Apr 24, 2024
Welcome to episode 150 of Activist #MMT. Today I talk with Maren Poitras, the creator and director of the MMT documentary, Finding the Money. I had the pleasure of seeing this film on October 1st, 2023, in New York City, with my Torrens professor Steven Hail, Torrens administrator Gabie Bond, and Torrens classmate Susan Borden. After the film, we all went to a nearby bar-restaurant, and I got to meet and speak with Maren at length.
(A list of the audio chapters in this episode can be found below.)
In today's episode, Maren and I talk about how she came to the film and how it's informed by her background in ecological economics. We talk about the trials and tribulations of film-making, including the tortures of creating the intricate and subtle graphics used in the film. We also talk about her interactions with the non-MMTers as seen in the film. At the end, she says what you as a supporter can do to help this film be seen by others.
In my view, the film is the most important milestone in the MMT movement since Stephanie Kelton's 2020 book The Deficit Myth (which was the most important milestone since US Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez said "MMT" out loud in 2018). The film has the power to change how we talk about some major concepts.
It will be available to stream in early May.
And now, on to my conversation with Maren Poitras. Enjoy.
Audio chapters
- 3:35 - Hellos, European premiere
- 14:47 - When did the idea for the film happen and what is your background in film-making?
- 20:15 - MMT is the child in the Emperor's New Clothes. MMT forces people to question many deep fundamental assumptions about their lives.
- 38:59 - Printing fiasco
- 39:17 - Did feedback from the academics result in any major changes?
- 43:10 - Graphics (ripping open a wound)
- 47:46 - Non-MMTers in the film (attempts at critique)
- 55:35 - The film is unfortunately US-centric, due to time and resource constraints
- 57:18 - What can people do to help the film be seen?
- 1:01:00 - You never know where secret MMT people are lurking.
- 1:06:57 - Duplicate of introduction, but with no background music (for listeners with sensitive ears)