Name: Psyche Jenn P.

Fernandez
Course & Section: AB Foreign Service – 201
Subject: Introduction to International Trade
Professor: Mr. Jumel G. Estrañero

INSIDE JOB
(2010)

I. BACKGROUND OF THE FILM

Inside Job is a documentary and crime film, directed by Charles Ferguson, based on a
real chronological event that led to the global financial crisis in the year 2008. The movie
provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial meltdown that caused massive impacts
on economic order that affect the tens of millions of lives of people around the world. Through
extensive research and interviews with the financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and
academics, the film successfully exposed the corruption in the financial service industry. Inside
Job was conducted in different countries such as; the United States of America, Iceland, China,
France, and Singapore. The valiant and provocative questions on interviews and the entertaining
narrative of Matt Damon gave vivid and justification on financial issues that contributed to the
near disintegration of the financial sector. According to Time magazine, an American weekly
news magazine, “If you’re not enraged by the end of this movie, you weren’t paying attention.”
 
II. BODY
The first five minutes of the film showed the country of Iceland; it elucidated that it has a
stable democracy and a high standard way of living. However, in the year 2000, a broad policy
of deregulation was imposed by the government that has disastrous consequences affecting
Iceland’s environment, economic stability and caused huge government debt. The film began
with chapter I entitled “How we got here”. In the year 1981, the US administration of President
Reagan started the 30 years of financial deregulation. In 1982, the deregulation of savings and
loans permitted small companies and banks to make investments that they didn’t know the high
probability of risks and low survival rates they would face in the future. Some of the investment
banks were Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Lehman Brothers; they are gigantic firms, so
large that their failure would threaten the whole financial system. Investment banks promoted
internet stocks; they knew that will eventually fail in the future. Furthermore, the emergence of
deregulation and advanced technology that produced the product called derivatives made the
market unstable. The rise of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and the participation of
rating agencies that gave triple-A ratings that were not true drastically changed the economic
system.
 The second chapter is entitled “The Bubble” which shows the recklessness of investment
banks. Traders and CEOs became enormously wealthy and during the bubble, investment banks
borrowed constantly and greatly to purchased additional loans that were needed to produce
CDOs. Another problem was when AIG was selling a great number of derivatives called credit
default swap that rose to a warming from AIG’s auditors, that their actions may destroy their
own companies. Furthermore, it discusses how taxpayers’ money wasted on prostitutes and
drugs. This chapter named the bubble because when the CDOs cannot pay back, it was called the
bubble. In this chapter, CDOs were upgraded and specifically designed for a purpose. Its effect
was, the more money the customers had lost, the more money investment banks made.
The third chapter is entitled “Crisis.” In connection with the created toxic financial
system above that caused the global financial crisis in the year 2008, the global economy
undergoes a great recession. The bankruptcy of banks triggered the global financial crisis. When
the markets collapsed, investment banks holding loans, CDOs, and real estate’s equivalent to
hundreds of billions of dollars were couldn’t sell anymore. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers,
a US investment bank and global financial service, which had a triple-A rating two days after the
collapse proved to the people that there was corruption happening.
The fourth chapter entitled “Accountability” shows that men who are the primary reason
why their respective companies destroyed and plunged the economic stability into a crisis only
leave effortlessly with their fortunes intact and without criminal charges. In the film, two
interviewees asserted that the board of the company was accountable when the business failed
since they are responsible for hiring the CEO and knows the strategic plans and decisions. Also,
the role of academic economists was mentioned because they are active advocates of
deregulation. The narrator mentioned Barack Obama, a former president of the United States
who promised to the people that his campaign would change the Wall Street economic system,
but did not happen because he hired the same people who contributed to the global crisis.
The fifth chapter entitled “where are now” shows the banks mentioned in the film became
more powerful after the economic crisis. The economies avoided the damage and were
recovering; however, the men who built the structure that caused security and financial fraud and
corrupted the US political system and banking still have their respected power.

