Based on codirector Bakan's book, "The Corporation: A Pathological Pursuit of Power", this compelling documentary is a lengthy (145 minute) disquisition on the place of the corporation in the world today, a brief on its history and the disquieting notion that the profit motive of large transnationals has all but usurped the democratic voting processes of governments. Of course it is largely a left-wing work, but it is much more nuanced and wider-ranging than something like Michael Moore's works and contains long interviews with numerous luminaries from the academic, activist and corporate worlds. I wish that the filmmakers had chosen other, more eloquent and less out-of-touch intellectuals on the right than the sole example we see (Milton Friedman) but on the whole it's a stunning, depressing work with mere glimmers of hope near the end. Those that have read Kirkpatrick Sale (Rebels Against the Future) will be at home in this work.
The film is structured in a multitude of chapters; at first short, terse, more humorous and wide-ranging, but gradually building to a climax of sorts as it gives more detailed views of "case studies" to support its thesis that a corporation, if it really were a person (and, in the USA, it is in many ways a legal human), would be considered pathological in its total disregard for anything other than the profit motive. One great piece involves the whistleblowers who produced a significant documentary about Monsanto's pushing rBGH into milk production and lying about its harmful effects, only to see the powerful corporation for which they worked (FoxNews) rework the film to placate Monsanto, then fire them....an even more awful example of the negative motives of these transnationals is the story of how California-based Bechtel at one point owned the rights to all water in on of the largest cities in Bolivia -- including rainwater -- and forced people to pay up to a quarter of their pay to have the right to drink (and live).
Interviewees, besides Friedman and Moore (much more restrained and thoughtful here than usual) include Chomsky, Zinn, Janet Akre (former FoxNews correspondent), Naomi Klein and several current and ex-CEOs, most notably Ray Anderson the CEO of Interface, the largest commercial carpet manufacturer in the world and one of the few execs who seems to really be looking at the larger, environmental and holistic picture. Other CEOs come off as completely unaware, or uninterested in, anything besides their stockholders, and Friedman makes the cogent (if coldblooded and amoral) statement that corporations only know how to make profit, so why be involved in something they don't understand (like a healthy environmental outlook).
Best new documentary I've seen in years, an absolute stunner. The film's website (www.thecorporation.com) is excellent and a great resource.
The film is structured in a multitude of chapters; at first short, terse, more humorous and wide-ranging, but gradually building to a climax of sorts as it gives more detailed views of "case studies" to support its thesis that a corporation, if it really were a person (and, in the USA, it is in many ways a legal human), would be considered pathological in its total disregard for anything other than the profit motive. One great piece involves the whistleblowers who produced a significant documentary about Monsanto's pushing rBGH into milk production and lying about its harmful effects, only to see the powerful corporation for which they worked (FoxNews) rework the film to placate Monsanto, then fire them....an even more awful example of the negative motives of these transnationals is the story of how California-based Bechtel at one point owned the rights to all water in on of the largest cities in Bolivia -- including rainwater -- and forced people to pay up to a quarter of their pay to have the right to drink (and live).
Interviewees, besides Friedman and Moore (much more restrained and thoughtful here than usual) include Chomsky, Zinn, Janet Akre (former FoxNews correspondent), Naomi Klein and several current and ex-CEOs, most notably Ray Anderson the CEO of Interface, the largest commercial carpet manufacturer in the world and one of the few execs who seems to really be looking at the larger, environmental and holistic picture. Other CEOs come off as completely unaware, or uninterested in, anything besides their stockholders, and Friedman makes the cogent (if coldblooded and amoral) statement that corporations only know how to make profit, so why be involved in something they don't understand (like a healthy environmental outlook).
Best new documentary I've seen in years, an absolute stunner. The film's website (www.thecorporation.com) is excellent and a great resource.