2006 52 min 1-932869-16-6 This film has subtitles English

In Debt We Trust

America Before the Bubble Bursts
A Film by Danny Schechter

or

Synopsis

This hard-hitting documentary from Emmy Award-winning producer Danny Schechter explores why so many Americans, young people in particular, are being strangled by consumer debt. Burrowing deep into the politics and economics of American debt culture, Schechter argues that the mall has replaced the factory as America's dominant economic engine, exposes a system operating on borrowed money and borrowed time, and clarifies why so many college students are being forced to pay exorbitant interest on loans while graduating, on average, tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

Introduction | The Credit Card Crusader | How the Companies Operate | The Marketing Machine | How Did We Get Into This Mess? | A Nation Transformed | The Crunch is Coming | Bankruptcy Blues | The Politics of Credit | Predators at Work | What Must Be Done?

Release Date:2006
Duration:52 min
ISBN:1-932869-16-6
Subtitles:English

Trailers

Watch the trailer

Filmmaker Credits

A Globalvision Production
A Danny Schecter Dissection
Executive Producers
Steve Green
Executive Producers
Rory O'Connor
Writer, Producer & Directer
Danny Schechter for Globalvision Inc.
Editorial Adviser
Robert Manning
Director of Photography
Garry Griffin
Editor
Linda Hattendorf
Executive in charge of Production
Rory O'Connor
Camera
Garry Griffin
Associate Producers
Esti Marpet
Associate Producers
Marie Sullivan

Awards

2008 YALSA Selected DVDs/Videos for Young Adults

Resources: Downloads and Related Links

Downloads:

Praise

"In Debt We Trust is an educational expose which ought to be watched by anyone thinking about signing up for their first piece of plastic."
EURwebS
"In Debt We Trust is a sort of economics lesson meets Supersize Me... the facts Schechter sprinkles throughout are mind-boggling... Come to think of it, Schechter has created about as sexy a film as possible on the topic of consumer debt."
Orlando Weekly
"...A frightening portrait of debt out of control, with skilled film making, and an effective mix of interviews with experts who proffer very explicit opinions about the danger of the present economic situation and segments reporting on activists and individuals who themselves have been adversely affected by consumer debt. The documentary is eerily prescient when addressing the devastating potential of a widespread failure of over-extended consumers to maintain their mortgage payments - the high-risk mortgage loan bubble that has since burst. Recommended for individual or class viewing for high school through college students. While the film as a whole is directed toward economics, business, and political science courses at the college level (or for social studies or current events classes at the high school level), individual segments also could be useful in generating discussion in other subject areas. For example, several segments touch on the prevalence of particularly predatory activities (e.g., "payday loans", rent-to-own, check-cashing, tax-rebate) on poor and minority areas and might be appropriate for use in sociology, urban affairs, or multicultural courses."
Educational Media Reviews Online
"A compelling chronicle of how we got in over our heads... it should be required viewing for all high school and college students..."
Erica Freudenberber
WoodStock Times

Press Reviews

FILM REVIEW: IN DEBT WE TRUST
Atlanta Progressive News | Matthew Cardinale | April 15, 2007