Beatrice Marie A.

Imperial

BAMAMFI K31

Inside Job

Inside Job is a documentary film created in 2010, about the Global Financial

Crisis last 2007-2008. The global financial crisis is the worst economic disaster ever

since the Great Depression. The financial crisis was caused by the default of creditors

who issued mortgages. The financial crisis started when the Federal reserve lowered

the federal funds rate which made an opportunity for people to borrow money to

purchase houses. Banks and other financial institution were not aware that some of the

homeowners have a questionable credit. When the interest rates started increasing,

borrowers started defaulting which made the banks file for bankruptcy. Moreover, the

rating agents responsible for rating mortgage-related securities were accused of

misrepresenting the risks associated with the securities. Along with the decrease in

the interest rate is the creation of unreliable models to calculate the probability of

default. Rating agencies rated many securities as AAA. However, when the housing

market collapsed, most of the AAA rated securities were downgraded.

Ethical dilemmas are of the problems that companies are facing until now, not

only with the rating agencies but also with paying the right taxes. Sadly, big

companies have the power to violate rules like environmental policies because of

money and power. Watching the film, I can’t help but be saddened and felt pity to

everyone who was affected by the financial crisis especially to the people who
gained hope to provide homes for their family. Also, I can’t help but feel disgusted

with the ethical decisions that the rating agencies had, that caused the financial

crisis that until now they kept on denying. What happened in the 2008 financial

crisis became a warning for everyone: the financial intermediaries and the market,

to be more careful with the decisions they make. The financial crisis also shows how

volatile interest rate and how strong the impact of every decision of the Central

Bank. A simple decision of the central bank can affect the employment, inflation of

the country that could affect the daily lives of the people. An increase in inflation will

affect the price of the goods, interest rates and more. Moreover, filing of bankruptcy

of businesses may affect the employment rate.

The positive outcome of the 2008 financial crisis is that it made policies to be

stricter especially in lending money to the borrowers which helped gain the market’s

confidence again towards the financial intermediaries. Moreover, it is disappointing

to see, not only did the crisis affect the United State’s economy, but also the world’s

economy. The Philippine’s economy was affected because of the trading between

the United States and the Philippines, and other foreign exchange transaction and

other foreign investments. Also, I can’t help but think of the Overseas Filipino

Workers (OFW) that were affected by the financial crisis, especially for our fellow

Filipino who lost their jobs after the financial crisis. Moreover, it is satisfying to see

that directors and producers are able to produce not only mainstream movies, but

also documentary films that could narrate what happened in history in detail. It is

important for us, students to have this kind of movies that could be an alternative
way of learning and see what really happened the exact moment with clips from

2008. I am happy that producers are willing to risk and produce this kind of films

even though this kind of film is not a mainstream film which earns a lot of money

through the cinemas.

The movie Inside job brought a lot of feelings and reaction to all its audience.

There are negative effects brought by the financial crisis, not only to the banks, but

also to the confidence of the market. However, with every negative effect comes

also a positive effect. This documentary may not only be a simple documentary, but

also an archive in the future.