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History stands witness, even today to the fact that that The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis to have ever hit the nations of the world. Nearly all the countries across the world bore the brunt of this economic crisis and were left to fend for themselves without the support of one another. There are varied timings of the origin of the Depression all over the world that fall in the 1930s to the 1940s. America however, was the worst victim of this recession as the Depression basically originated in the USA when US Stock Market saw a worldwide crash on October 29th, 1929, a day that is still remembered as “Black Tuesday” (Bernstein). During this era, all sectors of economy were crushed as a stable economy is constituted only if all sectors are strong enough (Robbins). The second time USA had to witness an economic setback just as crucial was during 2008 when Wall Street crashed. This recession hit the American nation hard and brought about various changes in the economic lifestyle of the country (Temin).
There is a lot of literature available in books, journals and many experts have voiced their opinion on both of these recessions, some even making it their life’s ambition to study them. However, like any other subject matter, the best way to understand it is through the aid of visuals. There are a number of movies and documentaries which were made specifically so that the era could be better understood and empathized with. In order to gain more insight into the understanding of these periods, it is imperative that these films are viewed with a keen eye and analyzed objectively.
The Great Depression – The Road to Rock Bottom (1993):
The Great Depression (1993) is a series which depicted the events of the Great Depression in great detail and leads the viewer on a visual journey. The Road to Rock Bottom is the second episode in the series and focuses on the rural parts of America which are now in great ruins due to the economic calamity that had befallen the nation. This part of the series shows the plight of the rural man in a very heartfelt way and makes the viewer think about the effects of the recession. Economists who view this film can take visual aid and gain insight to the social aspect of these effects. The audience watches as farmers who have lost their land due to inability to pay mortgages struggle to feed their families. Crops which at one point were valuable to the whole nation now lie useless and bring in no profit to these farmers. As a result, unrest and instability dominates the region as individuals seek out vigilante justice by robberies and other criminal activities. We also see the veterans of World War I protest and demand funds from President Hoover for their services, but to no avail. At this point in time, it is Franklin Roosevelt who is looked at for leadership. The public expects him to be the one to lead them out of their misery and he wins by a landslide (The Road to Rock Bottom). This episode manages to evoke human sentiment into the mind of an economist, yet also strikes thought towards the causes of this recession. One cannot help but ponder over the fact that back in the 1920’s, the booming interest rates were what caused individuals to think twice about investing. The film also gives insight into President Hoover’s policies which are to be partially blamed for this recession.
The Great Depression – New Deal/New York (1993):
New Deal/New York (1993) is the third episode in “The Great Depression” series which takes the audience on a journey after Roosevelt’s inauguration as the President and the reforms he brings to boost “restructuring”. The episode by highlighting the reforms Roosevelt brought to New York, explains the various other reforms he made in efforts to stabilize the nation. The audience witnesses Roosevelt as the leader he was expected to be for the nation. Within the first weeks of holding office he creates Federal Agencies in hope for more job opportunities for those unemployed. By this action he manages to provide many with employment and bringing relief into their lives. The audience also watches in great detail how Roosevelt and New York’s Mayor Fiorello La Guardia start an initiative to transform New York City. They do so by introducing various public works projects which also cater to providing unemployed individuals with opportunities to hone their skills and earn reasonable wages (New Deal/ New York). Overall, this episode focuses on bringing the audience’s attention to the measures which President Roosevelt took in order to bring back an economy that seemed lost. For an economist, it is important to look at the journey that the US under the guidance of Roosevelt started by taking small steps for its re-entry into the world of stability. The structural reforms he introduced are necessary to be studied in great detail in order to understand this era had on the economy of the nation.
The Great Depression – The Arsenal of Democracy (1993)
The Arsenal of Democracy (1993) is the seventh episode in the series and depicts the turn of events which helped America out of the Great Depression. Based on President Roosevelt’s slogan preceding World War II, this documentary highlights that in actuality while the whole nation dreamt of peace and restructuring, it was the war that brought it out of misery. The audience watches Roosevelt’s promise to the United Kingdom to provide them with the necessary equipment to fight the German forces. For an economist, it is imperative to note that this was not only a move offered to an ally country, but a move which assured the sustenance of the USA and its escape from The Great Recession by becoming an ammunition supplier to the world (Arsenal of Democracy).
