Money, Power, and Wall Street - Essay Example

Money, Power, and Wall Street tells an epic story of the 2008 financial crisis presented in nonfictional motion pictures by the US media. According to Khan (2012), the first part of the documentary narrates how a group of young bankers, from Wall Street, who revolutionized the banking sector. They came up with the credit default swap, a complicated derivative, which initially aimed at managing risk and stabilizing the financial system (Gay, 2012). This system was to ensure loaning out of capital instead of reserving it.

The use of this system, they believed, would spread risk around in a very innovative way. Adoption and efficient use of this system enabled banks to pull the credit default system successfully.14 years later, the rise of this financial engineering that ensured credit default trades was tied to the mortgage loans brought the American economy down. According to the article Money, Power, and Wall Street Part One and Two (2012), the country experienced the most horrible economic crisis in 80 years.

The 2008 financial crisis and the resulting recession had adverse effects on the global economy as it cost the whole world trillion dollars (Murray, 2011). Since America is the epitome of the world economy, the crisis affected the whole world and became a matter of global concern. The issue was reported by both non-American and American media, which influenced the perspective of the public towards the crisis. The incident gives a clear picture of the role played by the media in international issues in shaping the global public’s view on a given matter.

CNN among other major media sources reported the crisis widely and kept on bringing developments including America’s foreign policy in response to the crisis. It could be said that there was the CNN effect. CNN effect is where communication technology is used to evoke responses from the public on issues (Robinson, 1999). Though American media sources were the major reporters of the crisis, non-American media sources also played a significant role in the coverage. The non-American media sources framed the event in a way that attracted the attention of the public (Class Notes, Week 7).

By attempting to attract a larger audience, some of these media houses report propaganda. Propaganda influences the opinion of the public towards a particular issue (Richard, 2006). Money, Power, and Wall Street reveals one of the most shocking financial crisis in the world after the Great Depression. While bringing out the events of the crisis and reactions of the American government, the documentary show the interrelation between the media, government, and the public during such events. Media sources, both American and non-American have a significant role in framing such issues and influencing the perception of the public regarding the truth or propaganda about such a matter.