Inside Job

Inside Job Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

The global recession of 2008 affected almost every one of us on this planet in some sort of way, but do you know much about it? Here is your opportunity to learn how it happened, what it caused, and if it might happen again. Hear about Wall Street Traders hiring prostitutes, Iceland, and the banks that caused the financial meltdown. Plus, all of this is explained at a digestible pace, meaning that you will end the film with a strong understanding of it all!

Why Watch Inside Job?
  • You want to know why the 2008 recession happened
  • To learn a bit more about the current financial system of the world
  • It’s narrated by Matt Damon
  • It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2010
The Breakdown

The global economics crisis of 2008 cost tens of millions of people their savings, their jobs, and their homes. This is how it happened.

Iceland. A country of just 320,000 people, a bunch of small towns, beautiful landscape, low unemployment and low government debt. There was lots of clean energy, well managed fisheries, clean air, and pride. But this all changed in 2000 with deregulation and bank privatization.

After Iceland, we zoom across the Atlantic, and back in time, to New York in the 90s. The finance sector is booming. We are shown a montage of New York City skyscrapers, businessmen, and snappy quotes from finance experts set to a poppy soundtrack. This montage offers a stark contrast to the peaceful beauty of the shots of Iceland from the opening scene. This is the place laden with greed. This is the place which has disrupted the peaceful beauty of Iceland and the whole world.

After the introduction to Iceland and the New York City montage we start hearing from those involved in the build up to the crisis. Luckily for me, the narrator firstly explains all the financial jargon extremely clearly and at a gentle pace (unlike the rushed explanations in The Big Short). With a clear understanding of how the recession happened, the documentary then starts questioning some of the culprits. At this point we can understand the questions being asked and know when the interviewees (the culprits) are avoiding giving proper answers. He gives us the basic understanding so we can make our own judgement.

Conclusion

For a good understanding of how the global recession happened, this film is the best I have seen. It also carries an impressive selection of interviewees (from Federal Reserve, IMF, and Academia). Some of the interviewees were in charge before and during the recession and defend their actions, and others fuel the fire. You’ll also learn what will happen next – will there be another recession?

 

 

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