 Fame & Fortune: Filmmaker Danny Schechter
New documentary fires a shot at credit card culture
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Documentary filmmaker Danny Schechter found the inspiration
for his latest project in his back pocket.
Credit cards, and the rampant explosion of consumer
debt that they represent, are the building blocks of an economic house of cards
that Schechter says is headed for a fall in, "In Debt We Trust: America Before
the Bubble Bursts." Narrated by the director in easy-to-understand
layman's terms, "In Debt We Trust" launches a wide-ranging broadside
at the "financialization" of American life, in which easy credit with
onerous terms has led many Americans deeply into debt and down the primrose road
to modern serfdom. Schechter strategically explores the various
detrimental facets of financialization, from real estate gentrification that guts
neighborhoods of their identity to college campuses where easy credit preys on
the young to payday lenders who victimize military families to the halls of Congress
where banks spend millions on bankruptcy reform legislation.
The former Emmy Award-winning producer for ABC's "20/20" and CNN skillfully
makes the political personal by featuring people in trouble, including fellow
filmmaker Joe Sucher and "Sopranos" star Lorraine Bracco, who openly
discuss their own bankruptcies. Because Schechter's film takes
shots at the very financial conglomerates whose advertising dollars drive most
media today, "In Debt We Trust" is still in search of a distribution
deal. To obtain a DVD of the film, visit www.indebtwetrust.com.
Bankrate caught up with Schechter to discuss credit cards, housing bubbles and
the worrisome scenarios behind the skyrocketing national debt.
Bankrate: How's your mortgage? Danny
Schechter: (Laughs) This mortgage crunch is serious. I think it's being
played down here, I think they don't want to alarm people, but the trade publications
and foreign publications are focusing on it a lot more than the American ones
are. Bankrate: Can a humble documentary
filmmaker afford to live in New York City today? Schechter:
I have an apartment, but I bought it in 1981. I couldn't afford it today, that's
for sure. I had a house in Boston and I sold it, actually too soon, but what the
hell. That house led to having enough money to put into this film. Bankrate:
Did you go into this project looking to focus on consumer credit cards? Schechter:
There have been a lot of stories about identity theft and how vulnerable people
are because of credit cards and credit card companies and how dependent people
have become because of it. I've always been an investigative reporter; I was one
at ABC's "20/20" for a number of years, and before that in print, and
I wanted to ask some deeper questions: How do we understand this? What is actually
going on here? And then I realized this is a lot bigger than just the credit card
component of it, although that is pretty big. The consumer debt is mirroring,
although smaller than, the national debt. The other side effects of all this --
student loans, student debt, credit cards, bankruptcy, foreclosures on people's
homes -- makes this a much bigger problem. I tried to stay with people who were
either in the industry or have direct personal knowledge. | 
