Lia Saputo
Film and Culture
USF
21 July 2021
The Big Short
President Harry Truman famously stated that a recession occurs when one’s neighbor loses their job, but depression occurs when one loses one’s own. His words proved true during the 2007 recession when families were struggling to make ends meet. Many people found themselves in the situation he described when they were both homeless and jobless. The Big Short’s depiction of the 2007-2008 depression is used in this essay to show how corruption and incompetence in the mortgage industry may destroy the economy.
The Big Short, directed by Adam McKay, contains three subplots investigating how the United States economy was affected in an unprecedented way during the financial crisis in 2007. First, a Wall Street genius named Michael Burry notices that many subprime loans are likely to fail to fulfill an obligation in the film. As a result, he made a wager against the housing market, investing over $1 billion in loan default swaps. These acts drew the notice of banker Jared Vennett and hedge fund specialist Mark Baun and other aspiring opportunists. They earned a fortune by capitalizing on the coming financial crisis and the US economy’s catastrophic economic downfall.
This paper will examine how corruption and incompetence can wreak havoc on any economy, regardless of its roots. The movie gives the impression that these guys conspired to keep the US economy from crashing due to the numerous subprime mortgages that typified the housing industry. The business was afraid the economy would collapse, so they put more money into it. This is a classic illustration of how these two vices may exacerbate economic problems in any society. Corruption and mismanagement can lead to financial despair.
It is clear from the film that some people were relieved that the US economy was doomed to fail. Moreover, they profited handsomely by betting against it. Thus, many of the instruments they devised resulted from corruption and malice against the country’s faltering economy. In addition, most of the mishandling was premeditated. As they describe real-life situations, these observations are an essential element of the essay because they show instances of these vices.
Corruption obstructs an economy’s growth and prosperity. This section will go through several instances when housing market corruption contributed to the historic financial catastrophe. It will also provide examples from the film in which people purposefully engaged in bribery, resulting in economic disaster. In addition, co-economic activities might be hampered by poor management. As a result, the part will go through the notion of mismanagement and how bad management practices contributed to the financial crisis of 2007-08.
The two vices were clearly at the heart of the 2007-08 depression, as seen in the information above. The movie helps to emphasize that the issue might have been avoided if the parties concerned had cared enough. If we can successfully eradicate corruption and mismanagement, we can prevent it in the future.
Topic Sentences:
President Harry Truman famously stated that a recession occurs when one’s neighbor loses his or her job, but a depression occurs when one loses one’s own.
The Big Short, directed by Adam McKay, contains three subplots that investigate how the United States economy was affected in an unprecedented way during the financial crisis going on in 2007.
This paper will look at how corruption and incompetence can wreak havoc on any economy, regardless of it roots.
It is clear from the film that some people were relieved that the US economy was doomed to fail.
Corruption obstructs an economy’s growth and prosperity.
The two vices were clearly at the heart of the 2007-08 depression.