5. The Secret of Oz (2010)
"What's
going on with the world's economy? Foreclosures are everywhere,
unemployment is skyrocketing - and this may only be the beginning. Could
it be that solutions to the world's economic problems could have been
embedded in the most beloved children's story of all time, "The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz"? The yellow brick road (the gold standard), the
emerald city of Oz (greenback money), even Dorothy's silver slippers
(changed to ruby slippers for the movie version) were powerful symbols
of author L. Frank Baum's belief that the people - not the big banks --
should control the quantity of a nation's money."
Second to Moving Forward, Secret of Oz goes the deepest into the systemic unsustainability of our fractional-reserve monetary system. Examining the historic fight against central banks over the centuries (it was the prime cause of the American Revolution) and how these banks actually destabilize markets and enslave whole nations in debt, we learn how the Federal Reserve and other private banks today represent the greatest affront to our national sovereignty. As long as we allow private banks to create money out of nothing (and loan money to our government at interest), the central banks will always have the power to undo whatever gains we make politically or economically. The film makers do not advocate a return to a gold-based standard. Their two-step solution is quite simple, and if enacted, gives us the greatest prospects for a sustainable future.
4. Inside Job (2010)
"2010
Oscar Winner for Best Documentary, 'Inside Job' provides a
comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a
cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs
and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly
resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and
extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians,
journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry
which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It was made on
location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and
China."
Although it's the narrowest in scope, Inside Job goes deep into the criminal corruption, policies, and culture that caused the financial crisis, which is most commonly understood to be the premise of OWS. Examining the period of Wall St. deregulation that started in 1980 and then closely looking at the housing bubble and crash of 2008, Inside Job builds up the facts and detailed analysis of this single event, which provides documentation and support for why so many Americans are rightly pissed off and now taking to the streets en masse. For this reason, Inside Job is likely the best introduction to the subject, and builds the foundation upon which more radical conclusions about our economic system can be drawn.
3. Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)
" Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story comes
home to the issue he's been examining throughout his career: the
disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of
Americans (and by default, the rest of the world). But this
time the culprit is much bigger than General Motors, and the crime
scene far wider than Flint, Michigan. From Middle America, to the halls
of power in Washington, to the global financial epicenter in Manhattan,
Michael Moore will once again take film goers into uncharted territory.
With both humor and outrage, Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story
explores a taboo question: What is the price that America pays for its
love of capitalism?"
While Inside Job takes a more impersonal and conservative overview of the financial collapse, Michael Moore brings it in close to examine many of the personal stories of the financial fallout - the human, emotional side of the story. While many people have a prejudice against Moore, and this might limit the film's potential reach, this is undoubtedly his best film yet, and brilliant on its own terms, regardless. Surprise and disgust, sadness, anger and empathy are mixed in equally with humor, insight, and inspiring examples of potential solutions that are being implemented now. Watching this post-OWS is rather surreal - direct mentions of the 99% vs the 1%, activists occupying foreclosed homes and workers taking control of their factories until their demands for just remuneration are met - it couldn't sum up the story that led to OWS more perfectly.
2. Lifting the Veil: Obama and the Failure of Capitalist Democracy (2011)
"This film explores the historical role of the Democratic Party as the "graveyard of
social movements", the massive influence of corporate finance in
elections, the absurd disparities of wealth in the United States, the
continuity and escalation of neocon policies under Obama, the
insufficiency of mere voting as a path to reform, and differing
conceptions of democracy itself."
Lifting the Veil is a significant achievement - offering a definitive critique of the Obama administration from a reality-based perspective (Ie, a critique not based on propaganda and spin). It thoroughly deconstructs the hypocrisy of U.S. politics, democracy, capitalism and other aspects of the American brand. This film promotes no illusions, examining our present state of affairs under Obama with eyes wide open. At once disillusioning, the film inspires and offers a great message of hope in it's evocative finale and excellent choice of music. It also points to the most immediate alternative for building a new, directly democratic and liberated world within the shell of the old (workplace democracy). For OWS, the film exemplifies the movement's bi-partisan critique of the status quo, its deep rejection of surface-level reforms or solutions, and the deep insight that comes from waking up to the way the world really is.
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