Hey Leute, 

Media Ethics

Guy Bruggemann

GBR7134 FHV

Summary of the documentary ‘Inside Job’.

Inside Job (2010)

Inside jobs tells the story off the financial crisis in the 00’s . It’s a documentary wich won many prices at filmfestivals. The documentary shows the corrupcy from banking systems mostly in the US. It shows as well the effects what this corrupt system has on society.

The documentary is set up in five different chapters. It all starts in Iceland, where banks got privatized. The change in politic systems was partly responsible for the collapse of the banks.

Chapter 1: How we got here

In this part, Inside Job shows that there was a change at hand in the economic system. The growth of new technology made sure that there was a new sector wich wasn’t categorized or organized as good as the other sectors. Because (new) small companies and investment banks kept investing in stuff that we didn’t know if they would accually have a good chance of survival, the risk was very high. Some of these investment banks where really large companies like Goldman Sachs, Merill Lynch and the Lehman Brothers. Insurance companies like AIG and rating agencys like Moody’s played a big part in this system.
The economic system changed, where mortages fused with other loans. Together they are called CDO’s. Because of the small connection between the rating companies, the investment banks and the insurance companies, there were given out ratings to loans wich weren’t true. This means that some people could take a loan (high risk) but were never able to pay the loan back.

Chapter 2: The Bubble

This chapter shows the risk of this system. If the investment banks would sell more CDO’s, they get more money. They told investors that they were off a very good rating (AAA). When the CDO’s can not be paid back, they call it a ‘bubble’.

Chapter 3: The crisis

Described as in chapter 2. The bad side off this system happened, and nobody did a thing about it. This meant that the economy came in a great recession . Banks collapsed and where bought out by the government. The weird part is that Banks like Lehman Brothers collapsed, becuase 2 days before they collapsed, they had a triple A rating. At this moment the corrupcy of the system is shown.

Chapter 4: Accountability

When the government helped the investment banks, nothing changed. The banks got bigger so they get more a monopoly on the economic system off the country. In the documentary, people are asked about this strange behaviour. It shows that the economics who where against deregulation wich was the problem in the first place, where still against deregulation after the bubble.
This has a reason, the very top (1%) off the investment banks, insurance companies and rating companies could leave the banks with all their personal possessions This means that at the time that the companies almost collapsed, the very top of the companies got a lot of money. This is not only selfish, but corrupt as well.
They changed the whole political system to fit the economic system they had in mind. Obama was the first one who accually noticed this and said it out loud in his campaign that he would change it. But because he choose the very same people as ministers of the country, the system wouldn’t be changed. 

Chapter 5: Where we are now

The fifth chapter shows the part that at the moment, nothing has really changed and that we have to wait for another bubble or recession. The banks who are corrupted have gotten more power. They tell us that we need them. There are still to few regulations on rating agency’s, investment banks and insurance companies so the risk will still be high.

Europe tried to regulate the system, because they didn’t want to come in another recession. But America didn’t want to do this.
The main reason why they don’t do it is because the same people who caused this mess are still in charge.