| Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
This 2005 Robert Greenwald documentary uncovers what it calls "a retail giant’s assault on families and American values." The film has further fuelled a backlash against the most powerful big-box grocer in North America, inspiring boycotts, anti-Wal-Mart T-shirts and anti-Wal-Mart blogs and websites.
Corporate reaction: Wal-Mart is now spending millions on social marketing efforts to clean up its image and has devoted an entire website, www.walmartfacts.com, to counter negative claims made by the documentary.
Who Killed the Electric Car?
This 2006 documentary film exposes the short-lived existence of the battery electric vehicle, specifically the EV1 made by General Motors in the U.S. It blames oil companies, automobile manufacturers, consumers, government and the California Air Resources Board for the technology not being adopted.
Corporate reaction: General Motors posted a blog titled, "Who Ignored the Facts About the Electric Car?" in response, claiming it made substantial investments in the EV1 and blaming the market for the technology’s lack of success.
The Future of Food
Synopsis: This 2004 documentary investigates the dangers of so-called frankenfoods (genetically modified organisms), the impact of globalization and corporate influence on the food industry and the resulting crisis facing family farms.
Sir! No Sir!
This 2005 film tells the rarely told story of the GI movement against the war in Vietnam. It documents war deserters, officers being killed by their own troops and entire units refusing to go to battle. Winner of two Best Documentary Awards and Best Film on War and Peace.
One Per Cent
Jamie Johnson, filmmaker and heir to the Johnson and Johnson fortune, reveals how the other one per cent live. As part of the small percentage of Americans who control nearly half the wealth in the U.S., Johnson asks tough questions of members of the elite like Steve Forbes and Bill Gates.
Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers
This 2006 documentary asserts that Blackwater, KBR-Halliburton, Titan and CACI, four companies with no-bid contracts working in Iraq, are over-billing the American government, in essence stealing from the American public, and carrying out substandard work in Iraq.
Corporate reaction: Halliburton has stated that the film is "yet another rehash of inaccurate, recycled information."
The Corporation
This Canadian documentary based on the book, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, delves into the power of corporations. The film likens the corporation to a pathological person and interviews corporate insiders and critics. Winner of the Best Documentary Genie Award, 26 International Awards and 10 International Audience Choice Awards.
Critical reaction: The Economist claims likening an organization to a psychopathic entity originally came from Max Weber who related government bureaucracy to psychopaths. The magazine also states public ownership is not a viable alternative to capitalistic corporations.
Super Size Me
This 2004 Academy Award-nominated documentary stars director Morgan Spurlock, who conducts a 30-day experiment consisting of eating McDonald’s every day for every meal. He documents the negative impact the diet has on his physical and psychological health and is critical of the marketing tactics McDonald’s uses to entice children into its chains and profit from unhealthy products.
Corporate reaction: McDonald’s has since tried to provide healthier options and has claimed Spurlock’s experiment doesn’t represent how McDonald’s products are intended to be used. |
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