RichMichaelAnnotation6

“The Corporation;” Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, Joel Bakan; 2003
 * 1. Title, Director, Year?**

- nature, evolution, and impacts of the corporation - lack of public of control - rules for corporations were much more stringent and meant to serve the public good
 * 2. Central Argument?**

- motivation for profit ends up hindering the general public (externalities – let someone else deal with it) - birth defects and deformations - “industry is largely responsible for this cancer epidemic” - habitat destruction, harm to animals, and animal experimentation - “in our search for wealth and prosperity, we’ve created something that is going to destroy us.” - until the environment becomes a commodity, it won’t be as important - life support systems are in decline - taxing future generations - the possibility for companies to patent our biology - the need to rebuild the trust people “should” have in corporations
 * 3. Sustainability Problems?**

- puzzle, sports team, eagle, monsters, whale, Frankenstein’s monster - company models – all humorous and a good way to set the tone - the negative connotation of the word “corporation” - using the 14th amendment to get ahead, labeling corporations as a “person” - graphics and sound bites used are very attractive - “donates to charity” – labels - “the science of exploitation” - the application of DDT is pretty surprising - the Monsanto case, artificial hormones to increase milk production and its harm to the cows - other Monsanto case: Agent Orange and its birth defects - the barrage of the criminal charges by major corporations is just amazing as well as surprising - the cliff (unlimited resources) and the attempts at flight (ambitions) analogy is very clever - connection made that if a corporation is considered a person, then considering the corporations habits and actions, it can be labeled as a psychopath (although, the “diagnosis” may not be entirely accurate, it is still a compelling parallel) - the positive financial affects of a disaster “in devastation, there is opportunity” - dividing biological portions of the environment for profit (privatizing rainwater in Cochabamba) - being able to patent living things as long as it’s not a full-birthed human being - interest in genes, humorous (gene prospectors) - “The Investigators” – standing up to Fox corporation, humorous emphasis on the “control” button - Fanta Orange was the Nazi drink - IBM systems used to compute and print data for WWII - riots vs. cushy living scene, drastic dichotomy - Michael Moore’s spotlight on major issues (pollution, Columbine, tobacco companies…)
 * 4. Persuasive? Compelling?**

- totally wild idea to view the corporation as a person, some convenient loophole of hiding behind a label
 * 5. Not Compelling?**

- skipping some of the film, I’m interested in seeing more - the notion of working at a loss and its potential benefits
 * 6. Info to Seek Out?**

- really good for the general pubic - hope to stir some emotions, create some frustrations and find a way to solve it
 * 7. Audience?**

- some decisions should not be made by corporations, they should be made for the public good, especially when it comes to public health and safety - laws can be made to protect the individual
 * 8. Actions? Interventions?**

- lots of captivating information, very interesting and moving stuff
 * 9. Enhance film environmentally? educationally?**