There are documentaries that expose some of the darkest parts of the world and then there are nature documentaries, but there is also literally everything else in between that one could possibly fathom. Shoes? You bet there’s a documentary. A behind the scenes look at the porn industry? You bet it exists. You name it, there is most likely a documentary on the subject. How about a documentary on the absolute madness that went down in the stock exchange between 2020 and 2021 that led to stocks like GameStop and AMC hitting record highs? Diamond Hands: The Legend of WallStreetBets takes a deep dive look at the Reddit thread that changed the lives of hundreds of people for better or worse.
A still from documentary DIAMOND HANDS: THE LEGEND OF WALLSTREETBETS. Photo Credit: DIAMOND HANDS: THE LEGEND OF WALLSTREETBETS.
There is something truly exciting about watching a documentary on a subject you know absolutely nothing about. That was me before Diamond Hands: The Legend of WallStreetBets, so I reached out to family and friends who frequently invest and understand the stock market, and asked them how this all works, what it means, and how to get in on the action after seeing a stock go from $20-odd to over $400 because a few people decided to say “screw you” to the people who decided to short GameStop at 120%. There is so much to unpack and try to understand about what happened, why it happened, and it how it was possible. As someone who had zero understanding, no matter how much I tried to read into it and try to understand, I was lost before watching the documentary. Diamond Hands: The Legend of WallStreetBets dissects what happened, why it happened, and how it was all done and what is going on to prevent it from happening in the future.
The documentary focuses on a few subjects and, through multiple interviews, it lets them explain why they invested, how much they invested, and how their lives have changed since the GameStop madness that occurred. One person, who only went by their Reddit handle, refused to show their face as they have now become a millionaire and want to keep their identity a secret, understandably. Another subject decided to read into the stock market and what was happening, as COVID impacted her family business. She got on the train before it took off as a way to help her family. Other people invested because they were out of work or had a gut feeling, were successful, and then invested their gains in crypto (presumably Dogecoin) and now are set for life. The only people who were negatively affected by this, that were in it for the wrong reasons, were the hedge fund people who decided to try and short a stock at 120%.
Director Drea Cooper. Photo Credit: Drea Cooper.
What makes Diamond Hands: The Legend of WallStreetBets work so well is the fact that it can teach someone who had literally no idea what any of this meant or how it happened so that they can now casually talk about the occurrences that happened with this phenomenon. When investing hundreds or even thousands of dollars, it is important to know what you’re investing in and not just listening to someone on Reddit. The ability to break down a subject to such an extent and bring forth a wealth of information while staying tightly packed, informative and intriguing is a feat in of itself. Diamond Hands: The Legend of WallStreetBets explores the chaos that Reddit imploded onto the stock market, the legal changes that are coming to shorting stocks, and how the unlikely heroes scared Wall Street and beat the system.
Screening during the 2022 SXSW Film Festival.
SXSW Screening Information:
*Sunday, March 13th, Screening @ 7:00 pm CT, SXSW Film Theater
*Monday, March 14th, On-line Screening @ 9:00 am CT
*Tuesday, March 15th, Screening @ 2:45 pm CT, Alamo Lamar A
*Thursday, March 17th, Screening @ 11:15 am CT, Alamo Lamar B
For more information, head to the official Diamond Hands: The Legend of WallStreetBets SXSW webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews, streaming
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