Arguments can be expressed through verbal language, writing compositions, and visual designs. Director Jacob Kornbluth’s film Inequality for All is a visual argument, which allows for a stronger persuasive effect than by just using words alone. The film successfully advocates former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich’s economic idealisms and concerns. Due to the combination of video clips, pictures, and text, Reich is able to effectively communicate the argument that the gap in income inequality is becoming wider causing the middle class to struggle day to day. Although it is nothing new in regards to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, the film goes beyond the obvious and expands on specific points of US capitalism. This documentary
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In order to appeal to humanity, there are significant scenes displayed throughout the film. The film portrays the personal stories of typical middle class American families. They follow a struggling Costco employee named Erika Vaclav and her husband Robert, who were shown several times throughout the film. Robert lost his job as a manager at Circuit City, then becomes a student in Reich’s class. They lost their home, have $25 in their checking account, and going through hard times to take care of their two daughters. These personal sob stories evoke pathos to relate to the film’s middle class audience. Also, they feature Nick Hanauer, billionaire owner of Pacific Coast Feather Company, who relies on the middle class consumers. He suggests, “The problem with rising inequality is a person like me, who earns 1,000 times as much as the typical American, doesn’t buy a thousand pillows a year. Even the richest people only sleep on one or two pillows.” Despite having a high income, Hanauer has the nicest Audi but only one car, would rather eat at local restaurants than a fancy meal, and has three pairs of jeans. This forms a paradox with the idea of capitalism. The problem isn’t that the rich spend too much, it is that they spend too little. This leads to a lack of economic …show more content…
The main comparison is displayed with wages earned by middle class workers and the top 1%. Middle class workers make 50% above and below the median average of $50,000 annually, while top earners are making from between $300,000 to $10,000,000. As carefully reviewing data, the middle class are either stagnant or decreasing and the high class are dramatically increasing. The film also compares and contrasts career wages. An example is a bank teller in the 1970s and 2010 making $27,920 and $24,100 respectively. The hardships occur to household expenses rising faster than
In order to appeal to humanity, there are significant scenes displayed throughout the film. The film portrays the personal stories of typical middle class American families. They follow a struggling Costco employee named Erika Vaclav and her husband Robert, who were shown several times throughout the film. Robert lost his job as a manager at Circuit City, then becomes a student in Reich’s class. They lost their home, have $25 in their checking account, and going through hard times to take care of their two daughters. These personal sob stories evoke pathos to relate to the film’s middle class audience. Also, they feature Nick Hanauer, billionaire owner of Pacific Coast Feather Company, who relies on the middle class consumers. He suggests, “The problem with rising inequality is a person like me, who earns 1,000 times as much as the typical American, doesn’t buy a thousand pillows a year. Even the richest people only sleep on one or two pillows.” Despite having a high income, Hanauer has the nicest Audi but only one car, would rather eat at local restaurants than a fancy meal, and has three pairs of jeans. This forms a paradox with the idea of capitalism. The problem isn’t that the rich spend too much, it is that they spend too little. This leads to a lack of economic …show more content…
The main comparison is displayed with wages earned by middle class workers and the top 1%. Middle class workers make 50% above and below the median average of $50,000 annually, while top earners are making from between $300,000 to $10,000,000. As carefully reviewing data, the middle class are either stagnant or decreasing and the high class are dramatically increasing. The film also compares and contrasts career wages. An example is a bank teller in the 1970s and 2010 making $27,920 and $24,100 respectively. The hardships occur to household expenses rising faster than