What your first boss taught you was to stand up for yourself. But there is no need to put up with abuse at work and I wouldn't put this movie at the top of my training list.

FWIW your generation has an off-putting sense of entitlement that you have learned won't get you far in the business world. You learned the hard way the value of going above and beyond instead of whining about how hard things are.

I wish your first boss would have been a better manager. There is no need to learn things this way. But you often learn valuable lessons from those that are the most demanding. It sounds like you listened, and then acted in your own interest to improve your situation. Good for you!!

No, it should not. The only thing that you can really get out of that movie is to never let a job compromise who you are.

It should be used a film to show students what a job SHOULDN'T be like. If you have a job like that quit....and/or sue the boss.

People react differently to different things. While its not a good idea to be overly sensitive, It is also important for a boss to be diplomatic and kind. Employee morale is extremely important, and companies know this. Large companies spend millions, sometimes billions of dollars on improving morale. Bonuses, company events, exercise rooms, break rooms with free refreshments, comfortable chairs, health and dental benefits, etc.

If a person in a management position is hurting morale by being unnecessarily harsh or rude, then they are not doing their job, and should be demoted or fired.

Even in grunt jobs, morale is important, as it costs a lot of time, money and resources to train an employee, and an experienced employee will outperform an intermediate employee dramatically, provided they are happy.

While you may have turned out well from this experience, other people may not have.

You might also be biased by nostalgia.

Its human nature to look back on hard times in your life with a positive bias. This is why abused women often go back to their abusive husbands/boyfriends. They don't remember the abuse, just the hugs, and the kisses, and the flowers, and the apologies.

Same thing with people who say "kids these days". They look back and see their childhood as near-perfect, and they focus on the negative of now.

Anyway, to answer your question, no, as if someone who watches it reaches a management position, they might think that such behavior is acceptable.