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INSIDE JOB
4/24/2012
Corporate Greed & Systemic Corruption
By Andrew Bray
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Inside Job is a documentary film produced by Audrey Marrs and directed by Charles
Ferguson. It was narrated by Matt Damon and released in October 2010 by Sony Pictures
Classics. The film is broken down into 5 different sections—Part I: How We Got Here, Part II:
The Bubble (2001-2007), Part III: The Crisis, Part IV: Accountability, and Part V: Where Are
We Now. Each section explores the different facets of corruption in the Financial Services
Industry that led to the 2008 stock market crash and how that corruption still exists today.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Academy Award for Best
Documentary Feature in 2010. It won many other awards as well including the Chicago Film
Critics Association Award for Best Documentary Feature and the Writers Guild of America
Award for Best Documentary Screenplay.
This was my second time viewing this film as I had seen it before about a year prior
on the media distribution site Netflix. My reaction to the documentary the second time
around was very similar to the first—unbridled anger. I highly recommend that anyone who
is content with the mind frame of "ignorance is bliss" not view this film. I am truly sickened
by the swift injustice imposed by Wall Street fat cats as they deliberately destroy America's
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economy for their own egocentric self-interest. While they're out frivolously spending their
not-so-hard-earned cash on personal jets, yachts, and multiple vacation homes, middle and
lower class Americans are struggling to keep food on the table for their children. Societally,
something must be done to prevent Wall Street corruption and enforce stricter regulatory
measures upon these institutions to promote a fair and balanced economy in which every
citizen has the ability to accumulate wealth in a fair and just manner.
This film demonstrates exceptional utilization of logos with barrels of factual data
and statistical diagrams, ethos by explaining the harder-to-understand details in plain yet
stimulating vocabulary, and pathos by its vivid descriptions of the atrocities committed by
the Financial Services Industry and the emotional interviews with those affected by them.
Each section transitions efficiently into the next and the cinematographer did an excellent
job of capturing the emotion of each interviewee as the tough questions were being
imposed upon them. Multiple angles of each of their faces were utilized—some straight-on,
some side-view, and some close-up to capture facial tone and expression. Many of the
interviews were filmed in skyscrapers with the beautiful scenery of the New York skyline in
the backdrop and sometimes even seemed naturally-lit with window light. Other interviews
were conducted inside libraries or offices with studio lighting and overhead shots of New
York City by helicopter were also employed as creative transitions.
My favorite element of the entire documentary was the director, Charles Ferguson's
extremely pressing, uncomfortable questions he asked of the interviewees who were
partially responsible for the 2008 financial crisis. We witness their growing sense of anxiety
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and trepidation as he grinds them on the issues and has them struggling to remember
certain facts and vital statistics. As the questions grow more and more pressing, we can
easily tell that, in their minds, they probably wish they had never agreed to even partake in
the interview in the first place. One specific example is when Glenn Hubbard, Dean of
Columbia Business School and former economic advisor for President George W. Bush, is
asked about his seemingly devious ties within Financial Services Industry. We can easily
sense the aggravation in his voice as he states, "This isn't a deposition, sir. I was polite
enough to give you time, foolishly I now see. You have three more minutes. Give it your
best shot." Glenn Hubbard was a key advocate for financial deregulation and is also on
board to be Mitt Romney's chief economic advisor, should he be elected in November.
The corruption doesn't stop there. Charles Ferguson further exposes the sleazery of
some of these so-called "economic experts" as he sheds light into the world of high-end
prostitution rings. They try to legitimize this industry by claiming they are merely an "escort
service," but as Ferguson conveys in the film, they're doing far more than just escorting.
Many of these business professionals have wives and children to come home to, but instead
they claim to be working late and take "high class hookers" out for a night on the town in an
all-night drug and alcohol fueled escapade. At one point in the film, it was mentioned that a
stock broker even paid for an escort to rent out a Lamborghini for the day as a tip for her
services. This is just one more aspect that depicts the blatant corruption that exists on Wall
Street today.
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I am personally appalled by the complete disregard for human decency imposed by
the Financial Services Industry. As the facts show within this documentary, they knew well
and good what they were doing. They all had ample opportunity to be whistleblowers—to
warn the public of the economic devastation that laid dormant ahead of them. The massive
economic strife we face today could have been avoided, if only there were regulations
enforced on the Financial Service Industry to ensure the validity of their investments. Days
before the stock market crash of 2008, Lehman Brothers and AIG stock were rated AAA, the
best possible rating that can be given. Obviously, foul play was afoot in the declaration of
these bogus ratings. The people involved in the fraudulence of selling worthless
investments to their customers should be brought to justice. Unfortunately, we live in
society where it seems like nothing gets done without the influence of money. Money
talks—oftentimes a bit too loudly, but we should never let it overpower the voice of the
people.
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Works Cited
Shaxson, Nick. "On Inside Job, offshore, and 'descriptively false' economics" (2011):
<http://treasureislands.org/on-inside-job-offshore-and-descriptively-false-economics/>
Rose, Charlie "Charlie Rose Interviews Charles Ferguson on his documentary 'Inside Job'" (2011):
< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS0hj4kiqsA>
Casselman, Ben "Economists Set Rules on Ethics" Wall Street Journal (2012)
< http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203436904577148940410667970.html>
Ferguson, Charles. “Clip from Inside Job” Youtube (2010):
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlIoeTObmEk>
Mantell, Ruth. “Q&A with Romney economics advisor Hubbard.” MarketWatch (2012):
<http://www.marketwatch.com/story/qa-with-romney-economics-adviser-hubbard-2012-0423?link=MW_latest_news>
Oak, Robert. "Yesterday AIG had a AAA Credit Rating" The Economic Populist (2008):
< http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/yesterday-aig-had-aaa-credit-rating>