It’s not every day we at BankThink get to act as television critics, but today we’re taking our rare chance to give a PBS documentary two thumbs up.
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The documentary is hosted by
But the documentary’s most engaging highlights are its profiles of six adults who are starting, or restarting, their professional and financial lives. For example, one segment follows Rochelle James, a New Yorker who overcame debt and the financial stress caused by her mother’s death by becoming a union electrician. (She now earns $47 an hour.)
Her story - and the documentary’s overall message about the importance of financial literacy - seemed to resonate with its target audience, at least judging by the response at a screening in New York City last night. HSBC invited members of groups like the
Those audience members, who ranged from elementary school to college age and beyond, stayed around for a panel discussion after the screening last night, asking questions about financial basics until almost 9 p.m. (We will note that HSBC did provide incentives in the form of piggy banks for question-askers – not to mention the snacks before and after the screening.)
We know she’s biased, but we tend to agree with the review of Heather Nesle, an HSBC vice president of community and philanthropic services. “The show doesn’t come off as preachy,” she said after the screening last night. “It’s actually very entertaining, even if you’re watching it as an adult.”