Money plays a crucial role in our daily lives. Not only is it the currency which allows us to lead lives of relative health and comfort, but many would argue that it also serves as the driving force behind many of the world’s gravest ills. Despite its overwhelming dominance in dictating a quality of life for hundreds of millions of American citizens, few understand where their dollar comes from, how it’s dispersed and what factors come into play when determining its value. The exhaustive and enlightening feature-length documentary, “Century of Enslavement: The History of the Federal Reserve,” examines the answers to these fundamental questions, and exposes the questionable practices of a highly influential government institution which operates largely in shadow.
In the early years of the last century, the nation’s banking system was rocked by widespread financial panic. As paranoid consumers withdrew their money in record numbers, these banks began to fail one after another. The Federal Reserve Act, originally signed into being by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, was designed to put an end to this crisis by promoting a more stable and fairly regulated economy. History repeated itself in the early years of the new century with the global financial crisis of 2008, the aftermath of which saw the nation’s biggest banks bailed out by the United States government. How could this have occurred?
We are presenting this documentary at Cascade Park Meaningful Movies with the knowledge that the film itself has some production issues; however, the topic is more important than the cosmetics of its presentation. Most documentaries on this subject have a particular bias which makes finding an appropriate title difficult. This one is the best alternative we found.