Inside Job

Yesterday, I saw a documentary in the theatre. I can't think of a more nerdy thing to do, besides blogging about documentaries. It's not even like I saw a trendy documentary about global warming or fast food. I saw one about the financial services industry.

What's worse is that I didn't actually KNOW I was going to see a documentary. I suggested going to see Love and Other Drugs. My friend said that sounded dumb and suggested going to see Inside Job. I didn't know anything about that movie, so I did a little online research. After a very brief IMDB review, I saw that Matt Damon was in the movie. Sure, I'll see a movie with Matt Damon in it. About 15 minutes into the movie, I realized that the movie was not a dramatic re-enactment of the financial crisis. Matt Damon was the NARRATOR. FTL.

Seriously though, it was actually a good film. I thought it did a good job drilling down to who the major players in the financial crisis were, and it really flushed out exactly how intertwined Wall Street, Washington, and the academic community are. That was probably the most interesting part. I didn't really realize the extent to which people out of Ivy League schools write economic textbooks that educate the world, sit on the boards of large financial firms AND sit on the president's economic councils. It is kind of scary when you really start to think about it.

The film did a good job describing how the CDO, credit default swaps, and derivatives markets work, but I think they really missed the impact of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Those entities are market makers just like all the private investment banks, but for some reason the film didn't bring that out.

Long story short, Matt sounded great. I'd recommend the film.

Also, check out my friend's new blog. She's going to be volunteering in India soon and needs some followers. For background, you can also see my older post on highest and best use.