As several old school traders try to adapt in the new era or electronic transactions, director James Allen Smith’s poignant story examines the impact of new technology on the lives of Chicago stock-market traders, and questions whether computerized trading will force out some of the industry’s old-timers.
Floored is a gripping, honest look behind the curtain of the trading floor that few have ever seen; the secretive world steeped in money lust, booze, drugs and high end sex on demand.
Film-maker James Allen Smith gained unusual access to those compulsive trading floor players, as a web designer during the switch from face-to-face stock transactions to hi-tech digital deals. Traders are caught on camera screaming, shoving, spitting in each other’s’ faces, and reportedly even stabbing one another with pens and biting a rival’s nose.
As electronic trading spreads, and traders work in front of lifeless, antiseptic monitors, a generation of outcry traders finds itself increasingly obsolete. The stories of this dying breed are fascinating. The film delves into each subject’s struggle with personal demons uncovering the various profiles of personalities that inhabit the Chicago stock trading floor known as ‘The Pit’.
Revealing the truth behind money mania, it’s a story about greed, material obsession and where old traders go when their time is up and the dreaded ‘Box’ known as the digital computer age moves in and takes over.
Overall this is a good documentary; well made with a decent production value. It’s informative and entertaining and teaches you about humbleness in a world of arrogance.
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