Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream (2012) Reviews

• Excellent. Infuriating. Frightening

  JoeBobJones2012-11-12

  Short and sweet, Park Avenue is an excellent documentary about the class warfare in existence in the US. It succinctly blends figures with interviews into a fabric of one hour of eye popping financial realities for the uninitiated. The vast sums of money at work from a tiny fraction of our nation, but imbued with enormous wealth, control the strings of democracy. This one hour piece puts it together into one very powerful, useful, and important message, culminating with the fruits of market deregulation which nearly brought down the entire nation: the Great Recession and crash of 2008. Watch it. I would challenge the conservative to view this objectively and come away with the same laissez faire attitudes toward our nation.

• You owe it to yourself to know more about what's going on behind the scenes of the political and corporate influence

  nhupho2013-02-02

  In this short documentary which is about an hour long, you'll get to understand more of the mindset that brought us our current extreme inequality : greed & power, as well political influence by the wealthiest. It dispels the myth of how "benevolent" & deceitful the wealthy elite can act towards the base that supports them. It shows how money can buy some politicians who loudly promises to reform tax laws but will bury it at the first opportunity. This documentary will not make more friends out of right-wingers or Republicans (ex: Paul Ryan). It's a captivating documentary but way too short as it's still only one piece of the whole puzzle. This movie states what the problems are but cannot present solutions and we're left to our own devices. As an excellent complement to this documentary, watch the PBS documentary "Big Sky, Big Money". You'll discover how much unaccountable shadow money can influence & subvert American politics! If you're serious about knowing more, documentaries/movies such as "Inside Job", "The Shock Doctrine", "The Revolution will not be televised", "The Take", "Zeitgeist Moving forward" will help further your understanding of the social/financial changes that needs to take place if we're to have a sustainable future or ANY future at all...

• Powerful, unsettling

  poperatzo2013-09-04

  It let's the rich and powerful speak in their own words, telling their own story of entitlement, selfishness, and disregard of anyone who is not equally rich and powerful. They unintentionally give us a glimpse into a world that is usually wrapped in gauze and press agents. Forget about your political ideology for a moment and watch this movie. Nobody puts words in the mouths of people like Jack Abramoff or Michele Bachamann. They're saying what's on their minds. If you've come to believe that something about the promise of America has gone wrong, just watch this movie with an open mind. You'll come away wondering what's more important to the elite: making more money for themselves, or making sure nobody else makes any. The editing is first rate, and the pace is good. The story comes through loud and clear without having to be pushed in your face. Watch this movie.

• An Incredible Look At the State of the Economy

  gavin69422013-07-01

  Is class warfare the rich against the poor, or is it the ultra-rich pitting the middle-class against the poor (and each other)? While maybe not objective, this documentary looks at the power behind the politics. I love that Jack Abramoff appears here and speaks candidly. I do not care whether he feels he was right or wrong, but that he is able to come forward and explain how the game is played really adds to our understanding. I further love the film's turn towards David Koch and from there towards the state of Wisconsin (where I have lived over 30 years). It was great to see familiar faces like Mahlon Mitchell and Mark Pocan, and hear the connection between Ayn Rand and Paul Ryan. We even got to see real folks in Waukesha and hear more of the Scott Walker prank phone call. From the start it looked like we would be focusing on the Park Avenue of Manhattan versus the Park Avenue of the Bronx. I am glad it went beyond that. Will other non-Dairy State viewers enjoy it as much? I cannot say.

• Tells it like it is. Eye opening/Mind opening

  xnintendollx-993-5901592013-07-31

  I came across the documentary on good old Netflix. A great rainy day documentary turned on the light in my mind once again to research more....about economy, the psychological effects of consumerism/class/rank on certain people, inflation, the justice system, women's rights etc. That's when you know a documentary is good--It encourages you to want to dig for the truth even more than before. I've wondered many times: Why is our world set up like it is? What does it mean to be a human being? Where's the spiritual/soul growth in this economic cut-throat kind of game? This documentary gives you a glimpse of the kind of tactics/warfare certain political figures will pull to keep this economic war going. I wish this documentary was longer and went into further psychological realms and that's kind of what sparks you to do independent research afterward. It's a really great starter and introduction to life/economic/education problems in America. This war on happiness/our way of life is corrupted by relentless inequality/unjust players and financial discrimination and it will never end until the embers of greed have cooled... Remember this, "After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box."