The Corporation: 2003 Movie Reflection
Paper. Documentary Review Essay
Example
Essay Type: Analytical Essay
Subjects: Documentaries (78) Entertainment & Media (830)
Pages: 2
Words: 554
(votes: 1)
m
The Corporation is a documentary written by Joel Bakan in 2003, which revolves around
er as
the attainment of legal status by corporate companies, which accords them
co
eH w
the privilege of enjoying similar rights as human beings. It brings to the fore the social
injustices that corporate companies commit in their business ventures. The
o.
rs e
Corporation reaction paper seeks to shed light on different opinions for and against the
ou urc
corporate world, brought out by the documentary.
Advertising
o
aC s
vi y re
We will write a custom essay sample on The Corporation: 2003 Movie Reflection
Paper. Documentary Review Essay Example specifically for you
for only $16.05 $11/page
ed d
Learn More
ar stu
The Corporation Reaction Paper: Ethical Analysis of
is
the Documentary
Th
Although a corporation is viewed as a human with a conscience, it is one with a dark
side that seeks to leave a trail of destruction, whenever it goes out on a profit-making
sh
initiative. Incidentally, it does not regret having done wrong as an average person does.
For the most part, corporations aspire to make maximum income per unit of input used
in the production process. From The Corporation documentary review it is evident that
employees know that they are not free to do as they please, as pointed out by Sam
This study source was downloaded by 100000836544344 from CourseHero.com on 11-18-2021 08:20:36 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/58965604/The-Corporationdocx/
Gibara, former CEO and chairman of Good Year Tires (Achbar, Abbot: The
Corporation).
As shown in the film, corporations will go to the extent of making even the tragedy of
others a business venture, in total disregard of what befalls others as recounted by
Carlton Brown (Achbar, Abbot: The Corporation). It is noted in the documentary that
corporations have made profits out of everything, including those that are essential to
human life.
Stylistic Devices Used in the Film
After The Corporation documentary analysis it is clear that there are several stylistic
devices employed in the documentary as far as ethos, pathos, logos, and fallacies are
m
er as
concerned. Ethos is shown where senior officials of corporations like Ray Anderson,
co
CEO of the interface the carpet company, give their views in the documentary, to give it
eH w
credibility (Achbar, Abbot: The Corporation).
o.
rs e
ou urc
Seemingly, pathos is demonstrated where people who have stood by the truth, suffer
dire consequences, like Ken Saro Wiwa, Jane Akre, and Steve Wilson, as evidenced by
the documentary (Achbar, Abbot: The Corporation).
o
aC s
Regarding logos, viewers are taken through logical analysis to get the idea of how
vi y re
corporations can bring social vices, as recounted by Sir Mark-Moody Stuart, the former
chairman of Royal Dutch shell (Achbar, Abbot: The Corporation). The fallacy is brought
ed d
out, where corporations assume that they can manipulate human beings into giving
ar stu
them their products, whether good or bad, as explained by Initiative’s vice president
Lucy Hughes (Achbar, Abbot: The Corporation).
is
The Corporation Documentary: Criticism
Th
The documentary raises the concern about ethical issues but supports too much the
idea of public resource governance but fails to outline the social injustices that are
sh
committed by these governments in the pretext of managing public resources. It also
gives great credit to communism without exploring some of the negative sides of the
same. Full movie also fails to collect evidence and facts about these corporations but
instead gives a subjective opinion about the issue.
This study source was downloaded by 100000836544344 from CourseHero.com on 11-18-2021 08:20:36 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/58965604/The-Corporationdocx/
Advertising
Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper
with 15% OFF
Learn More
The Corporation Summary Reflection: Conclusion
Corporations are out to maximize the monetary outcome of every input they employ in
production and are, for the most part, less concerned with who gets hurt. Corporations
need some legal framework to ensure that they take into consideration the effects of
m
their business ventures to society and protect themselves from being unfairly labelled.
er as
co
Nowadays, there is a legal requirement that a certain percentage of their profits should
eH w
be given back to society through corporate social responsibility. It is therefore not
o.
rs e
objective to make a conclusion that corporations are ruthless and will make their income
ou urc
and walk out, not caring about their repercussions to the general society.
o
aC s
vi y re
ed d
ar stu
is
Th
sh
This study source was downloaded by 100000836544344 from CourseHero.com on 11-18-2021 08:20:36 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/58965604/The-Corporationdocx/
The Corporation (2003 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
For the Argentine film, see The Corporation (2012 film).
The Corporation
m
er as
co
eH w
o.
rs e
ou urc
o
aC s
Theatrical release poster
vi y re
Directed by
Mark Achbar
ed d
Jennifer Abbot
ar stu
Produced by
Mark Achbar
Bart Simpson
is
Written by
Th
Joel Bakan
Harold Crooks
Mark Achbar
sh
Narrated by Mikela J. Mikael
Music by Leonard J. Paul
This study source was downloaded by 100000836544344 from CourseHero.com on 11-18-2021 08:20:36 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/58965604/The-Corporationdocx/
Cinematography
Mark Achbar
Rolf Cuts
Jeff Hoffman
Kirk Tougas
Edited by Jennifer Abbot
Production Big Picture Media Corporation
company
Distributed by Zeitgeist Films
Release date
m
September 10, 2003 (Toronto
er as
International Film Festival)
co
eH w
January 16, 2004
o.
