DOTW Review: Park Avenue

I have to say that I'm pretty excited to write this doc of the week review. Park Avenue is hands down one of my favorite documentaries of all time...I'm probably being a little dramatic but it's definitely in my top 5. To give you a summary- It's about the growing gap between the rich and the poor in America. On one end of Park Avenue live some of the richest people in this country located in the famous Upper Eastside apartment, 740 Park Ave. On the same street just across the river less than five miles away in the South Bronx, live some of the poorest people in America. It explains how the "game of life" seems to be rigged in favor of the rich and exposes the infamous Koch brothers (who live in 740 Park Ave). Their influence on the political world has controlled some law making decisions that helped the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. 

“Nobody’s money talks louder than David Koch’s," says the narrator, Alex Gibney.

In my opinion, the rich have become a lot more powerful recently than in years past. It has a lot to do with campaign funding and our reliance on large corporations (and their money). We aren't really a "true democracy" anymore when we're controlled and filtered by corruption. Both the democratic party and extreme tea party members in the government act hypocritically. OK that's the end of my political rant because I could keep going for hours.

Back to the doc- an interesting part of the documentary was how the doorman of the apartment building said these billionaires who lived there were also extremely cheap. He would help them load up their cars for their weekend trips to their vacation homes and not get a dime...rude. I also liked the example/experiment they gave of playing the rigged monopoly game and how personalities changed as the game went on. The person who started off with more money and ended up winning the game by a landslide also felt entitled to their winnings. It really made me reflect on how I could relate to this and I think most of us have probably had one of those monopoly moments. I do this from time to time, take for granted what I've been given in life and make justifications for why we all think we worked equally as hard to get where we are today in comparison to others. Some people have it a lot harder and don't get the same opportunities as us solely because of what they were born into. I think this documentary gives you a different point of view of how decisions are made in this country and why it seems to be harder for the less fortunate to "make it" in America now. I DEFINITELY recommend everyone to watch this documentary.

Feel free to comment and share your opinions on it as well! I love hearing what other people have to say (the whole reason I started this blog) :)

Doc on friends,

- @kellclagg