TheCorporation.com Blog

View All Tags

Website Revamped & New e'Zine Released!

By Sandy Haksi On May 04, 2012 | 1 Comments

We recently overhauled this website to incorporate a Twitterfeed and show off the tweets of our "on-the-ground" reporter at #OWS NYC. May Day saw lots of action and it was great to be kept in the loop and feel like we were part of it, even here in far away Vancouver, Canada.

We've also just released our latest News of the Cool e'Zine with a cover piece on Documentary Storytelling & Social Change. It discusses how docs like The Corporation and 65_RedRoses can be catalysts for change, but there need to be ways to feed the movement long after the film is released. We're trying to do this through sales of campaign materials and/or contributions, along with the help of volunteers and other supporters. Unfortunately, reining in the corporate psychopath is not going to happen overnight, and the film continues to be an amazing tool that awakens audiences to how much corporate power has grown over the last century.

On the good news front, we're seeing more and more pushback to the economic and political dogma that has enabled corporations to gain the rights of people, and allowed wealth to pool at the very top (Vermont recently called for an amendment to abolish "Corporate Personhood").

Not only are people now questioning the validity of "trickle-down" economic models, they are also wondering if getting a mere trickle was ever good enough in the first place.

Move
Close

Sandy is part of The Corporation's grassroots team and has been working on the film's outreach efforts since 2003.

Sandblasting - A Deadly Trend

By David Ng On May 02, 2012 | 3 Comments

Ethem Ozguven is one of our volunteers from Turkey. He has made a film about the dangers of sandblasting, which is a technique used to distress jeans. This technique causes long term damage to the body, and has also been proven to be lethal. Ethem and David discuss the issue and how it is connected to multinational corporations.

Denim – something that was developed for its durability, and longevity when used as clothing for hard labour has emerged as a hot fashion item in the past decade, with fashion designers implementing new innovative technologies to create new looks and to set trends. I’m sure most of us have at least three pairs in our wardrobe!

What is shocking is the technology that is still used in some parts of the world to create these distressed looks. One technology we want to look at particularly is sand blasting. This technique is basically sand that is blasted at a very high speed out of a hose (held and controlled by a human being), which causes the denim to distress. Most countries have laws banning this practice, as it has been linked to silicosis, which is a form of lung disease. However, countries who are seeking foreign investments may lower their labour regulations in order to make their communities more appealing. As in the film The Corporation, the classic example of this is sweatshops – where countries (usually developing countries) are pressured by multinational corporations to lower their labour standards in order to invite corporations to come in and set up factories to create jobs.

Move
Close

David Ng is a Hello Cool World veteran with experience going back a decade. David first worked with us when he was just 14 years old as a participant in the youth advisory group for the sexual health education program Condomania. Now an accomplished videographer passionate about the issues of gender and power, he is currently on sabbatical in South Africa while he pursues a Masters in Gender Studies with a focus on international developme

OWS & ACT UP Demand Wall Street Ante Up

By Jennifer Slattery On April 16, 2012 | 1 Comments

One of our volunteers, Jennifer Slattery, is heading back to the Occupy Wall Street site in New York and will be reporting live via twitter. Check back frequently to see what is going on at #OWS! There will be a LIVE "Occupy Your Future" twitter feed where you will be able to see what is happening on the ground at #OWS.

ACT UP X OCCUPY After a long winter, it's time to go back to Wall St. for this activist. And I am very excited about the first action I will be attending this Spring:

To commemorate its 25th anniversary, ACT UP (the activist group that took on AIDS issues in the 80's) will team up with Occupy Wall Street to hold a massive demonstration and march on Wall Street. Why Wall Street? Because the corruption of the corporate class has a ripple effect throughout our society that goes far beyond jobs, and debt. The crisis they cause leads to human suffering. On Wednesday, April 25 we will gather at City Hall and march on Wall Street. Act Up, in many ways, served as a model for the Occupy movement's leaderless, non-violent, and creative, direct action tactics. It is an honor to not only carry on their fight, but to have them stand beside us, and teach us from within our own ranks.

When I first arrived at Liberty Square six months ago, reporters asked me what real solutions I personally wanted to be achieved by protesting. My answer, repeatedly, was the need for a Financial Transaction Tax. None of the reporters ever printed my answer, instead running the same lie over and over for months: no one at Occupy has any ideas, no solutions. That was a lie, and I know because I heard many others talking about the same thing. We never stopped talking about it, and the media may choose to ignore us, but we will only get louder. A "Financial Speculation Tax" (Fi.S.T.) on Wall Street will be our rallying cry with Act Up on the 25th.

