The Corporation

Stuart:

The Corporation is certainly one scary documentary. Whereas a film like Bowling For Columbine made me scared of Americans, The Corporation effectively has me scared of EVERYTHING. This is because apparently, to put it bluntly, we’re fucked.

This documentary is a great insight into the broader sociological and philosophical ramifications of those omnipotent giants of business. Starting with the concept that a corporation has the same legal rights as a person, this doco asks exactly what this means for the rest of us.

The Corporation is well balanced, and nothing like the recent one-sided Fahrenheit 9/11. Of particular interest is the interviews of CEOs and ex-CEOs. Their discussions reveal that these are not evil people, but it is the broader structure and mechanics of big business that make it such a ruthless and destructive force. I had always assumed that CEOs were greedy monsters, so this certainly helped me realise that it’s nowhere near as simply as that.

Speaking of Mr Moore, he does make an appearance here, which is kind of a pity, considering he’s the only non-expert interviewed. (Well, he’s an expert writer and documentary maker, but you get what I mean.) Obviously they should be thankful of the man that made the documentary ‘cool’ (there’s no way this would appear on the big screen if his films hadn’t made it big), but it just seems he is a bit of an unnecessary inclusion.

Thankfully (and I truly believe that the makers do this so we don’t all go out and commit suicide) this films ends on rather an up note. It’s a tad too long at over two hours, and I only realised after I’d seen it that it’s three television episodes re-edited for the cinema. It’s certainly not something you’d have to see on the big screen – much of the footage is shot on video and one is occasionally subjected to a bit too much pixel action.

This film certainly made me paranoid. I’m too scared to drink milk thanks to The Corporation.

Rating: 4 stars
Review by Stuart Wilson, 11th September 2004
Hoopla Factor: 3 stars


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