Review of The Big Short (12/29/15)

The Big Short was a very informative movie. There were definitely parts of it that I found funny, like the (apparently famous) naked lady in the bathtub at the beginning who explained the sub-prime mortgages. One thing I really liked about the movie was how it used famous cooks and actors (like Selena Gomez) to explain seemingly difficult concepts in simpler terms. I also liked how the ending showed that history essentially repeats itself, and that people will always blame immigrants, poor people, and even teachers for problems caused by the banks. The movie showed how corrupt the economy was due to the dishonesty of the rating agencies.

I think the one downside to the movie was the lack of women with prominent roles. I mean, some examples of women I saw in the movie were the strippers, the naked lady in the bathtub explaining sub-prime mortgages, and Selena Gomez explaining synthetic CDOs. I don’t know much about the depression in 2008, but weren’t there any women involved who also realized that the economy was going to crash? I wish there had been more women in the movie who had big roles, other than the strippers.

Below is a picture of the screen outside the movie and my ticket stub.

My Experience at The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (12/23/15)

My experience at the Federal Reserve was good overall. When we came in, a nice old guard scanned our group through and then he let us into the museum. I liked how the tour wasn’t guided, because I find guided tours boring since they don’t really let you look at what you want. Because it wasn’t a guided tour, I was able to look around at the stuff I actually found interesting. We were allowed to take one packet of Fed Shreds each, so I did and gave it to my brother when I got home.

Anyways, we found the cube of a million dollars and took some photos in front of it, and then we found a briefcase with a million dollars in it and took some photos next to that, too. Also, there was a game there which asked you three questions on what to do about the economy when certain events happened, like demand going up or supply going down, and you (as the Chair of the Federal Reserve) had to make the right choices. It was nice because I won. Then, we left the Money Museum and we were laughing because we all had a good time and then this new mean guard lady told us to be quiet like the killjoy she was.

Overall, my experience was good except for the annoying guard lady at the end. Someone should fire her. Anyways, it was still pretty enjoyable. Below are some photos of my experience.