Bonfire of the Vanities

Crisis! A Film Series
Using classic and contemporary films and expert commentators, Crisis! engages the community in a discussion about the global economic crisis. Each screening begins with a panel discussion which includes experts from Buffalo State’s faculty and the community. Bonfire of the Vanities begins with a panel including Dr. Albert Michaels, Professor, History and Social Studies, Ted P. Schmidt, Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Finance, Bruce Fisher, Visiting Professor + Director all of SUNY Buffalo State and Geoff Kelly, editor of Artvoice.

Audiences can expect a broad spectrum of views, lively discussion and debate. All screenings that are part of the Crisis! Film series are free and open to the public. Crisis! takes place on select Thursdays throughout the spring semester of  2014.

Bonfire of the Vanities
In the 1980s, the obscure business of the bond trader suddenly became a new center of economic, political and cultural power. Yuppie financiers fancied themselves “masters of the universe” as their pay, privileges and partying reached heights not seen since the 1920s. Yet right up the street from this new zone of excess risk and empowered irresponsibility, persistent poverty shaped the lives of millions. Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman star in this Hollywood version of Tom Wolfe’s piercing social satire of the excesses of Wall Street’s new era. Or at least its early days. 2 hr. 6 min.

Films featured include: Bonfire of the Vanities (Jan. 30), The Smartest Guys in the Room (Feb. 20), Frontline: Money, Power & Wall Street (Feb. 27), Inside Job (Mar. 6), Margin Call (Mar. 13), Client #9 (Mar. 20), The Madoff Affair ( Apr. 3), Capitalism: A Love Story (Apr. 17), and Inequality for All (Apr. 24). The Crisis! Film series are free and open to the public.