Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream

Although very upsetting, this documentary was great. I wouldn't give it a 10 because it was a little short and incomplete. Interestingly, most of the people incriminated in this documentary declined to comment. It would have been nice to hear their point of view and comments on some of their speeches featured in the documentary.

It seems that the only reviewers who didn't like this documentary just hated it. This says a lot more about them than it does about the documentary, which included a lot of plain economic facts. How can you disagree with facts? It's hard not to be shocked by some of the data presented here. I actually find it ironic that a lot of Republicans argue that America has become a communist country when the gap between the rich and the poor has never been bigger, and that lobbies sponsored by corporations draft every bill in this country. It is depressing to think that some people would be so gullible.

Taxes for the rich have never been lower either. Many lower and middle class Americans get manipulated into rooting for the 1 % thinking that it will benefit them in the long run. Fact is, thanks to the Bush tax cuts, the rich has never paid as little tax. The argument was that this would create millions of jobs. All it really did was increasing our deficit by several trillions.

Even though it won't gel with everyone, this documentary is a must-see.

I watched this movie with great interest - and read the reviews with almost the same interest, especially those criticizing the movie. For me this actually underpins one of the movie's important messages: the challenge for society with very conflicting world views. Basically, I think it is almost impossible to make the perfect documentary, at least when it comes to social and psychological matters. If you want to include everything the movie will be extremely detailed and complicated. So - you have to choose an angle, as every writer on history do. By choosing to highlight one aspect of an issue, you necessarily will have to skip others. But does this mean that you cannot learn anything from the story told? No. As a Scandinavian I am very eager to achieve a deeper understanding of the American society since it has a profound influence on the rest of the world- and I must say I disagree completely with Brian, also from Denmark, when stating that Gibneys movie was a waste of time. The movie seems to me very clearly to document a serious problem for the stability of the American society, based apparently on very different ways of perceiving and interpreting the surrounding world. But a difference with vast consequences for the less powerful and well-off population. Of course you will be able to point your fingers at aspects in any documentary, as mentioned before - but does that mean that the remainder of the movie is irrelevant, as Brian seems to think? For me - no. His argument is for me merely a fig leaf for avoiding a discussion of very serious matters. Thanks and credit for Alex Gibney for presenting this thought-provoking movie for us, and for giving us the opportunity to continue investigating and reflecting.

I find it interesting that this documentary came out in 2012 and at that time people were bringing attention to the ever widening income gap between the wealthiest Americans and average Americans. Ten years later nothing's changed, in fact it's worse. Who would've thought that a single person would be worth hundreds of billions of dollars? Two such people exist now.

What we see in "Park Avenue" is what we see in "Inside Job" (2010), "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" (2005), and "Capitalism: A Love Story" (1997) just to name a few movies about unchecked greed.

"Park Avenue" is eye-opening in that it says a lot about the world's wealthiest and our government, but it says a lot about the average American as well. We live in a democratic republic. That means that the people run the country on the basis of having a vote. Even with the strength of corporations and fat cats having a direct line to lawmakers, if enough people made enough noise, things would change.

But what does the average American think? "That could be me one day." They could be the next Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, David Koch, or John Thain and they wouldn't want the government in their pockets. It's that idea and that dream that is constantly dangled in front of every American that keeps us complicit in the status quo. All we need to see is a handful of rags-to-riches stories and we're sold. If that were not the case, we'd have long ago changed things.

It let's the rich and powerful speak in their own words, telling their own story of entitlement, selfishness, and disregard of anyone who is not equally rich and powerful. They unintentionally give us a glimpse into a world that is usually wrapped in gauze and press agents.

Forget about your political ideology for a moment and watch this movie. Nobody puts words in the mouths of people like Jack Abramoff or Michele Bachamann. They're saying what's on their minds. If you've come to believe that something about the promise of America has gone wrong, just watch this movie with an open mind. You'll come away wondering what's more important to the elite: making more money for themselves, or making sure nobody else makes any.

The editing is first rate, and the pace is good. The story comes through loud and clear without having to be pushed in your face. Watch this movie.

I came across the documentary on good old Netflix. A great rainy day documentary turned on the light in my mind once again to research more....about economy, the psychological effects of consumerism/class/rank on certain people, inflation, the justice system, women's rights etc. That's when you know a documentary is good--It encourages you to want to dig for the truth even more than before.

I've wondered many times: Why is our world set up like it is? What does it mean to be a human being? Where's the spiritual/soul growth in this economic cut-throat kind of game? This documentary gives you a glimpse of the kind of tactics/warfare certain political figures will pull to keep this economic war going. I wish this documentary was longer and went into further psychological realms and that's kind of what sparks you to do independent research afterward. It's a really great starter and introduction to life/economic/education problems in America.

This war on happiness/our way of life is corrupted by relentless inequality/unjust players and financial discrimination and it will never end until the embers of greed have cooled...

Remember this, "After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box."