The Oscars: Money lessons from the movies

Nominations: Best picture, actress in a leading role, actress in a supporting role, directing, film editing, writing (adapted screenplay)

Starring: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz

Synopsis: Precious, a pregnant teenager who is overweight and illiterate, struggles to overcome years of physical and verbal abuse from her mother and father as she transfers to another school and finds a chance for a new life through the help of a dedicated teacher and her classmates.

In the film, Clareece "Precious" Jones, played by best actress nominee Gabourey Sidibe, wants to stop the cycle of being an uneducated single mom on welfare. She desires the education that would give her the resources to be able to care for her children better than she was cared for herself, Hutzler says. The movie could encourage people to strive for a path that could lead to financial stability because of the independence it provides.