Running time 145 minutes
rs e
ou urc
Country Canada
o
Language English
aC s
vi y re
Box office $4.84 million[1]
The Corporation is a 2003 Canadian documentary film written by University of British Columbia law
professor Joel Bakan, and directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott. The documentary examines
ed d
the modern-day corporation. Bakan wrote the book, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of
Profit and Power, during the filming of the documentary.
ar stu
is
Contents
Th
1Synopsis
o 1.1Interviews
2Release
o 2.1Box office
sh
o 2.2Versions
2.2.1TVO version
2.2.2DVD version
3Reception
o 3.1Critical reception
4Awards
This study source was downloaded by 100000836544344 from CourseHero.com on 11-18-2021 08:20:36 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/58965604/The-Corporationdocx/
5See also
6Notes
7References
8External links
o 8.1Downloads
Synopsis[edit]
The documentary shows the development of the contemporary business corporation, from a legal
entity that originated as a government-chartered institution meant to affect specific public functions to
the rise of the modern commercial institution entitled to most of the legal rights of a person. The
documentary concentrates mostly upon North American corporations, especially those in the United
States. One theme is its assessment of corporations as persons, as a result of an 1886 case in
the United States Supreme Court in which a statement by Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite[nb 1] led to
corporations as "persons" having the same rights as human beings, based on the Fourteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Topics addressed include the Business Plot, where in 1933, General Smedley Butler exposed an
m
alleged corporate plot against then U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt; the tragedy of the
er as
commons; Dwight D. Eisenhower's warning people to beware of the rising military-industrial
co
complex; economic externalities; suppression of an investigative news story about Bovine Growth
eH w
Hormone on Fox affiliate television station WTVT in Tampa, Florida at the behest of Monsanto; the
invention of the soft drink Fanta by The Coca-Cola Company due to the trade embargo on Nazi
o.
Germany; the alleged role of IBM in the Nazi holocaust (see IBM and the Holocaust);
rs e
the Cochabamba protests of 2000 brought on by the privatization of a municipal water
ou urc
supply in Bolivia; and in general themes of corporate social responsibility, the notion of limited
liability, the corporation as a psychopath, and the corporate personhood debate.
Through vignettes and interviews, The Corporation examines and criticizes corporate business
o
practices. The film's assessment is affected via the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-IV; Robert D. Hare,
aC s
a University of British Columbia psychology professor and a consultant to the FBI, compares the
vi y re
profile of the contemporary profitable business corporation to that of a clinically
diagnosed psychopath (however, Hare has objected to the manner in which his views are portrayed
in the film; see "Critical reception" below). The Corporation attempts to compare the way
corporations are systematically compelled to behave with what it claims are the DSM-IV's symptoms
of psychopathy, e.g., the callous disregard for the feelings of other people, the incapacity to maintain
ed d
human relationships, the reckless disregard for the safety of others, the deceitfulness (continual lying
ar stu
to deceive for profit), the incapacity to experience guilt, and the failure to conform to social
norms and respect the law.
Interviews[edit]
is
The film features interviews with prominent corporate critics such as Noam Chomsky, Charles
Th
Kernaghan, Naomi Klein, Michael Moore, Vandana Shiva, and Howard Zinn, as well as opinions
from company CEOs such as Ray Anderson (from the Interface carpet and fabric company), and
viewpoints from business gurus Peter Drucker and Milton Friedman, and think tanks advocating free
markets such as the Fraser Institute. Interviews also feature Dr. Samuel Epstein, who was involved
sh
in a lawsuit against Monsanto Company for promoting the use of Posilac, (Monsanto's trade
name for recombinant Bovine Somatotropin) to induce more milk production in dairy cattle and Chris
Barrett who, as a spokesperson for First USA, was the first corporately sponsored college student in
America.[2]
This study source was downloaded by 100000836544344 from CourseHero.com on 11-18-2021 08:20:36 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/58965604/The-Corporationdocx/
One hundred and fifty years ago, the corporation was a
relatively insignificant entity. Today, it is a vivid, dramatic
and pervasive presence in all our lives. Like the Church, the
Monarchy and the Communist Party in other times and
places, the corporation is today’s dominant institution. But
history humbles dominant institutions. All have been
crushed, belittled or absorbed into some new order. In this
complex, exhaustive and highly entertaining documentary,
Mark Achbar, co-director of the influential and
inventive Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the
Media, teams up with co-director Jennifer Abbott and writer
m
er as
Joel Bakan to examine the far-reaching repercussions of the
co
corporation’s increasing preeminence.
eH w
Based on Bakan’s book The Corporation: The Pathological
o.
rs e
Pursuit of Profit and Power, the film is a timely, critical
ou urc
inquiry that invites CEOs, whistle-blowers, brokers, gurus,
spies, players, pawns and pundits on a graphic and
o
engaging quest to reveal the corporation’s inner workings,
aC s
curious history, controversial impacts and possible futures.
vi y re
The Corporation charts the spectacular rise of an institution
aimed at achieving specific economic goals as it also
ed d
recounts victories against this apparently invincible force.
ar stu
Case studies, anecdotes and true confessions reveal
behind-the-scenes tensions and influences in several
corporate and anti-corporate dramas. Among the 40
is
interview subjects are CEOs and top-level executives from a
Th
range of industries: oil, pharmaceutical, computer, tire,
manufacturing, public relations, branding, advertising and
sh
undercover marketing. In addition, a Nobel-prize winning
economist, the first management guru, a corporate spy, and
a range of academics, critics, historians and thinkers are
also interviewed.
This study source was downloaded by 100000836544344 from CourseHero.com on 11-18-2021 08:20:36 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/58965604/The-Corporationdocx/
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
