Disclaimer: This movie holds some frightening truths that we all should be concerned about.
While watching this film I realized that the construction of the story I was being told was designed to manipulate me. Conjure up an emotional response, knee jerk reaction, to what was seemingly a hopeless situation in which multinational corporations were taking over the globe unbeknownst to all.
Is there truth to this claim? Probably. Who's fault is it? According to Mark Achbar, the greedy corporations are. However, here in lies the problem. While the film goes on to 'expose' stores like GAP for employing sweat shop labor, evangelize on behalf the Niger Delta 'opposition' groups for fighting foreign oil extractors like Shell from plundering their natural resources (never mind that these 'opposition groups are murderous rebels and kidnappers... in essence they are a political party) , and having Micheal Moore throw in more than his two cents... I sat and watched the group of people I was viewing the film with. Their hat covered heads nodded in agreement with the film- expressing outrage over how clothing stores employ child labor- seemingly forgetting that these hats were purchased from stores like GAP. Others expressing that they were glad that they didn't work for large corporations anymore, while they sport Levi jeans with key rings hanging out of the pockets which contain the keys to their Japanese or American made cars... which happen to run on, well, gas (if you live in the U.S you're probably filling up on Nigerian oil, amongst others). Others making the comment that Michael Moore always has something to say and despite how he says it, he makes good points (I happen to agree that he can make a good point once in a while), but would the opinions have been similar if Ann Coulter were making them? Probably not. Why? She has a little problem in that she can't make a public statement without being political, the same applies to Michael Moore, which makes me weary of whatever comes out of either mouth.
The only group that doesn't get blamed is the consumer. Somehow the populous of the western world have been taken hostage by these sugar daddy corporations that give us McDonald's burgers ever 1/4 of a mile and a Starbucks coffee on ever block... But what this film absolutely fails to do is say a simple principle: if you buy a BigMac, McDonald's gets your money. The alternative is, by some miracle these corporations just cropped up without public support? Apparently, that's how it went down, and now we are all screwed. Comments made after the film were fairly similar... this is hopeless, I'm overwhelmed, we need bigger government (thank you Michael). So, the solution is to feel helpless... how about you stop pulling out your credit card for a GAP hat until they make the necessary changes? What isn't stated is that these corporations got being because people like what they have to offer, if people don't like it anymore they will adjust. Bottom line: Mark Achbad didn't have the courage to finger out who is really responsible- and neither do many people that I watched the film with... it's always someone else's fault.