5 Best Movies To Learn About The 2008 Financial Crisis
The 2008 financial crisis almost brought the global economy to a standstill. It is an event that is already taught in schools, and there are lessons for everyone to take from the crisis, which is one of the worst economic disasters since the Great Depression in 1929.
The whole world suffered from the Great Recession that followed the stock market crash of 2008. People lost their homes, livelihoods, and all other assets while a few Wall Street biggies got even richer.
It’s truly compelling how one person’s loss is another’s gain, and that’s what happened during the 2008 financial crisis. There are several outstanding movies based on the event, telling the stories of the people most affected, the people who caused the crisis, and even the ones who got profited from it. With that being said, we bring you the 5 best movies to learn about the 2008 financial crisis.
List of 5 Best Movies to Learn About the 2008 Financial Crisis
1. 99 Homes
Release Year: 2015
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern
99 Homes is a family drama film set against the backdrop of the great recession. The film takes place in Florida during the 2010 housing crisis and follows a recently unemployed single father as he takes care of his son and mom after being evicted by a shady real-estate agent.
Ramin Bahrani co-wrote and directed 99 Homes, based on the true accounts of several people who lost their homes during the recession. While 99 Homes doesn’t tell us much about the 2008 financial crisis, it does a great job of portraying its devastating aftermath. 99 Homes is a must-watch for anyone looking for a hard-hitting drama about working-class people.
2. Too Big To Fail
Release Year: 2011
Cast: William Hurt, Edward Asner, Billy Crudup, Paul Giamatti, Cynthia Nixon
Too Big to Fail is a television movie, but it feels like a blockbuster due to its sheer scale and A-list cast. Too Big to Fail depicts the events of the 2008 financial meltdown from the US government’s point of view.
Too Big to Fail follows the actions of then U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System, Ben Bernanke, as they try to contain the problems during the 2008 crisis. Veteran filmmaker Curtis Hanson directed Too Big to Fail, based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Too Big to Fail received critical acclaim and is one of the best films to learn about the 2008 financial crisis.
3. Margin Call
Release Year: 2011
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Paul Bettany, Demi Moore
Margin Call is another star-studded drama about the 2008 financial crisis. The film isn’t inspired by a true story but feels like one. Margin Call takes place during the course of one day at an unnamed investment firm in New York.
The film centers on a rookie accountant who realises that his firm’s position in some assets is massively over-leveraged and that the debt will soon bankrupt the firm. Margin Call is set during the initial stages of the 2008 financial collapse, as the unnamed firm and all its top dogs meet and decide how to proceed further.
Margin Call is a fascinating watch about the workings of investment firms and how they’d rather destroy their reputation than incur a loss. The film is easy to understand and will be enjoyed by those with zero knowledge of finance as well.
4. The Big Short
Release Year: 2015
Cast: Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell
If you’re looking for a funny yet informative guide on the causes of the 2008 financial crisis, The Big Short should be at the top of your watchlist. The film consists of three separate stories involving people who accurately predicted the crash of 2008 and got rich from it.
The Big Short also explains how the crisis came to be in layman’s language while also delivering hilarity. The Big Short also gets quite sad at times, especially while satirising the crooked banks and rating agencies that kept handing out bad loans one after the other, eventually causing the biggest financial crisis since 1929.
The Big Short went on to win an Oscar for its screenplay.
5. Inside Job
Release Year: 2010
Cast: Matt Damon
Inside Job is one of the best documentaries of the 21st century. The film is narrated by Hollywood star Matt Damon and centers on the 2008 financial crisis. Charles Ferguson co-wrote and directed Margin Call. The documentary is told in five parts and explores how the collapse went down and who was responsible.
Inside Job also covers the financial crisis in Iceland, China, and other global financial hot spots. Inside Job won the Oscar for best documentary and is probably the most in-depth look at the 2008 financial meltdown.
Conclusion:
That’s the end of our list of the 5 best movies to learn about the 2008 financial crisis. Hopefully, you liked it. We’ve laid out movies from the many involved companies’ perspectives, the government’s perspective, and even from the POV of those who were most affected by the common folk. Stay tuned for more insightful lists on education and cinema.
Also Read:
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References
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