Film 43

The Corporation (2003)

Directors: Jennifer Abbot, Mark Achbar

Has Fentablar seen this before?: No.

I have to admit something. I was somewhat inebriated when I first viewed The Corporation - when it was over, the thought ran through my mind to quit my job and become an ecoterrorist. I woke up the next morning with a more-level head on my shoulders and thought better of the idea.

The Corporation is much like Fahrenheit 9/11 in that it presents its information with specific overtones instead of simply and flatly - of course, this helps to keep the documentary from being "boring", but it also can potentially mislead the viewer. At any rate, The Corporation does have an effective format which I found fairly thought provoking. It begins by describing the history of "incorporation" and the legal events which took place to give the corporate world the leeway to become as dominating as many large corporations are considered to be.

However, having seen this documentary on the heels of viewing Network, I have an issue with The Corporation and other material like it. Part of Network's message was a warning of the very things that are stressed in The Corporation. 30 years after the warning, what has changed? Nothing, save the considerable possibility that things have "gotten worse". While I agree with much of The Corporation's message, I must say that this message is nothing new - it is the same message we received 30 years ago from Network; it could even be said that this was the same message we received 150+ years ago from Karl Marx.

What The Corporation lacks is an ultimate solution to the problem. It is the nature of a capitalist economy/society for something like the corporate world to flourish. So, what is the answer? I think it would have at least been interesting for The Corporation to have even addressed the idea of a solution, even if it didn't present a possible solution of its own.

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Footage Quality: 5/5. Well done here.

Interviews: 5/5. The interviews seemed fairly unbiased, at least in my opinion, and they covered a lot of ground.

Structure and Fluidity: 5/5. Well layed-out, well executed format.

OVERALL RATING: 5/5

~Fentablar~