How 3 Movies Explained the 2008 Financial Crisis
Housing Finance Trio: The Big Short, Margin Call, & 99 Homes
The 2008 Financial Crisis Explained: By 3 Movies
3 different perspectives on the 2008 Financial Crisis
The 2008 financial crisis had many moving parts which led to a global meltdown and millions impacted.
3 Movies provide 3 Different perspectives on the Financial Crisis:
The Big Short (2015) - Perspective of people who saw the crisis coming.
Margin Call (2011) - Perspective of people who caused the crisis.
99 Homes (2014) - Perspective of people who were hurt.
All 3 movies are fantastic perspectives with great levels of detail on the financial crisis. Keep in mind. These are movies. What makes them great doesn’t translate perfectly everyone. But the lessons are important.
Here are 3 Methods on what made them great:
1) They Understood the Story they were telling:
Each movie knew the type of story they were telling based on their perspective.
The Big Short focused on the various investors who noticed a bubble and what they did.
Margin Call focused on investment banks trading the risky stocks and how they navigated avoid losses before the collapse.
99 Homes focused on the homeowners who were crushed by the financial crisis.
2) The Story influences How you Write:
With the story in mind, this narrows their audience & how they write the story.
The Big Short has the largest scope, so they had to explain financial jargon, why some events are more important than others, and entertain people while doing it.
Margin Call focused on 1 investment bank. This is more nuanced take. They did not explain the terms, but instead focused on the risks the bank intentionally took on & how they had to maneuver a safe way out without collapsing.
99 Homes focused on 1 homeowner who was crushed by the financial crisis. So, they focused on writing the story and making it relatable.
3) How you Write influences the Target Audience:
With Story & Audience in mind, you know how to focus your writing:
The Big Short with the largest scope gave a broad strokes view of the crisis by painting a few important characters. Their target audience was the layman looking for entertainment & a SparkNotes of the crisis.
Margin Call focused on 1 investment bank. Their audience was narrower: people who wanted a different perspective on the financial crisis and would be willing to handle a nuanced movie.
99 Homes focused on 1 homeowner who was crushed by the financial crisis. Little technical information. Tons of personal accounts with a focus on the emotional toil it had on everyone. Their target audience were the people impacted who wanted their stories heard.
Breaking down an idea is tough.
These 3 methods along with Brian Greene’s example earlier provide a framework with how you can take your subject matter and teach it at different levels.
The real show of expertise is explaining a complex topic in simple terms. And having the other person understand it and explain it in their own way.
If you’re looking for how you can use it in your own life, click below:
