‘Broke: The New American Dream’ Review
by Ben ShapiroI received Michael Covel’s new documentary, Broke: The New American Dream [trailer - website] in the mail about a week ago, and watched it in one sitting. The film describes itself as “a vivid, honest, often humorous and always insightful look at our struggle with investments and retirement.” The film is vivid and often humorous – it is peppered with slivers of good advice from 1950s financial films and cartoons – and, in the mold of documentarians like Michael Moore, it focuses mainly on people and less on specifics. That said, Broke isn’t a complete breakdown of what happened and how we got here, or how we’ll get out of it.
Broke is an ambitious movie, covering ground from the subprime meltdown to the relationship between the stock market and the “irrational exuberance” targeted by Professor Robert Schiller. For all its ambition, the film does come off as a bit scattered, mixing personal stories with broader (and often vaguer) points about the nature of the financial markets. If you’re looking for a detailed analysis of real estate finance or an explanation of the mismanagement by the federal government and Wall Street, you’re not likely to find it here – this is more of a media critique, and a critique of the American mindset that we should “get rich quick” through the market rather than doing our research.
The content of the movie, however, isn’t as important as the mood it creates. It’s a well-cut movie, a high quality production, and it captures the sense of foreboding we all feel about the chaotic state of our economy. Broke’s finest moments come from its analogies: a visit to an Asian fish market is likened to stock trading; the stock market’s vagaries are likened (and then differentiated) from playing the lottery. Broke also convincingly tears down the financial news networks like CNBC, which, as creator Michael Covel sees them, are catering to an audience of news junkies in an attempt to score ratings (a point made in less elegant fashion by Jon Stewart in his grilling of Jim Cramer). In Covel’s view, Americans have stupidly allowed themselves to become pawns of the “know-it-alls” who tell them where and when to invest – they’ve given up the financial autonomy they truly need to make smart investment decisions.
Broke isn’t the all-encompassing “recession movie.” What Broke does do in beautiful imagistic fashion, however, is remind us of the situation we now face, even if it doesn’t offer specifics for how to get out of it other than a blanket warning to face up to our responsibilities as investors. If we take Covel’s advice on that point, we’ll all be a lot better off.
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This documentary seems to have excellent potential. I would very much agree with several of the points he seems to be making, particularly about cable financial news. George W. Bush was a fan of business, but not necessarily Wall Street. Having come from the corporate world, I could see first hand how C.E.O.'s tried to take actions to please Wall Street analysts which were altogether different from what might be good long term for the company. Like most conservative films and documentaries, I imagine this will not get wide distribution.
Come on Jed, of course the media will be happy to trumpet a new conservative film. . . ;-P
Thick as thieves K-street to Wall Street anything that exposes this dangerous relationship for what it is, is a good thing.
Thick as thieves K-street to Wall Street anything that exposes this dangerous relationship for what it is, …is a good thing.
Lesson learned should be greed is bad.
Well Andrew, I may also be guilty of assuming that just because Ben didn't say that the film blames it all on the last administration or is being reviewed by Big Hollywood that it is, strictly speaking a "conservative" film. What I think is interesting though is that I naturally refer to anything remotely objective as "conservative." I'm not sure what that says about the state of things or myself.
I'll be sure to put it on my Netflix. But it won't hold a candle to my new screenplay about the mortgage meltdown. Can't reveal too much because Hollywood and even backwater showbiz sites may harbor people who want my ideas. But one thing is for sure, I won't ask Jeanne Garofolo to be in the movie or Jackson Brown or Don Henley to write any songs for it.
LOL! I have the same feeling. "Oh, that guy didn't devolve into left wing hate? He must be a conservative."
I guess that's what happens when derangement syndrome becomes your guiding philosophy.
Silence fly-over man! Don't you understand that your betters know what's better for you!!
Ug. When did our government become government for the lobbiests, by the lobbiests, paid for by the people?
the chaotic state of our economy.
What chaotic state?
According to Rahm Emanuel "we rescued the economy from the worst recession"
In other words "Mission Accomplished" Now lets get a banner and hang it on the White House.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=upiUPI-20...
I think it gets back to the mentality developed during the inflation-plagued 1970s. e.g. "Might as well go into debt since you get burned trying to save your money anyway".
Maybe the materialism of the 80s is bad, maybe not. But if we going to be a materialist, consumerist culture, we've got to learn to earn all the crap we want to buy. Unfortunately, we've become addicted to credit cards and (previously) all-too-easy-to-get-loans.
The big reset is coming: a borrow-phobic generation that's going to sound like my parents.
This movie is decent but if you want documentaries that really do go into great detail about how we got into economic situation and tracing it all the way through American history then I highly recommend watching the documentary called The Money Masters. It will open eyes. This movie, Broke, simply entertains.
I am “Flyover Man.” Speaking truth to parasitic Washington scum, wherever it rears it’s ugly head.
Pia Varma interviewed Michael Covel about the doc. Enjoy.
http://web.me.com/dagtag/Site_7/LaissezFaireLoung...
According to the state media, the American dream is unpatroitic.
Only taxes are patriotic. Thanks for those nuggets of wisdom, Biden!
"my new screenplay about the mortgage meltdown"
Sounds like a real thriller.
"We cured the disease, but we killed the patient."–Old Yiddish proverb
Yep!
