‘Emily the Criminal’ Raise Discourse About Student Debt Burden
Director John Patton Ford says he never thought his film, “Emily the Criminal” would resonate with audiences and create buzz around the student debt problem.
The film “Emily the Criminal” is about a person named Emily who is burdened with student debt and can’t find a job. This college graduate engaged in credit card fraud, acting as an illegal shopper buying increasingly risky products with stolen credit cards.
The story of the film, starring Aubrey Plaza, resonates with the actual situation in society in America, where many university graduates are in debt.
Amy Poehler (L) and Aubrey Plaza attend the premiere of “Emily the Criminal”, at New Design High School, New York, Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
John Patton Ford, director of “Emily the Criminal” thinks that now more people are talking about social issues, especially regarding student debt as told in the film. He admitted that he had never expected the hectic discussion about this phenomenon before.
“To be honest, this wasn’t something we really discussed when making this film. It’s not like Aubrey and I get together and we say, ‘These are social issues that we care about. Let’s create films with stories that speak to them.’ Not like that. We never planned that. But really, we wanted to do something about this character and his story. It’s a strange lesson in what really matters to a lot of people and what makes them talk,” he commented.
“Emily the Criminal” takes the burden of student debt to the extreme. In it, Aubrey Plaza plays a young, distraught Los Angeles woman who is ultimately dragged into the world of crime through a high-paying but dangerous con (with Theo Rossi as the middle man) that slyly criticizes modern economic injustice.
Theo Rossi himself has experienced the burden of student debt that wrapped around him. “I was in student debt until I landed the role in ‘Sons of Anarchy.’ So I lived with debt, a certain amount of debt for nine years. You know that I never thought I would not pay for it. So, if ‘Emily the Criminal’ was made ten years from now or ten years ago, the story would still be the same,” he said.
Theo Rossi attends the Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California, Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Theo Rossi added that he was not surprised that President Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan was facing legal challenges.
As is known, US President Joe Biden has announced a plan to forgive student loans of up to $ 20,000 (around Rp. 300 million) per person. However, the Supreme Court expressed deep skepticism of the plan to write off the $400 billion ($400 billion) on the grounds that President Biden was deemed overreaching.
“Emily the Criminal” received four nominations and won the “Best First Screenplay” category at the 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards, which was held in Santa Monica, California on the 4th last March. [lt/ka]
