1. The filmThe Big Short is one of the better films about the economic recession of 2007. Without going into too many technical details, the film shows several things: (a) the financial industry is a kind of high tech, socially respectable gambling, (b) the name of the game in finance is merely to get a larger share of what others produce, (c) the interests of those in the game concern only the "team" (managers and investors) not the other teams or the rest of society, and (d) though it is all considered "private," the consequences of financial actions are totally public, and everyone suffers for the mistakes of others. Is Wall Street's view of itself (presented here) different from the Mainstreet view of most people about capitalism? Do the bare facts shown here imply a moral indictment of capitalism, or do most Americans simply accept the Me-first ethic driving finance? How much of Main Street's acceptance of Wall Street has to do with their nice suits, their hard work, the legality of the system, and most American's loyalty to the capitalist ideals?

2. The film Inside Job looks at the many players who supported the massive fraud by Wall Street banks. The filmmaker (Ferguson) has a delicate line to walk. Few of the players were convicted of crimes and libertarians will say "Buyer beware!" But it sure looks like the major players and their supporting cast were all cashing in on the massive scam of selling dangerous mortgages to homeowners and worthless bonds to investors. Does Ferguson need to say more than he does to make the point? Or is it obvious enough that the well-placed "experts" he interviewed were just working the system at the expense of the public?