This powerful video scrutinizes what Juliet Schor calls "the new consumerism" - a national phenomenon of upscale spending shaped and reinforced by a media system driven by commercial interests. Illustrated with hundreds of media examples, The Overspent American draws attention to the costs (both financial and social) of the relentless search for happiness and identity through spending.

Just a few years after the subprime mortgage crisis, there are ominous signs that the student loan market is on the verge of collapsing, yet another casualty of predatory lending practices. Default brings this perilous situation into sharp relief, chronicling the stories of borrowers who find themselves in the paralyzing predicament of having to repay far more than what they borrowed -- with no bankruptcy protection, and no recourse under the law....

Matt is an ex-cop with a gambling problem and a mountain of debt. A mysterious man offers to clear his debts in exchange for the assassination of the city's most notorious gangsters. The only man at Matt's back is married to his ex-wife. Even worse, Matt's heavy drinking and excessive gambling continually ruin his attempts to be a decent father. Now, Matt must learn to politics of the underworld and grapple with his role as a hired muscle. He soon...