Documentary Film Freakonomics by Economist Steven D Levitt (Essay Sample)

Freakonomics
Student
Institution
American journalist Stephen J Dubner partnered with an American economist Steven D Levitt and created a documentary film freakonomics which is based on the 2005 book freakonomics itself, Pangarker & Smit, 2013. It is a rogue economical film which explores the hidden side of everything. The film was not widely accepted most probably due to its animation nature. The book freakonomics which the movie is based on is a collection of economic article written by Levitt. Steven Levitt is an expert who uses economic theory to diverse subjects that most of the time not covered by other economist. For instance he explores the effect of abortion on crime reduction which traditionally won’t be explored by other economists.
In this film, Levitt and Dubner try to convince the audience that economics is the study of incentives. Dubner states that everything is not the same as what it looks like and the other explanations that is hidden from whatever is being perceived, Donohue & Levitt, 2001.
One of the major issues discussed in the film is the impact of legalization of abortion. Dubner and Levitt try to explain how this can account to reduction of crime by half of what is currently witnessed, Donohue & Levitt, 2001. They were trying to argue that the number of unborn children aborted each year was larger than the number of reported homicides being investigated at the police stations. They say that if abortion is illegal then the figure reported as being the number of murder cases was wrong. In legalizing it the number of murder cases would essentially reduce. The directors of the film brings this point in a rather not serious manner but every citizen appreciates the weight of it as it was discussed in congress for a long duration of time.
Also the film points out that those children born in areas where abortion is illegal displays lower performance in school would have less success in labor market and would likely to be criminals, Pangarker & Smit, 2013. Contrary when abortion is legal, the opposite is true. This they explain by the fact that when illegal, only the middle class ladies are able to afford it and thus many children will born in urban educated households.