rneiman_the+corporation

__**FILM ANNOTATION FOR "THE CORPORATION"**__


 * 1. Title, director and release year?**

The Corporation, Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott, 2003

 * 2. What is the central argument or narrative of the film?**

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The central argument or narrative of the film was to show how corporations have significant power over all facets of society and how they are only concerned with making the maximum amount of profit. With these “values,” corporations have had a large hand in creating an unsustainable environment and have created many health issues for all living things. Since they have so much power over the government, economy and the general public, corporations are able to do almost anything they want with very little consequence. ======


 * 3. What sustainability problems does the film draw out?**

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There are many sustainability issues drawn out by this film revolving around the government, media, economy, legal system, behavior, culture, ecology, and organizational structure. Corporations have so much sway with the government that they do not receive any substantial consequences if they are caught doing something illegal or generally harmful to society and/or the environment. ======

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Corporations also have a lot of pull with the media because not only do they endorse many major media corporations but they also have the “muscle”/legal aid to make sure no one speaks out against them. Also, since media is run by major corporations, they have the power to report whatever they wish to the public without the high likelihood of anyone contradicting them. This has encouraged our “consumer” mindset and shaped the way we live our lives. ======

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Corporations also are founded to make the greatest possible profit in most cases. For this reason, since we are a capitalist nation, corporations make a profit any way they can and many times that involves taking advantage of the economy through insider trading and such. ======

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The legal system is also constantly abused by corporations. As it was explained in the film, two reporters working for Fox wanted to uncover the health implications of Monsanto’s testing on cows and were shot down by the legal system because it is technically legal to make false statements on television. ======

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There are sustainability issues revolving around behavior because corporations do whatever they can to make a profit. To them, money grows on trees which is completely false and unsustainable considering money is linked with goods and goods are made from the earth which has a finite amount of resources. In the film, corporations are compared to psychopaths. For 9/11, one broker said that although they were not happy that so many people died that day, they were very excited about how good it was for the stock market. This shows that corporations experience behavioral issues regarding any kind of social awareness or moral values. ======

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They have also created a society that is obsessed with generally non-essential possessions. Why we need twenty kinds of everything is beyond me. Why we need everything that exists on the market today is also a mystery. Corporations use the media to incorporate their products and beliefs into our culture. One example is the use of fuel. Our culture is dependent upon oil considering we use it in everything. The film mentioned Shell multiple times to show how they have effected society for the worse by introducing harmful chemicals and ruining the environment with oil drilling. ======

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Our ecological system is then affected by this consumer mindset established by the corporations. We buy, buy, buy then waste, waste, waste. They have also tried to privatize just about everything including the water in Bolivia. They charged people for water so that they could not even afford to buy food let alone a roof over their heads. ======

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Their organizational structure is unsustainable because it is linked to their mentality concerning the economy. They just consume so much and give back so little that once they gain too much power and profit, they will likely (and hopefully) fail completely. ======


 * 4. What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?**

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I found the film more depressing than compelling. Sure, it made me want to help change the way of things but it portrayed so many issues revolving around corporations that it became hard for me to imagine how change could be established. Despite this, many of the examples the film gave of how corporations have hurt society and the environment, especially how Monsanto has injected cows with harmful hormones and how stock brokers were excited about the financial opportunities provided by 9/11, really compelled me to realize just how bad things have gotten. ======


 * 5. What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by?**

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Overall, I was not compelled into action because I was so overwhelmed with corporations’ influence on the world that I cannot imagine taken them on. They have their “fingers in all of the pots.” Even if they get caught, the government never fines them more than they can handle. ======


 * 6. What additional information does this film compel you to seek out? Where do you want to dig deeper and what connections do you want to make with other issues, factors, problems, etc.?**

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I would like to find out more about why it is legal for the media to tell falsehoods to the public and why it is so hard to gain whistleblower status. As long as someone can verify the truthfulness of their case, he or she should be protected. The legal system should want to protect innocent people against unethical business practices. ======


 * 7. What audiences does the film best address? What kind of imagination is fostered in viewers? Do you think the film is likely to change the way viewers think about and act on environmental problems?**

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I think this film is best shown to college students and adults or academics concerned with sustainability and societal issues. This film encourages people to see beyond the veil of the instant gratification that corporations grant society. I do not know if it will force the average American to change their lifestyle to fight what corporations represent but I do think it will make people think twice when they purchase or partake in anything that it offered by corporations. I am certainly unlikely to ever take anything the media has to say as fact ever again. ======


 * 8. What kinds of action or points of intervention are suggested by the film?**

The only thing the film really suggests is to unite and rebel against corporations. Otherwise, it seems like a pretty hopeless task to want to go against corporations.
While the film did frequently mention Shell, it did not really cover the specific ENVIRONMENTAL effects of corporations. It mostly covered how corporations hurt people. It also glossed over how Monsanto harmed cows with their hormone injections. I would have like to have learned more about the effects on the environment that have ensued because of WTO and how much of life has been patented by companies and how that can alter the future--which was also lightly touched upon.
 * 9. What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value?**