The financial, political and social changes; national or international, affect our personal finances, many times, even without us noticing. As individuals and companies, we are immersed in an economic system, which dictates the structure of production, allocation of economic resources and distribution and consumption of goods and services; that we use daily in most of the world.

We are deeply interconnected and now, increasingly, because of technology. Therefore, what happens in China or the United States affects us in one way or another and we must be aware of it.

Knowing stories and current events that have an economic background is always interesting, as it allows us to understand and reflect on the world in which we live. And what better than to appreciate those stories through the images of cinema (and television) to awaken even more the curiosity about our economic context and understand its possible repercussions in our financial planning.

Therefore, we present you 5 movies that will offer you a different perspective on economic issues. Which ones will you see this weekend?

1. Deep Web (2015)

This documentary by director Alex Winter explores the world of the deep web, the hidden side of the internet. Through the story of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of one of the most famous drug sales sites, Silk Road, Bitcoin’s participation in digital transactions is explored, the whole issue about the legalization of drugs and the economic dynamics that is created around a product so conflicting for society.

2. Downloaded (2013)

This work, also by director Alex Winter, chronicles the rise and fall of Napster, the first digital music download server. This interesting film shows how the MP3 format was popularized for the free exchange of songs by new, alternative or classic artists. The film, above all, emphasizes the influence of Napster in the economic revolution of the record industry, which led to the creation of streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music or Deezer.

3. Buy, throw, buy (2012)

Complete documentary here: http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/el-documental/documental-comprar-tirar-comprar/1382261/

Documentary by the Spanish television station RTVE that explores the worrying trend of domestic products, increasingly regulated based on the so-called programmed obsolescence. It addresses the possible global consequences of an economic system based on a constant consumption of products made to fail after a certain time.

4. Bad news (Too big to fail, 2011)

Produced by HBO, it adapts the homonymous book of the writer and journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin. It tells, step by step, the explosion of the US economic bubble in 2008, due to the granting of mortgage loans to disqualified people, but it does so from the perspective of the big companies and the powerful people involved.

The plot focuses mainly on the role played by Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States during the government of George W. Bush and member of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund; as well as the people who worked or related to him. It shows how was their reaction and performance before the outbreak of economic depression, how they faced the fall of their empires and how they tried to justify it.

5. Human Capital (Il capitale umano, 2013)

Directed by Paolo Virzi, Human capital is located in Italy, after the economic crises of 2011 and 2013. In a precarious panorama, the film portrays the well-to-do Italian class, to show the social reality of a country wrapped in greed and the taste for excessive accumulation, which cares little about breaking human bonds or harming their stability. This film criticizes the conceptualization of wealth as the human engine.

As you can tell, these films show us how the changes that occur in different areas and in different parts of the planet, are present in our daily lives, for example: the current regulation of Bitcoin to avoid its use in illegal activities, the way in which we consume music or control measures for granting credits, which seek to contain bubbles in the real estate sector. All this also invites us to think about how the decisions we make in our current context can affect our future financial planning.