Distrust of the Corporation

October 31st, 2004

Mark Moody-Stuart writing in the Financial Times this weekend Distrust in the land of pyschos and soya milk

The aim is to demonstrate that the modern corporation is a dysfunctional development and that the economic system supported by corporations is seriously flawed. As a polemic it is effective and I have spoken to several, mainly young people, on whom it made a considerable impression.
The film suggests that by stealth and through lack of attention from the rest of society, corporations have managed to acquire the legal persona of individuals.

In the genre of Fahrenheit 911 and Supersize me, it is a powerful polemic, and designed to work in cinemas as 'entertainment'. In fact when I was in the United States in the summer visiting friends, we went to the cinema one Friday night. I watched Fahrenheit 911 my friend The Corporation, both cinemas were pretty full and The Corporation is 2.5 hours long.
Is this what people watch for entertainment I thought? My friend observed that this trend of producing polemical films for a generation brought up on TV could prove to be significant. Educating, radicalising, making people truly think about what they eat, what companies do and in whose name, gun control. You name it your organisation is going to be closely examined and then discussed.
What I see is the loss of control that these organisations once enjoyed as a god-given right. The need for companies and their brands to engage and offer the opportunity for two-way flows of communication will become ever more important. All businesess are ultimately built on trust. in the 21st Century you are going to have to work harder for it.
Mark Moood-Stuart sums up:

Would I recommend the film to business people? Definitely. You will see the deep gulf of distrust which we have to overcome if we are to be able to work together with others to repair some of the large deficiencies of society. Business, economic development and indeed corporations large and small are an essential part of the solution.

Mark Moody-Stuart is a former chairman of Shell. "The Corporation" opened in cinemas yesterday.
Additional reading: Faking it. They pretend to be cuddly but, beneath the hype, ethical company policies are often just a 'greenwash'. Beware the corporate smile, warns Lucy Siegle

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