Decried by some economists as having more to do with sociology than economics, Freakonomics, the book written by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, quickly became a resident of The New York Times Best Seller list and fell comfortably in the vein of those popular academia books (like anything by Malcolm Gladwell) that drew examples from current events and statistics to show that examining causal relationships sometimes leads to unexpected places. The book was a cultural phenomenon of sorts as it offered unconventional ways of explaining some things we take for granted. Can good grades be incentivized? What really caused the global drop in crime rates? Can a name shape someone’s destiny? How do you know if someone is cheating at sumo wrestling? Now, as an amusing and entertaining film, these questions are covered in mini-documentaries pasted together with segues hosted by the book’s authors.
Okay, so maybe some of those questions don’t cross your mind too often, but didn’t we all wish at some point in our academic career for a cash payout every time we received high marks? The basic premise of Freakonomics is that incentives control a lot of what people do and that by better understanding what drives someone, you can find the true way to motivate them or effect certain reactions. The documentaries within all cover lots of ground rather quickly considering they’re each but a part of a 93-minute film, and they jump between expert testimonials to a word from the man/woman on the street. Whether or not the piece latches on to a main character or two depends on the subject matter, but the real focus is never so much the subjects as it is the assumption at the root of it all: what is the cause of the perceived effect? Following two high school boys in a lower middle class community, the idea that paying money for higher grades is put to the test, only to show that the concept doesn’t produce nearly the success that researchers expected. The fun/frustrating part of the study, however, is that the results don’t necessarily negate or prove the hypothesis, but rather suggests what’s needed is further insight into the catalyst for change.
The issue of incentivized education may be up in the air, but other questions pondered by Freakonomics are much more cut and dry, raising the question of why they were used as examples in the first place. In the case of whether or not a name can decide someone’s fate, the answer is obviously of course not, but with a few caveats in place. Particularly ethnic names can in fact skew favor away from candidates in a job search, but beyond third-person interference, names have less to do with the future and more to do with the background of the parent choosing the name. Certain sub-cultures within America place emphasis on choosing unique names, while others insist on traditional names based on those used prior in the family genealogy. Again, the answers often aren’t groundbreaking, but the analysis of the statistics attached make for an interesting 20 minutes.
Then you have some of the more interesting tidbits thrown out there, like the correlation between the legalization of abortion and the significant drop in crime rates. The link is there and has lots to do with the choices of mothers in different socioeconomic brackets, but it’s issues like this one for which Freakonomics was born. It’s the link you wouldn’t have thought to look for, but once you see it, you can’t believe how obvious it is.
Beyond the subject matter, the biggest feather in the film’s cap is the collection of directors crafting each of the segments: the introduction and transitions by Seth Gordon; “A Roshanda by Any Other Name” by Morgan Spurlock; “Pure Corruption” by Alex Gibney; “It’s Not Always a Wonderful Life” by Eugene Jarecki; and “Can a Ninth Grader Be Bribed to Succeed?” by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. With Gordon (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters), Spurlock (Super Size Me), Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room), Jarecki (Why We Fight), and Ewing & Grady (Jesus Camp) at the helm of the various segments, it’s easy to understand how such short pieces can be so gripping. The directors don’t waste a single second and we end up with free-standing documentaries with wildly different styles and tone that all fit firmly within the borders of Freakonomics. This is a superb watch for anyone who likes documentaries, and arguably for those who don’t, since the bite-size morsels make it much easier to digest.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The authors offer up an interview as the first and only featurettes, with everything else being audio commentary tracks; the first by the producers (Chris Romano, Dan O’Meara and Chad Troutwine) and second by the respective directors.
"Freakonomics" is on sale January 18, 2011 and is rated PG13. Documentary. Directed by Alex Gibney, Seth Gordon, Eugene Jarecki, Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Morgan Spurlock. Written by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (book), Peter Bull, Alex gibney, Jeremy Chilnick, Morgan Spurlock, Eugene Jarecki, Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Seth Gordon. Starring Various.
