To the Point
Class Warfare Goes to the Movies
Americans are supposed to be equal under the law, but the recession renewed awareness of economic inequality. We look at how that's revealed in this summer’s films.
By Warren Olney • • 51m ListenAmericans are supposed to be equal under the law, but the Great Recession renewed awareness of economic inequality. On this Fourth of July, we talk about how that's revealed in some of the films available for this summer's viewing. Also, the first reform of the US tax code in 30 years will start with a "blank slate," and back to reality when the White House and the Capitol were really burned down.
Banner image: Jason Clarke as George Wilson, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway and Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan in Warner Bros' The Great Gatsby
In this episode
3 storiesNew Egyptian President Promises Elections, Morsi Is Arrested
After yesterday's ouster of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first elected president, his interim replacement has called for early elections. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood supporters say they won't work with what they call "usurper authorities." Borzou Daragahi reports from Cairo for the Financial Times .
Read the story7 minClass Warfare Goes to the Movies
It's been two years since Occupy Wall Street dramatized the increasing concentration of wealth in America's upper social stratosphere. That's about the time it takes to create and produce a movie and, sure enough, some of the latest Hollywood fare has more than a tinge of class-consciousness.
Read the story33 min'The Perilous Fight' in the War of 1812
Living Americans remember September 11, and even Pearl Harbor, when the country was attacked from the outside. There was another "perilous fight" during the War of 1812, when Washington's best-known buildings were burned to the ground.
Read the story10 min