Freakonomics (film)
Encyclopedia
Freakonomics: The Movie is a 2010 documentary film
based on the book Freakonomics
by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
. The film had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival
in April 2010, with a theatrical release planned for later in the year. Freakonomics is a documentary featuring Steven D. Levitt, a well established economist, and Stephen J. Dubner, a polished writer. This documentary explores human behavior through unique research to say the least. "Cheating teachers, bizarre baby names, self-dealing Realtors, and crack-selling mama’s boys..." are some various topics covered throughout. Freakonomics takes on controversial topics heads on with in depth studies and analysis.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
based on the book Freakonomics
Freakonomics
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything is a 2005 non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner. The book has been described as melding pop culture with economics, but has also been described as...
by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Stephen J. Dubner
Stephen J. Dubner is an American journalist who has written four books and numerous articles. Dubner is best known as co-author of the pop-economics book Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything and its 2009 sequel, SuperFreakonomics.-Background:His parents were...
. The film had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
in April 2010, with a theatrical release planned for later in the year. Freakonomics is a documentary featuring Steven D. Levitt, a well established economist, and Stephen J. Dubner, a polished writer. This documentary explores human behavior through unique research to say the least. "Cheating teachers, bizarre baby names, self-dealing Realtors, and crack-selling mama’s boys..." are some various topics covered throughout. Freakonomics takes on controversial topics heads on with in depth studies and analysis.
Segments
- 1. "A Roshanda By Any Other Name" (Morgan SpurlockMorgan SpurlockMorgan Valentine Spurlock is an American documentary filmmaker, humorist, television producer, screenwriter and journalist best known for the documentary film Super Size Me...
's investigation of the possible implication of names in personal development and social advancement). - 2. "Pure Corruption" (Alex Gibney's exploration of the japanese concept of Yaochō (match fixingMatch fixingIn organised sports, match fixing, game fixing, race fixing, or sports fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Where the sporting competition in question is a race then the incident is referred to as...
) in Sumo wrestling. - 3. "It's Not Always A Wonderful Life" (Narrated by Melvin Van PeeblesMelvin Van PeeblesMelvin "Block" Van Peebles is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer.He is most famous for creating the acclaimed film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which heralded a new era of African American focused films...
and directed by Eugene JareckiEugene JareckiEugene Jarecki is an author and a dramatic and documentary filmmaker based in New York.His works include Why We Fight, which won the 2005 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, The Trials of Henry Kissinger, Reagan, Freakonomics , Quest of the Carib Canoe, and Season of the...
, this segment explores the question of what led to a decline in the urban crime rate in the US during the mid- to late 1990s. The authors of Freakonomics suggest that a substantial factor was the 1973 US Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade, in the US which permitted people to have legal abortions, leading to more wanted children with better upbringings.) - 4. "Can You Bribe A 9th Grader To Succeed!" (Rachel GradyRachel GradyRachel Grady is a film director involved in producing the documentary films Jesus Camp, The Boys of Baraka, and 12th and Delaware. She is the daughter of James Grady.- Jesus Camp :...
documents an experiment to determine the efficacy of paying students to achieve higher grades.)
Cast
- Carl Alleyne as Boyfriend
- Zoe Sloane as Blake
- Adesuwa Addy Iyare as Temptress Mother
- Jade Viggiano as High school girl
- Sammuel Soifer as Jake
- Jalani McNair as Loser
- Andrew Greiche as Jake
- Alyssa Wheeldon as High school girl
- Greg Crowe as Johnny the mechanic
- Hassan Brown as Father
- Kelli Chaves as High school girl
- Amancaya Aguilar as Mercedes
- Kellie Gerardi as Lexus