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The Corporation
Examination Of Century Old Institution Needs Restructuring

Starring: Noam Chomsky , Milton Friedman , Michael Moore , Mikela J Mikael
Director: Mark Achbar ,Jennifer Abbott

Reviewed by P. Joshua Laskey

If indeed there is a culture war being waged, then The Corporation, a documentary examining the institution splashed across its title, might well have involved itself insidiously as a one-sided “debate”. That there can be no such thing as a one-sided debate does not seem to concern the pundits, partisans, politicians, and publicists who like to think the public cares about their seemingly free-of-charge, gracious, gratis, courteous opinions--nor does the truth expressed within the first ten verses of the Dhamapada: not by enmity are enmities quelled. There can be no war if one side stops lobbing grenades. The Corporation could have been a grenade filled with invective, and vituperation, and venom. But it isn’t.

Instead of leaving an explosion in theaters, Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, and Joel Bakan have left something more akin to a visual pamphlet--a message in a bottle on whose glass one might just see one’s own puzzled reflection. Though achieving balance and fairness should not be remarkable in documentarian pursuits, I shall remark on the evenhandedness of these filmmakers’ approach to their subject matter and commend them on the outcome of their unflagging tenacity in gathering and presenting more than one side to their story. To be sure, The Corporation is not predicated on any thesis friendly to a world build on corporate hegemony, but it does not exclude compelling arguments from the very characters it ends up condemning nor the actors it seemed to set out to pillory.

The documentary is neither hateful nor malicious, but it makes its point forcefully with an avalanche of information that lasts well into a third hour. This is the crushing drawback of all the work put in by the filmmakers: that they gathered so much material that they seemed to leave none of it out. While perhaps comprehensive or exhaustive in its homework, The Corporation might also overwhelm in its delivery. There seems to be nothing more than the thesis to hold together many, many, many disparate sections. In this way, the film ends up being like a debater who has been given no time limit and is too inexperienced to organize his facts from most to least forceful leaving off when his auditors begin to fade. At the end of the day, that debater is talked about behind his back for his tedium while to his face he hears nothing put praise and commendation for his preparation.

All in all, see this movie if you are tired. Not tired, sleepy; but tired, fed up. Take an afternoon off from working for a corporation and buy the big popcorn. These people have something to say, and the way they say it deserves some attentive listeners--if for no other reason than that a profit might let them make another documentary where they can guide their amazing research skills with such nimble hearts and agile minds. As for presentation, that can keep being learned.

Rating:	(2 out of 4 stars)
The Corporation is currently playing in Sacramento at the Crest Theatre.

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