Income Inequality In The Film 'The Divide' By Katharine Round

Consumption

The film “The Divide” by Katharine Round was a great portrayal of what income inequality is and how it is effecting everyone. I felt the filmmaker was clear on the main idea. In the film, I had my eyes opened to several issues that our country has experienced in the past and the effects it has had on many of us. As human beings, we have a need to survive and since we no longer need to hunt and gather our needs have changed. We all have an idea of what we need. The film did have opportunities but I felt it was very real and convincing. Although the film was convincing I felt that the film lacked variety in interviewees. I am aware that a film shouldn’t be too long but with an issue this large more people should have been interviewed. The people who were interviewed had different lives and needs. But one commonality was they all wanted or needed something. This film convinced me with the variety in speakers. The speakers ranged from previous presidents, to historians and even previous CEO’s who have seen our country experiencing the inequality. The speaker that stood out for me was Richard Wilkinson he is a sociologist and has done multiple studies on the issue. In watching Richard Wilkinson’s TED talk I feel this film gave a great summary in why this has become an issue.

Income inequality and “The Divide” is easily shown in the movie when some of the speakers are shown struggling just to live life. One of the interviewees is struggling

She was very convincing when she said “Debt to us is because we need a home loan or to go to school but to Wall street it’s just a product, that they can buy, sell, and make profit, to them it’s a game” (The Divide, Alexis Goldstein 48:05). That small sentence really brought out an emotional appeal. I think after learning more about income inequality and watching TED talk with Richard Wilkinson it shed light on the issues with income