Sin #23: Greed is Gud

We are living difficult times. The economic recession brought most corporations to their knees and forced them into bankruptcy; people lost their jobs and couldn’t pay their mortgages forcing them out of their homes.
Of course it can all be accounted to a rather simple idea really, greediness. The US spend millions of dollars on a war that turned out to be a major fiasco and banks offered so many mortgage loans accumulating so much interest that very few people could actually pay them. Once the crisis struck on Wall Street, it was only inevitable that the US was going to drag the rest of the world with their mess.

The documentary “I.O.U.S.A” does a very effective job of explaining the crisis in simple terms; it also paints a rather stark future for the next generations since they will have to deal with important issues like the loss of oil, which will definitely impact the economy in unforeseen ways. How many jobs does the oil industry offer? Millions I can imagine.

People are saying that the documentaries of late are becoming more depressing and pessimistic, and while that can be accounted to the economical, social and ecological crisis, they also serve to remind us that the time to surrender to the bullshit of the government and media has ended. Action needs to be taken by all citizens.

One of the season’s high profile movies is Jason Reitman’s “Up In the Air” that made me think about a lot of things. It’s a very good movie that takes on a rather dark and depressing subject and sugar-coats it with a cute romantic subtext diminishing a little its dramatic impact. As a Hollywood piece of entertainment it works very well but there’s an underlying truth that gets truncated, and that’s the reality of the unemployed workers and their future. Do we really feel at ease following the arrogant Ryan Bingham as he discovers the true meaning of life while he destroys the lives of thousands of honest and dedicated employees?

My favorite character in the movie was the young and naïve Natalie (wonderfully played by Anna Kendrick). She represents the inexperienced and fresh college graduate that through noble intentions wants to change the world, only that she doesn’t quite grasp the ugliness of her job and how it requires people to have no moral ethics (after all, her company fires people and leaves them hanging to a very thin string of hope).

It may be a difficult time but I believe there’s still a chance to change. “Up In the Air” doesn’t exactly have a happy ending, especially for Ryan Bingham, but I sure believe there was hope for Natalie.