III. ANALYSIS
The crime and documentary film Inside Job had successfully depicted the problems,
issues, flaws, and the cause and effect of corruption in United States banking that drastically led
to the global financial crisis in the year 2008. I am already hooked in the first five minutes of the
film since they already exposed the negative impact of deregulation policy in one country that
was known to have a mature and sophisticated economy. The conflict was already evident in
chapter 1 of the film; it was in New York. The bankruptcy of US investment bank Lehman
Brothers and the collapse of the largest insurance company in the world, American International
Group Inc. (AIG) which triggered the whole financial system and threatened the economic
stability and order. Also, the film informed the viewers at the very beginning, the primary root of
the problem that is significant because the viewers already have an idea of why the global
recession happened. The significant terms such as deregulation policy, derivatives, mortgage,
centralized debt obligations (CDOs), subprime, credit default swap, as well as academic conflict
interest had widely introduced and discussed in the film. It could be an advantage to the viewers
since not all people have knowledge and idea about the mentioned terms. Through the help of the
film, people will become more aware, conscious, and vigilant because the elite individuals who
built the structure of the toxic financial system have power up until now, and people in every
country should be ready and educated.
Furthermore, the narrator of the film, Matt Damon did a great job; his projected voice
elucidated the main key points and arguments of the film that made me/viewers entertained,
persuaded, and convinced. He has a remarkable contribution to making the film engaging to the
eyes of the viewers. While watching the film, I can guarantee that the writer undergoes extensive
research since the film provides comprehensive and insightful information, originality, and
truthfulness. The narrator mentioned the involvement and role of Goldman Sachs, Morgan
Stanley, Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers Holding Inc., Merrill Lynch, Fannie and Mae, Citibank,
JP Morgan & Co. (JPM), AIG, AMBAC and MBIA. It made the film more accurate to the
information it discusses which could be an attempt to modify and improve the viewers’
perspective in society.
Also, the interviewer gave justice to the film because he asked provocative questions that
make the interviewee stutter, anxious, guilty, and sometimes mad. It proves that he has enough
knowledge with regards to the questions, and sugarcoating the answers should not be entertained.
Another remarkable aspect of the film was the interviewees who have a status when the global
financial crisis in the year 2008 happened. The Former Federal Reserve Chairman, Under
Secretary of the Treasury – Bush Administration, Prime Minister of Singapore, Chief Economic
Adviser – Bush Administration, Former Governor of New York, Chief Economist of Citigroup,
Former Vice President of Lehman Brothers, Lehman’s Bankruptcy Lawyer, Hedge Fund
Manager, Governor, Federal Reserve were some of the many interviewees that contributed to the
authenticity, reliability and credibility of the film.

IV. CONCLUSION
The film Inside Job is one of the best documentation and crime films that every
individual should watch and appreciate. It will give the viewers very informative, realistic,
thrilling, and shocking events that will make them more aware and vigilant of the situations
around them, around us. At the very beginning, the purpose of the movie had already depicted,
even a country that has a stable democracy and high standard way of living could not exempt
from the effects of the global financial crisis. The mentioned individuals in the film changed the
political system to modify the process of the economic system based on their ideas and
perspective, and this was the root of all problems and challenges the world faced in the year
2008. The imposed broad policy of deregulation following the excessive application of
important terms mentioned above, as well as the use of taxpayers’ money wasted on prostitutes
and drugs contributes to the global recession. Unfortunately, the corruptible and impulsive
decisions of large investment banks, financial institutions, and insurance companies caused the
global financial crisis.
 Consequently, after the global financial crisis, the economies were recovering and barely
avoided the possible damage. However, there is still a possibility that the global financial crisis
may happen again because all individual who built the structure still have their respective power.
Unfortunately, the established financial system that should help life become easier recklessly
modified and turned into an arena where luxurious desires met. The massive impact on economic
order hugely affects tens of millions of lives of people around the world. Herein we can see that
poor people are always the ones who will pay for the damages caused by the elite people who
only leave effortlessly with their fortunes intact and without criminal charges. I recommend this
film to the students for educational purposes. It covers the financial issues, the historical origin
of the crisis, reckless actions of elite individuals in Wall Street, the flaws spotted in global
financial regulation, the consequences of changing the financial system, and the corruption in the
US financial industry.