Hard Times: Lost on Long Island -HBO tonight at 9.00pm

[malaise]

http://www.blowbackproductions.com/film-archives/film-archive-gallery/hard-times-lost-on-long-island.html
<snip>

The Great Recession "officially" ended in the summer of 2009, but for 25 million unemployed and underemployed Americans the fallout continues. For too many, their middle-class life has been foreclosed and their dreams have turned into nightmares. Sadly, their stories have too often been ignored. In a strange way they have been “disappeared,” evicted from our collective conscience – a permanent new underclass of long-term unemployed.

Located on Long Island, the birthplace of the post-war suburban American Dream, this documentary follows the story of the long-term unemployed and the shrinking of the middle class by chronicling the lives of four families. Starting in the Summer of 2010, which was supposed to be the summer of recovery, and continuing through the holiday season six months later, we witness the growing difficulties and despair as these people search in vain for employment while their plight and pain are too often invisible to the political and media elite.

This film hopes to remind us of their humanity and restore respect and dignity to their struggle.

[russspeakeasy]

1. I read that the first couple of episodes were going to be posted

online. Anybody know if/when ?

[malaise]

2. HBO usually puts episodes on line

the next day

[mother earth]

3. HBO is the best, hey journalists...pay attention! nt

[sabrina 1]

6. How about we just focus on the victims for a while, without worrying about politicians just

for once. Each and every one of those human beings are as important as any politician in DC. It's a shame that any time the suffering of the millions who were victimized by the Wall Street Criminals get even a tiny bit of attention, someone chimes in with 'but they will blame Obama' or whatever. Who cares about that? Starving, homeless people who were once part of the Middle Class, I doubt they or their children have much free time to worry about politics.

Sick of the lack of compassion for those who were innocent victims of the greedy, shameful, evil Corps who played for so long, with the lives so many human beings, frankly.

[BeyondGeography]

5. Just ended

One guy gets a real job at the end and it's training people to work in India.

We are really well and truly fucked if we hand this whole enterprise over to the Republicans, but we knew that.

A great documentary. The most striking thing to me was how blind-sided so many people have been by this disaster. People in this country are so vulnerable, no matter how good things seem to be.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

8. I watched it

People in the documentary remember times in the past when the average middle class person in America didn't think about such things as being able to eat or have a roof over their head or struggle to find even a minimum-wage job. It's like a nightmare and for many people it doesn't seem like they'll ever wake up. I really don't like what's happened to America, where you have to prepare to lose your job and your health insurance every few years or retrain for another profession every few years; where the average person must learn to be an expert in stocks and investments just to make sure you are prepared for a rainy day; where you are constantly on the edge of having your entire life unravel over the sudden decisions of your employer to downsize. I don't recognize this America anymore.

[Stardust]

9. Thank you for the heads-up. nt