I was first introduced to the existence and impact of socioeconomic class during my freshman year at Seattle University in a core Social Science class. During this class we watched a variety of films that outlined various social problems in the United States. I remember watching a film about education which briefly mentioned the existence of extreme class inequality in America. This got me questioning why do some people have so much while others (who work just as hard or harder) have so little? I was inspired to independently research the topic of class inequality independently which is how I stumbled upon the film Inequality for All. This documentary is presented by American economist, author and professor Robert Reich and examines the worsening issue of national income inequality.
The film takes on the tedious task of explaining the declining wage earning capacity of the American middle class without being boring or overly technical. Part of the film’s success, in my opinion, has to do with the skill of the narrator Robert Reich. Reich is both effective and engaging with his message and his narration is littered with self-deprecating jokes that prevent the audience from feeling intimidated. Reich effectively explains complex economic situations in a way that is logical and easy to understand for the average American audience. The documentary also features testimonials, statistics and info graphics that make it easy to understand the gravity of income disparity in the United States.
Overall, I would highly recommend that anyone who is interested in learning about the issue of class inequality in the United States take the time to watch Inequality for All. In addition to being interesting and informative, the film also inspired me to choose the issue of class conflict for this project.
For more information on the film, see what the Washington Post has to say here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/inequality-for-all-movie-review/2013/09/25/cd57aa10-214c-11e3-a358-1144dee636dd_story.html
Resources:
Inequality for All. Dir. Jacob Kornbluth. Perf. Robert Reich. 2013. DVD.
URL for Image:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2215151/
The film takes on the tedious task of explaining the declining wage earning capacity of the American middle class without being boring or overly technical. Part of the film’s success, in my opinion, has to do with the skill of the narrator Robert Reich. Reich is both effective and engaging with his message and his narration is littered with self-deprecating jokes that prevent the audience from feeling intimidated. Reich effectively explains complex economic situations in a way that is logical and easy to understand for the average American audience. The documentary also features testimonials, statistics and info graphics that make it easy to understand the gravity of income disparity in the United States.
Overall, I would highly recommend that anyone who is interested in learning about the issue of class inequality in the United States take the time to watch Inequality for All. In addition to being interesting and informative, the film also inspired me to choose the issue of class conflict for this project.
For more information on the film, see what the Washington Post has to say here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/inequality-for-all-movie-review/2013/09/25/cd57aa10-214c-11e3-a358-1144dee636dd_story.html
Resources:
Inequality for All. Dir. Jacob Kornbluth. Perf. Robert Reich. 2013. DVD.
URL for Image:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2215151/