Saving Capitalism

The premise is that capitalism needs saving. Tends to highlight the problems fairly well. Yet it continually fails to understand where the problem lies. It is not capitalism that needs the saving, it is our political system. For example: Argues a major problem is corporations buying political influence; fails to understand that politicians must sell political influence for it to be bought.

If valid and rational narrative is a must, look elsewhere; if you can look beyond the intended narrative, it isn't a horrible documentary.

Short and without any real ideas other than to say it's up to the young people to demand change, which is all well and good, but it would have been nice to have a few ideas beyond just saying "organize." If you aren't brainwashed or holding your head under the sand, then you should know the information presented about inequality and corporate control and the rise of authoritarianism so it's not going to blow anyone's mind, but it is welcome for those that might not know. His previous movie was more biting and hard hitting, this almost feels like a special feature follow up.

I thought of learning something new and maybe basic behind this issue, ended up learning nothing from it. Not at all interesting.

How our government and our economy work have a profound impact on every American family. Over the past 40 years, we've gone from being a society in which our gains were broadly shared, to being one in which a few privileged elites get the lion's share of any progress we make.

We're producing twice as much wealth -- PER PERSON -- as we were in the mid 1970's. Sadly, much of this wealth has been hijacked and redirected to the wealthiest and most powerful among us. In this film, Robert Reich explains, pretty clearly, how and why this has happened.

If you don't understand exactly what's happened -- and what's CONTINUING to happen -- then you need to see this film.

Yes, it's a documentary. Documentaries aren't as exciting as the latest big box-office smash hit. But even if you need to watch it in pieces, watch it. Because our very future is at stake, and understanding where we are at is key to preserving or regaining it.

Others have rightly noted that Reich doesn't present a lot of solutions here. "Get involved" is a bit simplistic, but still, it's the first step. And a very necessary one.

One step forward that I would recommend would be to connect with an organization called "Represent Us" (you can find them on the web.)

In spite of the lack of "action steps," I give this a 10 out of 10 for the importance of raising people's awareness of how our system is rigged. We can't move forward if we don't know what the game is.

'SAVING CAPITALISM': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A documentary about capitalism in modern society, starring liberal politician Robert Reich. It was released by Netflix, through their streaming site, and it was directed by Sari Gilman and Jacob Kornbluth. The film title is also the name of Reich's new book, which he discusses continuously throughout the movie. I found the doc to be decently made, and somewhat informative.

Reich speaks in front of multiple audiences (of all kinds of different people), about his book, and interviews several different individuals as well. He also speaks to several other politicians, addressing the major issues with capitalism today. He informs the viewers, through narration, about many of the corrupt ways our government does business too. The film also goes into Reich's history as a politician, professor and commentator. He served in President Gerald Ford's administration, as well as Jimmy Carter's, and he was also Secretary of Labor for Bill Clinton (from 1993 to 1997). So the guy is definitely an experienced politician.

I usually agree with what Reich has to say, politically speaking, and I agree with most of what he says in this film. There are times I don't agree with him though, and I have a hard time respecting him after knowing how close he is to the Clintons. Still I think his views are mostly true, and seemingly come from passion and commitment to making the world a better place. So I did like this movie. It's a little like a Michael Moore film, but less funny, and not quite as effective or well made. You have to be a Robert Reich fan to enjoy it though, obviously.

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