The Corporation (2004)

The Corporation' Documentary looks at the Corporation as if it was a person and looks at its character and the effects that corporations, that have the main aim of earning profit, have had on this world. The corporation is a system, often with a single main objective, to make profits. This documentary first shows how corporations are created, a group of rugby players were shown working together to win the match, they were all focused towards a common goal. We were shown a eagle which can sight it targets from a great distance in the sky, even being able to spot the creatures underwater while it's in the sky, highlighting that corporations have a clear idea of the world around them and have their targets in their minds. These parts were shown in more of a positive light. However soon after the movie starts focusing on the overwhelming negative effects that corporations can have. It is shown that businesses are obsessed with making profit and growing larger and they will do whatever they can to achieve it, non profitability and lack of growth would be seen as failures by Corporations.The problems that are shown in the movie are creation of the products that harm the environment of the country and spread illnesses and pollution, harmful chemicals are also dumped in the river, which harms the fishes, and those fishes are eaten by the human population, spreading many dangerous illnesses among the people. The corporations completely disregard the damage to the environment mainly because they are not many properly established laws to stop them from harming the environment. The movie also highlights the mistreatment of the employees forcing them to work nonstop for many many hours as if they were a machine, refusing them to let them have a word with their superiors, also not paying them properly to reduce costs.Furthermore in this movie, the owners of the Corporation are depicted as Godfathers as they not only monitor their company but also heavily influences the society the around them by controlling their purchasing behaviors. Despite what is wrong with these entities, these entities are responsible for the lifestyle that we currently have. To be honest, removing the economic institutions and returning to the era of the the local store owner is not the solution as it may end up increasing prices even more and clearly undermine our current lifestyles. That does not necessarily mean that it is good for us to live luxurious lifestyles because we are being controlled like slaves, not in a literal sense but in an economic sense as these corporations influence our minds into buying their products, the fact that we buy more and more is the reason they even exist. Many of the senior executives of these corporations and the investors are shown oblivious to the effects of their corporations, in reality they wish to remain blind to reality. What we need is not to get rid of the corporations, because at heart we need them to be able to maintain our lifestyles. However, what we do need is a change, within our society and within ourselves. We have to start learning to be content with less. Many themes are present throughout this documentary, a basic understanding of the term 'corporation', its overwhelming flaws, its affects on society, and what has been done and what can be done to try and combat this. The film however allows the CEOs to get a fair chance to present their opinions and it never makes all of them come off as evil people, as a matter of fact many of them actually come off as very nice guys who actually want to be ethical when it comes to running businesses. However I am of the opinion that this film is not perfect and one of the main reason is that it focuses too much on the negative aspects at times and it does not focus much on the positive aspects of the corporations like how it advanced our lifestyles and increased technology and even world relations have improved because of this globalization with imports and exports. The film also mostly keeps on sending the same message throughout and kind of overstays its welcome by going on for too long. The film also doesn't provide us with very clear answers about what can actually be done to avoid this destruction. Additionally these problems mainly lie with private corporations & even, all of them do not cause an equal amount of harm, and this film characterizes all corporations around the world in the same way. Overall, this is still an excellent documentary which tell us about the corporations and its affects as it avoids preaching, simplifying and making it personal and as a result it more stronger and engaging. It makes us open our eyes to what is going on around us. It provides no easy answers but it does provide challenges and many things to think about with all the people in the documentary making valid points for all sides and perhaps showing that the answers do lie in them.

It makes a number of worthy points about corporate abuses. I'm certainly happy there are people in the world who raise red flags and push back against these abuses.On the other hand, the film-makers weaken their legitimate arguments with many questionable conclusions. And, for a film that is so hysterical over corporate propaganda, it is shameless in its use of emotionally manipulative techniques in support of its own biases.I suggest watching on your computer so you can stop the movie at any time and do quick web search to verify questionable claims and seek out background material on the anecdotes presented in the film.For instance, a quick search for "2000 Cochabamba protests" took me to a Wikipedia article with a somewhat more nuanced account. The conclusions drawn by the film are not so neatly supported by the actual events.

Succeeds on countless levels. A groundbreaking work which is as important and significant as any of which I'm aware, and theatrically perfect. So brilliant, absorbing, enlightening, and enabling, is this documentary; that in my opinion, it ranks with The Beatles, Shakespeare, sex, whipped cream, kittens, and the mini-skirt. The audience with whom I first saw it (Philadelphia Film Festival) immediately stood and applauded at the films end. I myself had tears of satisfaction and felt inspired by it beyond any telling. The 2-part DVD-set version will continue to educate one for many hours on end. So, please, please, please; everyone, see "The Corporation" and then pass it around. You really must do this thing!!

I base this review on the shareware version, currently available for free on YouTube, under the user machbar. It is between 2 and two and a half hours long. This goes into all the damage corporations do, the fact that they are granted rights as if they were individuals(!) and the general callous nature of them. Sounds one-sided? Well, Michael Moore isn't in this for nothing. It is somewhat like propaganda, but at the same time, I can't come up with any real arguments for the other side. I will say that it would be good to have someone from there come in so we could see just how weak their position is, and how based on personal greed it is. It's not difficult to shred their claims with actual facts, and I suppose the choice to not do so was a fear that there might be people who weren't compelled into action by this. With that said, this is a well-done documentary. It is interesting throughout in spite of the running time, and the personal anecdotes, investigative journalism and editing(if it is a tad manipulative at times) all make a convincing case. There is quite a bit of disturbing content in this, and it is effective not only on account of it being real. I recommend this to everyone, though I fear that it is preaching to the converted more than changing any minds. 8/10