Title: In Debt We TrustRelease Date: 04/24/2007
Label/Distributor: Disinformation/Ryko
Rating: Unrated
Retail Price: $19.98
Genre: Documentary Cast: Danny Schechter, Joel Sucher, Kevin Phillips, Sheila Jackson Lee, Robert Manning
Director: Danny Schechter
Running Time: 98
DVD Video Options: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
DVD Audio Options: English, Original Language
UPC Code: 826262003593
Just a few decades ago, owing more money than you had in your bank account was the exception, not the rule. Yet, in the last 10 years, consumer debt has doubled and, for the first time, Americans are spending more than they're saving -- or making. This April, award-winning former ABC News and CNN producer Danny Schechter investigates America's mounting debt crisis in his latest hard-hitting expose, IN DEBT WE TRUST.
While many Americans are "maxing out" on credit cards, there is a much deeper story: power is shifting into fewer hands...with frightening consequences. IN DEBT WE TRUST reveals a hitherto unknown cabal of credit card companies, lobbyists, media conglomerates and the Bush administration itself, which has colluded to deregulate the lending industry, ensuring that a culture of credit dependency can flourish. In the film, Schechter exposes the mechanisms and machinations behind the hidden financial and political complex that allows even the lowest wage earners to indebt themselves so heavily that house repossessions have become commonplace. One expert in the film goes so far as to dub this "21st-century serfdom."
Inspired by scholar Robert Manning - one of the films' key advisers' - and his seminal book "Credit Card Nation", IN DEBT WE TRUST showcases his insights about the impact of debt on young people and our society. It also suggests the kinds of practical efforts needed to empower the public with information to avoid the traps of debt dependency.
The whole world depends on the economic stability of the United States. Yet, as its national and consumer debt escalates, our interconnected global economy is at incredible risk. IN DEBT WE TRUST, as timely and relevant as a film can be, delivers an urgent warning that can't be ignored.
In Debt We Trust
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By Ed Grant -- Video Business, 4/9/2007
DISINFORMATION
Street: April 24, Prebook: now
> Credit card junkies owe it to themselves to see this study of America's debt.
Though Disinformation's smart and lively docs have generally spoken to leftist political concerns, this fast-moving video essay covers a topic that is decidedly bipartisan: the debt culture in America. Filmmaker/ host Danny Schecter (WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception) covers a broad range of issues, from the merchandising of the shopping impulse (the "Shopping Girl Barbie" doll) to the way in which lending agencies ensnare service people returning from Iraq. The discussion is kept on a breezy level, with the only drawback being that Schecter leaves just a few minutes at the film's end to discuss how consumers can avoid the pitfalls of chronic debt. With subprime loans in the news daily, this is a prime time for a documentary about debt.
Shelf Talk: In Debt We Trust is enjoying a simultaneous DVD release and limited theatrical rollout in major markets and college towns throughout April and May, which should help to give it some awareness. Similarly themed Maxed Out, from Magnolia, built up buzz for the subject matter with its limited theatrical run in March.
Documentary, color, NR (mature themes), 98 min., DVD $19.98Extras: none
Director: Danny Schecter
First Run: DVD premiere
