The Corporation

Don't be put off by the less than subtle cover, or by the first few minutes of in-your-face agitprop - this is a thoughtful and well-constructed polemic against the power of big business. It seeks to persuade not by hysterical finger-pointing, but by exposition of facts and by interviews with well-informed individuals from the media, the corporate world and academe. Half of the interviewees are corporate "insiders", some of them glibly agreeing that there should be more regulation of business, some of them arguing, amusingly, that the problems of the world are due to residual excessive government regulation.

Above all, this film is highly informative. It starts with a history of the corporation, which, in case you didn't know (and I didn't) is a company with the legal status of an individual human being. This is interesting implications for accountability: when a corporation acts illegally, usually the worst than can happen is an expensive fine or out-of-court settlement. Prison sentences for individual directors are usually out of the question, because the entity acting illegally is the business, not the individuals who run it. It is also interesting to find out that a corporation has a legal DUTY, in the United States, to put the interests of its shareholders above all other considerations.

The film traces how lobbying has concentrated power in the hands of the corporations, to the extent that they are today at least as powerful as the politicians supposedly elected to represent the American people. Finally come some long case studies, including the (successful) attempts by FOX News to block the broadcast of a report by two of its journalists on the harmful effects of Monsanto's hormone treatment for cows to increase milk yield. It also describes the uprising that ensued in Bolivia after the World Bank insisted on privatisation of the water supply, so that even the unofficial collection of rainwater by its impoverished citizens was made illegal.

For those who like arguments made in bold strokes, the film's central thesis is that if the corporation is a legal individual, then its personality type is psychopathic. That rather facile metaphor might put you off, but don't let it, because the bulk of the documentary is restrained, informative, and thanks to the interview-based narration, comes straight from the mouths of experts. In the cases of those who support big business, they are often damned by their own words, either because they are so patently insincere and self-contradicting, or because they simply don't care what we think of them.

First of all, it must be written that The Corporation is not a simplistic or hysterical anti-big business rant. Indeed, one of the key individuals interviewed is a passionate Chief Executive Officer of one of the U. S.'s largest carpet manufacturing companies. What The Corporation is, is a calm, articulate investigation of the origins and development of a very peculiar form of trading organisation.

The Corporation is assembled from archive footage of old and more contemporary news films plus interviews with a diverse range of people, from CEOs to women working in sweatshops in Latin America. Of particular note are the interviews with professors Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, who are as thoughtful as ever.

This documentary is an excellent overview of how big business shapes the world in which we live and has input from conflicting perspectives. It covers how brand name clothing is made by slave labour, to biotech companies attempting to copyright and privatise parts of the human genome.

The extras feature a great deal of interviews that never made the final cut, sorted by subject matter and interviewee.

Alongside the likes of Bus 174, Supersize Me, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, The Corporation is at the forefront of cinema quality documentaries.

Since discovering this documentary, I have - with the film makers' support - successfully developed study materials that enhance learning and teaching on my university's degree programmes. It is, without doubt, the most stimulating and riveting documentary you are likely to see about the nature and impact of contemporary business thinking.

The great strength of the documentary is the quality of the input from all sections of society, whether academic experts, corporate executives, social activists or members of the public. Arguments and debates are not fudged, they are all tackled head on. Regardless of whether the issue is market accountability, branding and advertising, the profit motive, environmental sustainability or workplace democracy, defenders and critics of The Corporation are given ample scope to discuss different points of view. You can hear directly from Milton Friedman, Naomi Klein, Robert Monks and Noam Chomsky. You can witness for yourself heated dialogue between workers and managers, or demonstrators and corporate executives.

This documentary is a prima facie example of the way journalism can transform our ability to learn in a democratic society. Free speech - however unpleasant to the listener - is the life-blood of an informed electorate who can then use their knowledge to shape political action.

As a student resource (with the film-makers' consent) we produced 30 minute edited versions and learning materials aimed at stimulating debate amongst students. The reaction has been first rate, with many seeking out the full 150 minute documentary or demanding that it be made available for follow up study. It is not often I come across a piece of work that so stimulates students, and which would benefit from becoming part of a core curriculum - this documentary in certainly in a league of its own. Consequently, it is hard to think of a business school that could not benefit from introducing this documentary into its curriculum. It will inevitably stimulate much needed reflection on the nature, ethics and impact of corporations on society.

Rory Ridley-Duff (Dr)
Senior Lecturer
Sheffield Business School