| Movie DescriptionThe film alternates between a fierce critique of the status quo, personal portraits of the suffering caused by the recent economic crisis, and comical social satire. The film begins a series of security footages of bank robberies (one of the robbers was even on a crutch) accompanied by Louie, Louie. Moore then uses an Encyclopędia Britannica archive video to compare the modern-day America with the Roman Empire. The film then depicts home videos of families being evicted from their homes, as well as the "Condo Vultures", a Florida real estate agent whose business flourished with the increasing number of foreclosures.
The film then cuts back to the past "golden days" of American capitalism following World War II, and a "bummer" speech by President Jimmy Carter warning Americans of the dangers of "worship(ping) self-indulgence and consumption". In the following Reagan years where the policies of Don Regan "turned the bull loose" for free enterprises, corporations gained more political power, unions were weakened, and socioeconomic gaps were widened. The film then cuts to the Luzerne County court scandal, Captain Sullenberger's congressional testimony regarding airline pilots' poor treatment, and the expose of "dead peasant insurance" policies that have companies profiting from the deaths of their employees. Moore then interviews several Catholic priests, including Bishop Thomas Gumbleton (Archdiocese of Detroit), all of whom consider capitalism contrary to the teachings of Christianity. The film then presents a mockery of what would happen if Jesus was a capitalist who wanted to "maximize profits", to "deregulate the banking industry" and wanted the sick to "pay out of pocket" for their "pre-existing condition", in contrast with several news pundits who proclaim the success of various capitalist enterprises as being a "blessing from God."
The film then features a leaked internal Citigroup memo[4] happily declaring the United States a "plutonomy" (a society "where economic growth is powered by and largely consumed by the wealthy few"), with the top 1% of the population controlling more financial wealth than the bottom 95% combined. The same report also raises the concern of "societies demanding a more 'equitable' share of wealth". Moore then interviews Wall Street Journal columnist Stephen Moore, who believes "capitalism is a lot more important than democracy". The film then cuts to codetermination worker cooperatives like Wisconsin's Isthmus Engineering and California's Alvarado Street Bakery, which are owned and run democratically by its employees, as alternative models to the current capitalist system. |
