Often, when boredom strikes and I find that perusing social media sites provides no relief, I comb through my grey Rubbermaid bins to find a film that'll combat boredom. Since my early days of classic Disney films (Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Dumbo, Fantasia, The Lion King, and the Little Mermaid) to an evolution that included films from prominent directors such as Federico Fellini, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Steven Spielberg (and countless others), cinema has played a role in my journey to adulthood. Likewise, as I began to explore the various genres of film, as well as began analyzing the content within each genre, I discovered that I was truly passionate about discussing films that spoke to a portion of my core; if you captivated me to the point of boiling anger, catharsis, excitement, and tears, I was prepared to present a thesis as to why you should be seen. While there are a plethora of films that have evoked the emotions mentioned above, I would like to use this moment to present the financial-themed films (both made-for-TV and theatrical) that have not only rocked my core, but influenced how I would participate within the realms of capitalism. Moreover, these films have served as the basis of my financial literacy teaching, and they've been personally played repeatedly to the point of cracking. So, without further delay: Movie #1: Wall Street (1987) From July 1981 to November 1982, the United States suffered through a recession due in part to the Federal Reserve Bank's inconsistency on interest rates, inflation, and monetary policy as a whole. Coupled with the recent announcement of deregulation (the federal government would gradually decrease monitoring the financial behaviors of the big banks), the economy was in a whirlwind. Many Americans were left out of the cold until this film's release. Wall Street not only gave folks an in-depth look at how the stock market was run, but who the players were and how greed (although good and yet one of the Seven Deadly Sins) was only good for those who understood it. Movie #2: Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) In 2008, the unthinkable happened when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed. Seriously, they imploded upon themselves, which led to the housing bubble bursting and resulted in tens of millions Americans being displaced out of their homes due to foreclosure and failures to pay back the banks. The housing collapse had a crippling domino effect that led to widespread ruin. As a result, in December 2008, the United Stated declared that they were in a recession. A year later, Michael Moore released this film chronicling the real-world effects the recession had. Movie #3: Inside Job (2010) 2010 marked two years since the recession with no glimmer of hope in sight. As the domestic and global economies struggled to find footing, economists, scholars, politicians, and policymakers offered their analysis regarding the collapse and opinions as to what could have prevented this catastrophic event. Movie #4: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) 23 years after the original, groundbreaking release of Wall Street, Michael Douglas returned as Gordon Gekko to settle a score with the industry that had crossed him. Filmed during the midst of the recession, the content centered on both Gordon's resurgence to financial dominance and theatrically cluing the audience in to the damage the recession had done. Movie #5: Too Big To Fail (2011) In 2011, we were still in the throws of the recession, even as the Obama administration worked tirelessly to solve the problems of a faulty stock market, rising unemployment, and overall despair. Throwing their hat into the crisis-themed cinematic ring, HBO released this riveting made-for-TV film with a star-studded cast playing some of the most controversial financial figures to date. Movie #6: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) The 1980s, Wall Street, New York City, cocaine, diamonds, excess, opulence, the federal government, Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Martin Scorsese. Yeah, it was wild, and it was all true! Jordan Belfort set the bar extremely high with living young, wild, and free and we are thrilled he decided to write the book that would later become this epic film adaptation. Movie #7: The Big Short (2015) Just about every documentary and feature-length film centered on the 2008 financial crisis included analysis, commentary, facts, and insider know-how, which would lead one to assume that the general public was frankly tired of these films. However, that assumption was false as moviegoers continued to pay to find answers. Adam McKay so brilliantly combined comedy and truth to what we have come to know about the recession: Influencers gambled the financial lives of Americans for personal gain, sport, and power. Movie #8: The Wizard of Lies (2017) As we have witnessed, the thread that has tied, and will continue to tie, a majority of financial-themed films is the 2008 Recession, and just when the public thought it could not get any worse, we were introduced to Bernard (Bernie) L. Madoff. Financial mastermind, and manipulator, Bernie Madoff conducted the largest Ponzi scheme in history: swindling individuals and corporations out of $65 Billion. Yes you read that correctly, billions with a 'B'. 8 years after his 2009 sentence of 150 years in prison, HBO brought us The Wizard of Lies starring the incomparable Robert De Niro as Bernie Madoff and the all-around talented force Michelle Pfeiffer as Ruth Madoff.
1 Comment
Jerry
8/7/2017 00:21:29
Great list! Another good film about the economy is Margin Call, which covers the eve of the recent recession. It has an all star cast and plenty of insider lingo. Highly recommended.
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