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Film Review: The Corporation
I watched "The Corporation" the other day and was not prepared for the challenge it presents - especially at this time when everyone in the UK is trying to work out who on earth to vote for.
"The Corporation" exposes the truth of the depths to which uncontrolled capitalism has plunged, fuelled by the greed of the few and often in collusion with governments lacking moral fibre.
 Controversial documentary maker Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine, Farenheit 911) adds gravitas to a superbly made documentary which takes examples from around the world of where 'the corporation' has trampled on human rights and raped the planet of resources. Moore challenges viewers to take responsibility and action where they see corporate injustice and environmental disregard.
There are the issues of child labour; water privatisation in the developing world; and, from recent history, the involvement by major corporations in Nazi Germany. The film goes into at some length about the milk industry in the US - the dodgy advertising to farmers by an unscrupulous company of a dodgy means of increasing production and profit, which results in dodgy cancer inducing milk from diseased and distressed cattle, and the ensuing exposure by two investigative reporters who are then fired on very dodgy grounds.
The documentary makes the point that 'the corporation' - made up of a few enormous multinationals - is now bigger than individual governments and is represented at the United Nations, making key global decisions. They don't just provide goods, they represent a way of living, a lifestyle choice. In the US, you can live in a town based on the family values as projected by a well-known movie-making company - you can live the dream, but without realising you're on a gigantic set of moral proportions (see the excellent film, The Truman Show, for a parable of this).
Hope is provided by a corporate chief who had what he describes as an epiphany when he realised one of his carpet factories was pouring tons of pollutants into the local river on a nightly basis. His mindset was redeemed when he also reasoned that one day such 'plundering' of resources must one day become illegal, and that he would be guilty as charged. He took the decision to make his company environmentally friendly, with the aim to be completely carbon neutral by 2020. He has also become a champion of ecological awareness and is shown in the film delivering an impassioned, paradigm-shifting speech to fellow corporate leaders, calling them his fellow 'plunderers' and saying that the first industrial revolution has been flawed, but the second must be one that rectifies that establishes sustainability as a given. In doing this, he also gives permission to the grassroots to engage in the redemption of the Earth from the 'beast' that is "The Corporation"...
And if you think it's too late, as Moore urges, still do what is morally right. As followers of the Lord of creation, Jesus Christ, we can take our inspiration from Romans 8:19 (NIV): "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed." Or as the Message puts it: "The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens."
"The Corporation" may not be a 'Christian' documentary, but it'll sure make you sit up and think about things like injustice, greed, idolatry, redemption, witness, justice. "... Then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal the land" (2 Chronicles 7:14b). It'll also make you think about who to vote for...!
Question: Is it right that yet another Tesco is opening in Thurrock? This one's right next to the Co-op in Southend Road in Grays (in the old pine furniture shop). Is this a blessed opportunity for employment, or another example of 'the corporation' exploiting and manipulating ordinary people into subservience? Should Christians embrace Tesco's business acumen or be standing up to corporate bullying on behalf of the local community? What does the dominance of Tesco (and other companies) mean for smaller traders in the locality, producers in the Third World and in the UK, and for the environment?
"Tesco now controls over 30% of the grocery market in the UK. In 2009, the supermarket chain announced profits of over £3bn. Growing evidence indicates that Tesco's success is partly based on trading practices that are having serious consequences for suppliers, farmers and workers worldwide, local shops and the environment." (Info from www.tescopoly.org.)
The Corporation is available from Amazon for £3.99 - www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000P1KTEQ/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img
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Tim Harrold, 25/04/2010 |
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| | | james (Guest) | 30/04/2010 22:16 | I have boycotted Tescos for many years, so when i read stuff like the forementioned it gladens my heart that more and more people are waking up.
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