The Irish have a similar saying, except it is in Galic.
As soon as I read "…in the mold of documentarians like Michael Moore…" I automatically stopped caring. Thankfully I rallied and kept reading.
Oh, you did not hear the news? The Occupant in Chief is conducting closed doors meeting cutting health care deals, but he has not broken his transparency pledge since he is not talking to lobbyists but merely representatives of large companies, organizations, and assorted special interests. See, no lobbyists in his government, just as promised!
Oh, you did not hear the news? The Occupant in Chief is conducting closed door meetings cutting health care deals, but he has not broken his transparency pledge since he is not talking to lobbyists but merely representatives of large companies, organizations, and assorted special interests. See, no lobbyists in his government, just as promised!
Doheney Hank
Good to see at least there are some that understand the real reason for the melt down, the Community Reinvestment Act directing the financial community. Withe likes of Clinton, Rubin, Andrew Cuomo, with legislators Chris Dodd and Barney Frank hereafter know as Chris Dodge and Barney Fudge doling out the money. We call the Mexican's doling out drug the DRUG CARTEL supported by the drug addicts and this Redistribution of Wealth method through the legislation dictated by the Community Reinvestment Act we should be calling the likes of Chris Dodge, Barney Fudge, Bill Clinton, Franklin Raines, Rubin, and Andrew Cuomo the US MONEY CARTEL selling their product to the money addicts on Wall Street who actually facilitated the Dems Redistribution of Wealth and rewarded Wall Street handsomely by that same MONEY CARTEL.
Doheney Hank
Good to see at least there are some that understand the real reason for the melt down, the Community Reinvestment Act directing the financial community. With the likes of Clinton, Rubin, Andrew Cuomo, with legislators Chris Dodd and Barney Frank hereafter know as Chris Dodge and Barney Fudge doling out the money. We call the Mexican's doling out drug the DRUG CARTEL supported by the drug addicts and this Redistribution of Wealth method through the legislation dictated by the Community Reinvestment Act we should be calling the likes of Chris Dodge, Barney Fudge, Bill Clinton, Franklin Raines, Rubin, and Andrew Cuomo the US MONEY CARTEL selling their product to the money addicts on Wall Street who actually facilitated the Dems Redistribution of Wealth and rewarded Wall Street handsomely by that same MONEY CARTEL.
Anybody think we should start a trend by shaving the word "broke" into the back of our heads? It'd be like those anti-prop 8 people with the "no h8" stuff.
What's happening to America can be explained by the following: It happened to someone I know.
1997 – Child received $5,000.00 from grandmother's estate. Invested with Investment Co. 1
2000 – $5,000 investment at $4200.00 – Taken from Investment Co 1 and put with Investment Co 2
2003 – $5,000 is now $3,000.00.
Taken from Investment Co 2, child's parents added $2,000 to bring same up to $5,000.00.
Given to Investment Co 3
2009 – $5,000.00 Investment is now 12 years old. Worth $5300.00.
Most of us can't get our heads around six and seven figures but all of us can see what happened to this $5,000.00. Shows what fools we've been to believe the blather from the "stocks are great", "compound interest" crowd. The only people who made money on this kid's investment were the Bernie Madoff's etc who charged the child and his parents for "investing" for them. The family would have been better off putting the money in a tin can in the dog house.
Absolutely correct. We can only hope that we can return somewhat to the days of "saving for that rainy day".
I had $1800 in a 401(K) that automatically rolled into an IRA after leaving a job, that investment company's most conservative "3% Guaranteed" one by default. Ignored it since after everything crashed that looked great. Recently peeked at a statement, it generated $56, of which $50 was taken out as a fee.
Bank of Internet has 2.50% APY on an FDIC-backed dirt simple no-minimum no-maintenance fee savings account, only a hundred to open. Heck with the penalty, that IRA is getting cashed in.
It is not a conservative film! There are many democrats and republicans in it.
The new american dream… Live next to a ILLEGAL ALIEN, have a GM CAR in the driveway, use any of the GOVERNEMENT BANKS… and go get a flu shot from nationalized healthcare…..Pay over 55% in taxs and go to get free AMERICAN CHEESE BLOCKS FROM THE NEW FOOD CZAR… wait a country and AMERICAN HAS BEEN BERY VERY GOOD TO ME!!!!
The new american dream… Live next to a ILLEGAL ALIEN, have a GM CAR in the driveway, use any of the GOVERNEMENT BANKS… and go get a flu shot from nationalized healthcare…..Pay over 55% in taxs and go to get free AMERICAN CHEESE BLOCKS FROM THE NEW FOOD CZAR… what a country and AMERICAN HAS BEEN BERY VERY GOOD TO ME!!!!
Michael – you must have missed my response to Andrew Price, immediately below my comment which, in effect, admits there is no indication your film is "political" in any sense. Having seen how so many of these documentaries have an explicit agenda, anything that is remotely objective merely seems conservative to me by way of contrast. Regardless, I look forward to viewing it.
I see!
[...] http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bshapiro/2009/07/22/broke-the-new-american-dream-review/ [...]
BROKE Fking sucked. Covel is a completely unqualified talking head that sells trading seminars for $1,000. How can anyone take him seriously when he has made a career teaching people something he cannot do for himself.
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