The Corporation
2004 | Documentary | Canada | English | 145 min | PG | $5
Director: Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott
Premieres February 2010 at Sinema Old School
This documentary examines how corporations today have increased in size and power since the industrial revolution, and explains the laws and loopholes that allow them to remain nearly unaccountable for their actions. Should these corporations break a law, they are often willing to pay the fine, because the profits they make outweigh the amount they were fined. Hence, these corporations continue to cause serious environmental problems such as dumping waste into rivers and oceans and by depleting natural resources, resulting in irreversible damage to the earth, causing a serious threat to human life.
Beyond environmental problems, the film shows how corporations exploit labourers in third world countries by underpaying them, thereby violate basic human rights amongst other issues.
Based on Joel Bakan’s book, “The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power”, this documentary is a timely, critical inquiry that examines the very nature of the corporation – its inner workings, curious history, controversial impacts and possible futures.
About the directors: Mark Achbar is one of a wave of non-fiction feature filmmakers reaching large international audiences through mainstream theatres, TV, DVD, and the internet. He co-produced and co-directed the two most successful Canadian feature documentaries ever made: MANUFACTURING CONSENT: NOAM CHOMSKY AND THE MEDIA and THE CORPORATION. His films popularize radical critiques, win dozens of prestigious awards, and gross millions at the box-office.
Jennifer Abbott is a documentary maker, cultural activist and editor with a particular interest in producing media that shifts perspectives on problematic social norms and practices. In addition to co-directing and editing THE CORPORATION , she produced, directed and edited A COW AT MY TABLE, a feature documentary about meat, culture and animals, which won 8 international awards.
