'The Corporation' and its global claws
by Heather Wahle
The Metropolitan
A few bad apples certainly do not fall far from the tree. "The Corporation," now showing at Starz Theatre, discusses how many of the largest companies originated and run business and how they influence global society on several different levels.
This documentary is a constant stream of thought-provoking messages and interviews with experts in the field of business, economics, foreign policy and other relevant fields.
While the two-plus hours is somewhat overwhelming to watch, it is well worth the attention.
The information throughout the film is systematically shot in an engaging and entertaining format. More information was packed into this showing than anticipated.
What is striking about the documentary are the events that are displayed in chronological order.
Shown with a sense of humor, the movie goes through the formulation, goals, and functions of large companies.
Then the film poses the question: if corporations are really just people, as legally defined, are these persons psychopaths and are they responsible for the detrimental effects they inflict on society?
"The Corporation" explains how a handful of companies became so powerful they actually hold patents on everything from living organisms to the "Happy Birthday" song.
Marketing heads for toy manufacturers tell of how they spend 12 billion dollars a year researching children as their target market.
Representatives from these advertising powerhouses tell of getting children to nag their parents more for certain products, and how they don't know if this is particularly ethical.
Traders on Wall Street candidly speak of how terrorist attacks, bombing overseas, and war are good for the American economy. The bottom line and how strong the trades are right now rival the cost of human lives in order of importance.
The journalists involved in the Fox Investigative news story reveal how Robert Murdock told them that instead of smart reporting the company will tell them what the news is and how to tell the public. They found that the bovine growth hormone was used to increase milk production in cows had many adverse effects. The product was marketed by Monsanto-remember Agent Orange? Fox went from pulling the story to 83 re-writes with lawyers to firing the staff that researched the story, and eventually trying to buy the story out of existence.
One of the questions throughout "The Corporation" is how do we hold these huge companies accountable for their actions while they are legally a person, yet in reality are big business larger than life. The questionable ethics surrounding these companies leads one to believe that these "few bad apples" in the business world are in reality a whole bad branch, if not a completely infected tree.
"The Corporation," is now showing at Starz FilmCenter. |
