“The Big Short” is adaptation of Michael Lewis’ nonfiction book about the 2008 financial crisis that began in the U.S. housing market and eventually impacted the world’s global economy, and how four outsiders who utilized the foundations of critical thinking foresaw the impending demise. An ethical dilemma is clearly strewn throughout this true story: having the opportunity to profit millions from extremely corrupt Wall Street bankers except with the consequence of millions of people losing their jobs and homes. These four men: Michael Burry, Greg Lippmann, Steve Eisman, and Ben Hockett are either seen as underdogs or fat cats who are just as corrupt as those of Wall Street depending on the viewer.
	Years before the housing market crash, Michael Burry, who was a hedge fund manager of Scion Capital and nearly the first investor to predict the crash initially tried to warn close colleagues and others, but whose attempts were ignored and seen as crazy. He decided to invest in the subprime mortgage crisis towards the end of 2007, but found it uncomfortable at times because he knew what potential disaster was about to occur. Investors of his company began to pull out their money and sell Scion stocks quickly, except he had frozen the accounts through legal loopholes. He knew there was a chance to profit by creating a credit default swap market, which is essentially insurance that a stock will drop in its value, and promised his investors a five-fold increased percentage return on their investment. There is a scene in which actor Christian Bale, who plays Burry’s character, is shown to be crunching numbers for days, neglecting his health and never leaving his office. He has discovered what a significant amount of the population hasn’t: that the housing stocks are worthless. The problem with fraudulent loans is that there are many layers of technicalities obscuring the true value of the loan, to which the government and big banks refuse to overview and acknowledge. The reality was, banks had profited from an economy entirely supported by subprime mortgages which were devoid of any real value. Despite the movie revealing his mild autism, the audience can easily construe that he is indifferent to the disastrous and tragic outcome of the irresponsibility and corruption of many.
	Steve Eisman, portrayed by actor Steve Carrell, had a fictitious name given to his character in the movie: Mark Baum. In the film, Baum is the manager of a hedge fund, yet ironically, is also a cynical crusader of Wall Street and the corruption and greed it stands for. Baum was the most visibly conflicted character. His discomfort and moral distress resulting from his job and its debauched environment is powerfully emphasized throughout the movie. Baum was obviously conflicted in betting against subprime mortgages, which is shown in many of his angry outbursts during the film. He knew the banking industry was as morally bankrupt as it was physically bankrupt and wanted to expose the extent of their depravity and misdeeds.