Nova’s Mind over Money (2010):
Mind over Money (2010) is the fifteenth episode of Season 37 of the Nova documentaries. This particular episode tries to find the reasoning behind the chemical reactions that occur within the human brain in order to make decisions, specifically financial decisions. In the documentary, experts put forward the theory that people tend to be swayed by their emotions and hence this affects their decisions even financially. The theory was that in order to make more profits, individuals invest money in an unreasonable ratio and often without thinking giving their investments much thought which creates a financial void in the economy known as the “bubble”. This same phenomena works vice versa as well. The experts carry out various social experiments in order to prove this point. Later on in the documentary, they connect this theory with The Great Depression by stating that one of the biggest causes of this recession to hit the people hard was due to the fact that not only the financial but also the emotional state of mind of the nation was in tatters (Mind Over Money). The documentary talks about how the boom in the interest rates caused the people to be careful about investments and hence the economy destabilized. In consequence, a large number of people lost their jobs due to The Great Depression which led to emotional de-stability, hence forming a vicious cycle. Other than this important theory, the documentary also talks about the various nations and cultures of the world and how they retaliated and restructured themselves to fight back this recession. This documentary is indeed a guide for economists who wish to understand the psychological phenomena behind financial decisions (Mind Over Money).
Inside Job (2010):
Inside Job (2010) is a five part documentary that talks about the various events that led up to The Recession of 2000’s. This film provide in depth insight into the happenings and the causes of the economic recession that hit not only the US but also the world in a very crushing manner. The documentary argues that the basic cause of this economic instability was the investments which were neither transparent nor profitable to the investor (Inside Job). For example back in that period, numerous banks encouraged mortgages even to those who could not afford them. The various organizations which encouraged them manage to hedge these loans, hence causing themselves profit while loss to the consumer. The film points a finger at back-alley powers, which control the financial world and highlights the need for restructuring in a way that the investor invests in what he/she can see and believe in. This cause of the recession can be compared to one of the causes of The Great Depression in which the rise in interest rates caused the investor to hold back from investing their assets and hence causing an economical disturbance (Temin).
Money, Power, and Wall Street – Frontline (2012):
Money, Power, and Wall Street (2012) is a part of the series by Frontline which talks in great detail about the causes and aftermaths of The Great Recession of 2008. As discussed above, one part of this documentary covers the bank loans and mortgages which contributed to the worst recession of its kind to hit the USA in years. However, the more important part of this documentary is the reforms President Obama similar to Roosevelt, tried to introduce in wake of this crisis (Money, Power, And Wall Street). Obama not unlike focused on trying to balance the federal budget and signed into law a $787 billion stimulus package which was supposed to aid to various cities. An expensive “jobs bill” was introduced in order to ensure flow of money into key congressional districts. However, Obama like Roosevelt was criticized for increasing the debt of the nation by introducing these reforms (Temin).
Conclusion:
The various movies discuss are indeed a visual aid to understand the not only The Great Depression of 1930’s but also The Great Recession of 2008. The causes if seen critically and analyzed are somewhat similar to each other. Hence the way ahead for future economists and financial experts becomes much clearer; both these economic disturbances provide guidelines for the future of not only America but the financial world as we see it.
Bibliography
Arsenal Of Democracy. Hollywood: Susan Bellows, 1993. DVD.
Bernstein, Michael A. The Great Depression. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]: Cambridge University Press, 1987. Print.
Inside Job. United States: Sony Pictures Classics, 2010. film.
Islam, Iyanatul, and Sher Verick. From The Great Recession To Labour Market Recovery. Geneva: International Labour Office, 2011. Print.
Mind Over Money. PBS, 2010. film.
Money, Power, And Wall Street. USA: PBS, 2012. DVD.
New Deal/ New York. Hollywood: Dante James, 1993. film.
Robbins, Lionel Robbins. The Great Depression. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1971. Print.
Rothbard, Murray N. America's Great Depression. New York City: Richardson & Snyder, 1983. Print.
Temin, Peter. 'The Great Recession & The Great Depression'. Daedalus 139.4 (2010): 115-124. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
The Road To Rock Bottom. Hollywood: Steve Fayer, 1993. film.
Verick, Sher, and Iyanatul Islam. The Great Recession Of 2008-2009. Geneva: ILO, 2010. Print.
