Conscious Doc Review ~ Academy Award-Winning Documentary Inside Job

I admit, I was a bit hesitant to watch this documentary. I felt as though I would be lost and maybe not able to understand exactly what was happening because I did not understand some of the basics of the financial industry.

I put these fears aside, after hearing rave reviews, and sat down for a viewing of the Matt Damon-narrated, Charles H. Ferguson directed documentary,  Inside Job on Netflix. I went into the experience prepared to stop often and have my Financial Advisor/Finance Industry Junkie husband explain concepts further to me. And for the first half of the film, I often did stop.

Though the ideas were explained in a comprehensive way, I found that the film presumed that viewers already had a good understanding of exactly how the companies worked and what their functions were within America.

As a Canadian, and someone who never really took interest in the past, I did not have this foundation. I wasn’t even 100% sure what set an Investment Bank apart from other financial institutions. Once I caught up on of this information, it all came together, and the film did an amazing job of breaking down the issues with the system.

It was shocking, and eye-opening to say the least, especially for someone such as myself who did not know how the system worked at all and the big mess that it had become over the years.

It had all of the features of a top notch documentary – appealing visuals, a comprehensive breakdown of the past events and present complications, and a stirring of emotions that only a well presented doc can cause. It provides names and salaries of the most corrupt of all, the Investment Bank CEO’s, and even university professors that are mixed in on the board of directors for many of these companies.

I really think this is an important film to watch, as it presents a better idea of why exactly the world is in the financial crisis we are in today. Not only that, but the bottom line is that the same people that were responsible for preventing issues, who turned out to have conflict of interest in many cases, STILL hold prominent positions within the US Government.

The film makes it clear that things need to change within the system, and I assume the goal of this film is to ignite a fire within people in hopes that they will attempt to initiate this change.

There is no better tool we can have than being completely educated about a situation. This way we can all make conscious choices and think of the big picture.

As Matt Damon concludes in the film, “It won’t be easy, but some things are worth fighting for.”