussed, showcasing how sustained cooperation can be viable until circumstances change, disrupting the established rules of the game.