I just finished watching I.O.U.S.A., a documentary describing the history and current status of the U.S. National Debt and fiscal policy. It is quite an eye-opening movie as it talks about the four greatest deficits we (as a nation and as individuals) face: Budget, Savings, Trade, and Leadership. Initially I was afraid this would be more right-wing propaganda lambasting “big government”, but I was pleasantly surprised at a pretty non-partisan approach. The movie does not seem to favor one political agenda over another (though it does seem to poke a little more at Reagan’s supply-side economics and the Bush Tax Cuts). Former U.S. Comptroller David Walker and Bob Bixby of the Concord Coalition play pretty big roles, and Alan Greenspan and Warren Buffett make appearances as well.
The main topic of the film is the National Debt (which is over 10 trillion dollars now) and how weour nation is saddling future generations with more debt than they can possibly hope to pay. It emphasizes the weight of the Social Security and Medicare programs and how they may continue to eat up larger and larger portions of GDP if we do not do something about it. It utilizes some pretty interesting charts and other graphics to show the history of the national debt, budget deficits, and savings rates throughout history. It also provides some education about how Monetary Policy attempts to create economic growth while trying to limit inflation. It also shows how government debt has changed over time. Whereas after World War II, 100% of the government debt was held by U.S. citizens, it is no longer the case; China, Japan, and other nations hold about 25% of our debt.
The movie is careful to point out that the creators do not favor one political or fiscal policy over another; the main purpose seems to be raising awareness of the crisis, presenting the facts, and motivating us to take action. While the film is nearly two years old, it is still worth watching. It is informative with facts and statistics as well as educational about how fiscal and monetary policies interact with inflation, savings, and economic growth. I wonder what they would say about the current situation with bail-outs and President Obama’s plans.
The previews looked good, and I generally enjoy superhero movies, but The Watchmen was a bit of a disappointment. It opens with a cool action sequence, but then slows down for most of the movie, with little fits of action until the end, when you finally piece together the whole plot. Quite a bit of time is spent in back-story and flash-backs. Few of the characters or their stories are really compelling; all are flawed in some form (but they are human, right?).
The most interesting character is probably Rorschach. He’s dark and brooding, and about the only one who suspects something is amiss. Throughout the whole movie, however, I could never quite figure out how he got his name. The other highlight in the movie is Miss Jupiter, and that’s mostly just because she’s pretty. And then there is Dr. Manhattan. He’s the only superhero with any real powers other than crazy martial-arts skills. He is, however, disturbingly blue… and naked. There are far too many shots of his blue junk – it’s like a car wreck; you know you don’t want to look, but you can’t really avoid it. Especially when it’s waving at you.
The action and fighting sequences are pretty spectacular, but there are times when the gore is almost too graphic to bear (but I think that’s what they were going for).
Overall I have a difficult time justifying to anyone why they should spend $10 on a movie ticket to see this movie (luckily we only spent $7.75 for the matinee show), especially when I nearly fell asleep part way through it.
We went to see Gran Torino last weekend, Clint Eastwood’s latest movie. I’ve enjoyed many of his recent movies, and this one does not disappoint. Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran who has just become a widower. He still lives near Detroit in his old neighborhood, which has grown more ethnically diverse. The story unfolds as the Thao, the neighbor is bullied into trying to steal Walt’s mint-condition Ford Gran Torino by his cousin’s gang. Walt catches him in the act, but the kid gets away. The rest of the story is fairly predictable (without giving too much away) – Thao apologizes, Walt eventually befriends and protects the neighbors from the gang thugs, and helps them out in various other ways.
The acting by the main Asian actors is a little inexperienced. The dialogue and delivery feels rushed or unconvincing most of the time. But the real center of the movie is Clint Eastwood’s character. He is a surly, tough, culturally intolerant old man who tosses out racial slurs so freely that it is almost comical. As his character develops, you learn more about his past and experiences that have made him this way. That was the real interesting part of the story – what made this man so callous and angry?
We went to see a special screening of The 11th Hour last week, with a Q&A with one of the producers and people interviewed in the movie. The movie is about 90 minutes long, and is mostly in a ‘talking heads’ format featuring environmentalists and scientists concerned with life on Earth, our connection to, and impact on everything else associated with our home.
Parts of it do come off a bit preachy or alarmist, but overall the movie contains quite a bit of interesting information. It is relatively light on data (see An Inconvenient Truth for that), but delves more into the philosophical aspects of environmentalism. Many of the interviewees emphasize that we are not above_ nature, or given dominion over the world; we are a part of nature; we are tied to every other living thing. They talk about the need to ween ourselves off fossil fuels and live in more sustainable way; we have the technology to do so today. Of course there are some accusatory/inflammatory topics and statements – especially as they pertain to politicians and corporations.
Another interesting aspect they go into is the American consumer economy (I’ve posted on this before) – and an interesting factoid – “for every 1 truckload of goods that have lasting value, there are 32 truckloads of waste.”
I recommend you check out the movie. It is very interesting and informative. The best part is that it doesn’t end on a ‘doom and gloom’ note. We can do something about this; we need to take action.