The documentary "The Corporation" by Mark achbar, Jennifer Abbot & Joel Bakan.
The Corporation-Long Essay.
The function of documentaries is to present real life issues or subjects to the general public. As they present facts, documentaries can be accepted as, to an extent, an accurate representation of reality. However it is not true to say that they are completely factual and that everything presented in a documentary is true. Coming to an agreement, particularly over controversial issues such as the influence of corporations in our society, is extremely difficult. Even if it is unintentional, a documentary will be dominated with a particular view. This can be explored through the documentary "The Corporation" by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbot & Joel Bakan. Through the use of certain techniques of selection of detail, film language and verbal language the creators present corporations as being a destructive institution with no emotion and no morals.
The technique selection of detail plays an important role in influencing a particular point of view towards an issue. Through the exclusion, as well as the inclusion, of certain footage, the documentary "The Corporation" effectively presents corporations in a negative way. An example of how the inclusion of certain information can influence a particular view can be seen in the beginning of "The Corporation". The director for Business and government at Harvard is interviewed and asked for his metaphor of what a corporation is. He relates corporations to eagles describing them as being 'noble, visionary, majestic' and as being something that 'people can believe in and be inspired by'. Then at the end of the interview, not knowing that the camera is still rolling, he stands up and says 'ok guys, enough bullshit', contradicting everything he had just said. At first the viewer is made to understand and accept this positive representation of corporations, but after realising that everything the CEO had said before was a lie, the viewer is urged to feel deceived and outraged. Evidently the value of
The function of documentaries is to present real life issues or subjects to the general public. As they present facts, documentaries can be accepted as, to an extent, an accurate representation of reality. However it is not true to say that they are completely factual and that everything presented in a documentary is true. Coming to an agreement, particularly over controversial issues such as the influence of corporations in our society, is extremely difficult. Even if it is unintentional, a documentary will be dominated with a particular view. This can be explored through the documentary "The Corporation" by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbot & Joel Bakan. Through the use of certain techniques of selection of detail, film language and verbal language the creators present corporations as being a destructive institution with no emotion and no morals.
The technique selection of detail plays an important role in influencing a particular point of view towards an issue. Through the exclusion, as well as the inclusion, of certain footage, the documentary "The Corporation" effectively presents corporations in a negative way. An example of how the inclusion of certain information can influence a particular view can be seen in the beginning of "The Corporation". The director for Business and government at Harvard is interviewed and asked for his metaphor of what a corporation is. He relates corporations to eagles describing them as being 'noble, visionary, majestic' and as being something that 'people can believe in and be inspired by'. Then at the end of the interview, not knowing that the camera is still rolling, he stands up and says 'ok guys, enough bullshit', contradicting everything he had just said. At first the viewer is made to understand and accept this positive representation of corporations, but after realising that everything the CEO had said before was a lie, the viewer is urged to feel deceived and outraged. Evidently the value of