Film Analysis Discussion Assignment

The main theme of the film is the crises of the 2000s and the stimulus to recovery. Main topics include “casino mentality” of Wall Street, non-profit prisons, influence of Golden Sachs. The movie also touches such themes as wages of poverty-level people. The other point is the ideological contradictions among evangelical conservatives who are the supporters of free market ideas. The main question of the story is: What is the price that America is paying for its love to capitalism? The film shows a real picture of the ordinary people who are in search of their wealthy future. However, on the contrary, they obtain just their minimal living so they cannot afford themselves to turn their life into an American dream. On the contrary, it turned to be rather a nightmare for a great amount of people. The film is based on the stories of the ordinary people, whose lives have been turned upside down. The works are lost every day. People have been losing everything they had, and they are in the bottom. Everything is indulged in lies, abuse and betrayal. “It’s a conversation that is desperately needed as the economic crisis continues to devastate low- and middle-income Americans in spite of President Obama’s and Congress’ efforts to stop the bleeding by throwing trillions of dollars at the banks. ” (Federici) Michael Moore has always been looking for the question who we are and why we behave like we do? 

Modernization theory, dependency theory and world systems are three main concepts that were evident in the film. Modernization leads to transformation of all spheres of the society to such an extent that new forms of technology appear that lead to the improvements of the societal norms. Globalization influences globalization widely, spreading the norms of society and ideas throughout the world. In the film Moore describes the contrast between the rapidly growing industries, their development and improvement together with the frozen salaries of the workers. This event divided people into rich and others.

Dependency is a theory that means that states that wealthy nations need a group of poorer states with the aim to remain wealthy. That it is wrong to consider that the countries that remain poor are not involved in the world system, on the contrary, they are. This social change leads to an international division of labor that increasingly puts profit in the hands of a few corporate entities while exploiting the workers and farmers in the poorest and least powerful semiperipheral, and peripheral nations. This world systems theory declares the world as divided into three nations.     

World system theory is based on the studies that explain institutional changes that focus on the intersocietal systems rather than single societies. World system consists of the political, economic and legal framework. “Analysis of capitalism is how the system of economic power interlocks with other structures of oppression, for example, U.S. imperialism, patriarchy and white supremacy. Capitalism affects different people in extremely different ways, and while some fear losing their jobs, others fear imprisonment, rape, or even being hit by a drone attack.” (Federici) World system is a correlation of the different relationships that people are involved in every day. The influence of the present societal regime is the consequence of such relations.  

The world system is driven by capitalist accumulation first where the power for wealth is on the first place. “Michael Moore’s conversations with congressmen and women about the $700 billion bank bailout passed last October best illustrate this transfer of sovereignty. ” (Federici)

However, not all the politicians consider it to be right to show such details to their citizens, “with this film airing in major chain cinemas across the nation, the normally taboo topics of how wealth is divided, who owns Congress, and how vital economic decisions are made are now open for discussion in a way they have not been in the U.S. for decades.” (Federici)

The film is a challenge to the regime that has been incorporated to the society within epochs. It shows all hidden aspects of the societal regime. Different events are described from the other side of the medal. They provoke the attention of the masses.

The most important thing that I have learned from the film is that the system of the society is not equal. There is probably no system that will do all people equal and make American dream come true for every citizen. However, this is the frame of the society that has been existed within years, and this is a part of the world system. Michael Moore highlighted on three theories that influence society greatly: modernization theory, dependency theory and world systems. Correlation of these concepts creates the picture that we have today. Modernization divided people into poor and rich. With the development of the technologies the gap between them became more obvious. Dependence made the smaller countries and societal layers under the ruling of the bigger ones. The world system based on the principle of capitalism made privacy more expensive that the other values of life, like people’s wealth and well-being.  

Works Cited:

Federici, S., Anti-Capitalism Goes Mainstream: Review of “Capitalism: A Love Story”, October 16, 2009 Retrieved from: http://endofcapitalism.com/2009/10/16/anti-capitalism-goes-mainstream-review-of-capitalism-a-love-story/