Students of Pierce College viewed a documentary film as part of the Resistance Movement Film Festival on Wednesday, April 16.
“Inequality for all” was featured as a part of the Resistance Movement Film Festival at Pierce College. The film festival was sponsored by the GE Path program.
Jon Stewart, host of the Daily Show was featured in the documentary which is narrated by political-economist and former Secretary of Labor during Bill Clinton’s presidency, Robert Reich.
“Most people view April as tax month, so we tried to show something that would relate to money,” Assistant Professor of History Brian Walsh said. “The economy was a close fit.”
Students who attended had some idea of the state the economy was in, but some agreed that it shed new light on a familiar topic.
“I’ve heard this stuff before, since it’s become an issue for our generation,” Kimberly Quinn, a 25-year-old anthropology major said. “It was still eye opening to see the charts.”
Although the United States is not a third world country, it still seems to be severely behind with its economic standards, according to Stewart.
The charts were indeed eye opening as the documentary showed how much of a financial gap there was between the 1940s and 2010. For example, a bank teller who was earning $27,000 in 1940, was earning $24,000 in 2010.
“We want students to realize that if they don’t like something, they can do something about it,” Walsh said.
The documentary went on to suggest that inequality may not be such a bad idea. There’s always going to be a poor, middle, and upper class, said Reicher.
“There’s a definite gap in wealth,” Kevin Sparks, a 23-year-old political science major, said. “The rich need to spend more.”
Finally, the documentary touched briefly on the influences on lobbying. This lobbying is supposedly protecting the top one percent while the middle class continues to get taxed, according the Reicher.
“There’s a growing trend in lobbying to protect interests of small groups,” Bernard Hahgmichi, a 23-year-old sociology major said. “But of course it comes at a cost.”
The next installment of the Resistance Movement Film Festival will be on Thursday, May 8 in the Great Hall.
