The pursuit of profit and power gets a working over by filmmakers Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbot in their new documentary The Corporation. KIM LESCH makes sense of it all.


MICHAEL MOORE, saint 'o Cannes, has been receiving some bad press as of late. Upon viewing another truth seeker's film, The Corporation I see him receiving some more, despite his generous nature to include himself in this gem. "And why is this?" you might enquire. It is due to Moore's skills as a truth teller, narrator, and whip smart filmmaking savvy. The Corporation, put simply, will not only scare the stuffing out of you, it will raise the poignant question of what aims he has in the face of the documentary in its finest, non-personality driven form.

Moore serves up a tasty dish of humor laden film, this is true. What is rarely brought to light is his inconsistencies – you know that 'rocket' factory in Columbine? It sent up satellites. You know his 'for the people' stance? The man, while raised in a middle class family, sends his kids to private school and lives in the Dakota building in Manhattan. Yes, the'very same one that Lennon was shot in front of. He has come into this fabulous wealth by a smart business sense, popular films, and very popular books. Fair enough, there is no criticism to be had for a man who has made his dough by working hard and being intelligent enough to keep a decent share rights and royalties. But during his crowning weeks of glory at Cannes, just recently the recipient of the Palm d'Or from another director who likes to put himself in front of the camera, people are beginning to question the ethics of the Most Ethical Filmmaker in the World. But I gigantically digress! The point: The Corporation seeks to instigate thought and action from its viewers by exposing the sickly white underbelly of corporate success. This non-personality driven piece delves into how corporations enable themselves to have the legal rights of a human being, how they justify illegal actions that cause damage to humans, the environment, and animals, and how they are now snatching up the rights to our very DNA. There are plenty more sins to mention, it's a long film, just know that the film is completely packed with information, O.K.?

Earlier, exactly one paragraph ago, I mentioned that this three hour long monster of a film would scare the stuffing out of you. Three hours! Yes, that's correct. You are given an intermission, don't worry. While Moore pisses around making you believe he's the bomb The Corporation's directors, Marc Achbar and Jennifer Abbott, get right down to business. Ha. Not a minute of time is wasted; our narrator is a monotone lady who keeps her voice low and void of emotions. Information is neatly organised, packed, and delivered for our consumption and judgement via interviews with Important People like Noam Chomsky, whistle blowers, Michael Moore (who is slightly ridiculed, god bless them), activists, business people, corporate spies, and we are especially titillated with an embarrassing interview with the Vice President of Pfizer. There are about thirty interviewees in all, each with a point to make and the film's editors allow them to make it. Good job and well done to Abbott who also edited the piece.

I was curious though. After viewing the first half I handed my copy over to a colleague of mine, Brigid Carroll, who lectures in the management department. She was keen to watch it, and after more than a few hours of seeing her in action, a la Organizational Theory class, I was sure she'd generate good copy. This lady is smart, but also intelligent. One does not get the "I've worked for ____ companies and now want to teach the leaders of tomorrow" vibe from her presence. When she returned the tape she was honest, as I knew she would be. She found herself unable to watch the second half, apologetically explaining that she wanted to continue teaching. "There was no cutesy presenter, the information was delivered in a straightforward manner...the lack of personality made it far more chilling." As a professor at University of Auckland, she'd never seen a doco that actually went into the history of the corporation itself; much less one that clearly explained what had to happen along the way for corporations to have the right to own rainwater.

And it is a good question, isn't it? How did it get to the point where businesses had the right to copyright everything? How can it own rainwater? How is this matter of profit so important that corporations like Monsanto feel that it's O.K. to lie about the ill effects of DDT or Bovine Growth Hormones? Believe it or not, as the famous traveling American Ripley stated – The Corporation explains all of the above and far more. Earlier, four paragraphs ago, I used an adjective, non-personality, to describe this film. Huh, You thought, sounds boring. Not so, it's a film that consumers should all have a gander at, think about, provoke discussion over. In addition to squeezing in as much angering information as they could, Achbar and Abbott provide examples of successes against corporate actions. Having Oscar Olivera tell the story of Bolivia's fight against third world debt and presenting the bare facts that they were not allowed to gather rainwater because it was owned by a company, do more than shock the viewer. Abbott and Achbar educate and encourage with their film, the interviews allow the watcher to make their own judgments, their own opinions, and their own conclusions.