The Corporation sells out

Celebrated documentary gives an introduction to the state of world affairs, and keys to activists looking to change them

by Matthew Burrows <mburrows@republic-news.org>

A friend told me recently about his unifying theory on human inaction in the face of gross injustice and the inability of humanity to reverse such things as global warming and corporate expansion.

"Greed is eternal."

I took that with me into the Ridge and Tinseltown movie theatres, where audiences packed in to see local directors Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott's riveting documentary, The Corporation, winner of most popular Canadian film at last year's VIFF.

Achbar and Abbott pulled footage from local activist and documentary filmmaker Velcrow Ripper, along with Vancouver-based photographer (and close friend) Elaine Briere's eerie stills.

Heavyweights Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein and Michael Moore add yet more punch to the compelling subject matter-all packed into 150 minutes.

It was quite the rollercoaster ride, as viewer and narrator alike frame questions pertaining to just how an entity created by us and for us-the corporation-should come to outgrow us and cause future generations and us harm.

"We need to be seen as constructive members of society," said former Royal Dutch-Shell CEO Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, speaking in his upper-crust English accent.

A question raised time and time again throughout, in particular by Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore, is just how that can be possible, when interests of shareholders must, by law, be seen as more important than global concerns.

Here nuance and telling comments make this "Monstrous Obligations" passage of the film one of the more fascinating, as Chomsky explained that the overall system is monstrous, as are those involved in it, even if they are intrinsically good people. He compared modern-day capitalist CEOs to 18 th Century slaveowners in this regard.

Comical footage of Moore going toe-to-toe with Nike CEO (and stupid white man?) Phil Knight is almost alone worth the price of admission, as Third World child labour was assailed.

On the counter side to Moore, Chomsky et al was Michael Walker, executive director of our very own Fraser Institute here in BC, who drew the only boos of the night with his "absolute privatization" belief that every living thing should belong to "some group of people" interested in maintaining it.

So back and forth go the arguments, as both sides get their views heard in equal measure, but with too-often depressing stories of neglect of public interest and the killing of innocent lives.

Throughout, steady narrative documents the rise of the American corporation following the Civil War, which gradually saw narrow mandates and limited charters expanded exponentially following precedent-setting Supreme Court legislation.

Evidence from author Edwin Black shows a black-and-white collusion between IBM computers and the Nazi regime that never reaches the Hollywood realm or any Spielberg movies.

Thank goodness Roy Anderson, CEO of Interface carpets, has a desire for sustainability. The segments showing his move to get his company more environmentally-friendly, resulting in a 33-per-cent drop in pollutants in 10 years, is a testimony to what is sadly lacking in a lot of other environmental initiatives.

In the end this movie shows how the corporation has grown out of control, exhibiting all the classic traits of a psychopath-willful neglect, inability to have long-term relationships, reckless disregard for others and lack of remorse.

"But [corporations] are not engraved in stone," said Chomsky at the end of it all. "They can be dismantled."

That may not be so easy, even with keen international support evident for the MIT professor's words.

It seems corporations have become a big part of everyday life, and their makeup is highly fluid. One day it sells vacuum cleaners, then all of a sudden it does a line in frozen fish cakes, or Miller Draft beer.

Perhaps one overriding thing to take from this, aside from greed being eternal and wearing various guises, is that power will respond to force. If people continue to see their lives going down the toilet as industrialized society sweeps the floor of all dignity, it will be these very same people who must take the Louisville slugger to their TV sets and local chains.

One thing is for sure-Naomi Klein, Vandhana Shiva, Roy Anderson and Howard Zinn can only hand us the keys.

We the people are in the driving seat, as was evidenced by the vivacious audience response to this fine, well-balanced, well-crafted Canadian masterpiece. Tell all your friends and family they must see this-especially the ones who won't recognize the name of Phil Knight, but just blindly go ahead and wear his shoes.

For the newly-engaged and curious, this is an illuminating set-list, and for the long-term activists (especially those here in the Northwest) who know the dealings of culture-jamming, The Corporation is a superb Greatest Hits boxed set that you must have.

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