Move
Close

Jennifer Slattery is a dedicated human rights activist, former private investigator, and a member of the Occupy Movement. She lives in NY, and would be happy to answer any and all questions you might have: occupierjenvs@gmail.com

Surviving Progress a Hit at its New York Launch

By Sandy Haksi On April 10, 2012 | 2 Comments

Coming soon to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, San Diego, Portland OR, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Minneapolis, Columbus OH, New Orleans, Washington DC, Philadelphia & Boston - CLICK FOR U.S. PLAYDATES

Exec Producer Martin Scorcese
From the Surviving Progress opening at the Lincoln Center Film Society in New York City, April 6th, 2012. From left to right: Mathieu Roy (Director), Martin Scorsese (Executive Producer). Photo credit: Rachel Lowery

Surviving Progress opened in New York this past weekend, and crowds were able to enjoy Executive Producer and veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese introduce the hit documentary. The film has been getting phenomenal reviews and is currently polling with a higher audience rating—88%— than The Hunger Games on Rotten Tomatoes!

“Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks’ film beautifully pieces together bits of history into an overarching discussion about the meaning and value of human progress, much in the same vein as Adam Curtis’s lyrical documentaries … a visually and intellectually engaging film.”- Film-Forward

You can contribute to the success of Surviving Progress by joining the event on Facebook, following @CorporationFilm, and tweeting #SurvivingProgress to stay involved in the conversation.

SURVIVING PROGRESS GETS RAVE REVIEWS!

Earth Island Journal - "Surviving Progress is essential viewing. It’s among the best eco-docs since 2006’s Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth. The interviews and archival footage are spliced with cinematically splendid close-ups revealing the wonder and splendor of a natural world that we must save — along with ourselves."

Film-Forward - "Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks’ film beautifully pieces together bits of history into an overarching discussion about the meaning and value of human progress, much in the same vein as Adam Curtis’s lyrical documentaries … a visually and intellectually engaging film.”

New York Times - "Zippily edited and nicely photographed, 'Surviving Progress' is a fine summary of a hot ugly mess." — MANOHLA DARGIS

Village Voice - "A who's who of great thinkers... are riveting as they walk us through the question of whether we will or can survive progress"

NPR - "provocative"

Film Journal - This visually impressive Canadian documentary, rich in expert ideas, is a terrific resource for those who think and really care to know.

Slant - "By turning the idea of progress on its head, the nimble Surviving Progress exquisitely presents to us the possibility that humankind's achievements may cause its downfall." Kalvin Henely, Slant Magazine

Rotten Tomatoes - 77% critics based on 13 reviews, 86% audience - based on 513 reviews

Tag(s): Surviving Progress, Film Launch

Surviving Progress Opens Friday, April 6th in New York!

By Sandy Haksi On April 04, 2012 | 1 Comments

Coming soon to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, San Diego, Portland OR, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Minneapolis, Columbus OH, New Orleans, Washington DC, Philadelphia & Boston

SURVIVING PROGRESS is a stunning new feature documentary that connects the financial collapse, growing inequity, and the Wall Street oligarchy, with future technology, sustainability, and the fate of civilization.

Please spread the word as it's so important for films to do well on opening weekend in order to stay in theatres!! The film has already been a big success in Canada and we're thrilled to see it hit the big screen in the US.

You can contribute to the success of Surviving Progress by joining the event on Facebook, following @CorporationFilm, and tweeting #SurvivingProgress to stay involved in the conversation. Forward our email too!

UPCOMING NEW YORK SCREENINGS:

Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center
Intro by executive producer Martin Scorsese!
Q&A w/director Mathieu Roy and co-director Harold Crooks at the 7:15 pm show on Friday, April 6th
144 W 65th St b/t Broadway & Amsterdam | 212.875.5600
Showtimes: 10:30 am, 2:50 pm & 7:15 pm daily
Buy tickets

Cinema Village
Q&A w/co-director Harold Crooks at the 7:00 pm show on Saturday, April 7th!
22 E 12th St b/t 5th Ave & University Pl | 212.924.3363
Showtimes: 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00 & 9:10 pm daily
Buy tickets

Trailer & more info: www.firstrunfeatures.com/survivingprogress

Facebook event page: www.facebook.com/firstrunfeatures/events