Essay Sample on Documentaries: Sparking Conversations and Enlightening Minds

Introduction

Documentary films are informative resources that provide in-depth details on topics they are meant to address. Documentary films play an important role as they bring important issues to light in a way that listeners are captivated and can spark conversations regarding the topics discussed in the documentaries. Through the dedicated work of documentaries, students can put a human face to the ethical issues that, in other cases, appear unrelatable or distant. Through documentaries, students can put themselves in the shoes of others, thus creating a bond of empathy in a situation that direly needs compassion and engagement. Also, documentaries also provide students an opportunity to connect and understand the issues in the world. Documentaries serve as a reminder that there are real people on the other side of the conditions regarding the problem being addressed. For students, documentaries also play an essential role in such a way that they link the numerous theories to the real world. This connection is necessary as it provides a reference framework where students will be able to understand the context within the subject. Therefore, using documentaries such as "The Corporation" helps students to understand the complicated ethical issues that business people face.

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The film "The Corporation" is a documentary film that illustrates the behavioral evolution of companies. This evolution focuses on the ethical dilemmas that corporations face in everyday business since they were awarded the legal rights that are almost similar to that of an individual. Such rights include the ability to sue and be sued. The documentary surmises that since the corporations have been given the legal rights of a person, they should also be evaluated as a person in such a way that one must try to identify the kind of person best describes the corporation. Many metaphors can be used to describe the corporation such as the barrel of apples where former president Bush explains that "even though 90% of the corporations are honest, there are some bad apples" (1:04-1:14). However, from the film, it is apparent that a corporation can be identified as a psychopath person who disregards the well-being of others, is deceitful and is unable to form a lasting relationship with other people. The positions, as well as the duties of corporations, are addressed in this film to provide evidence that supports this definition.

The documentary represents the negative context of business without considering the positive impacts of the behavior of corporations. The film highlights the importance of understanding the consequences of business decisions on the stakeholders since the majority of the issues arise from decisions that aim to maximize profits instead of balancing between benefits and stakeholder satisfaction. Even though the corporations have become the dominant institutions, their behaviors have converted them into liabilities as well as a threat to the health of the people and the planet as a whole. The film, however, spends too much time pointing out the negative aspects and not enough time on the possible solution. Though the documentary gives few examples such as the instance where Indian farmers battle the patent of basmati rice (2:11:35-2:13:54), it does not provide a way forward that modern corporations can incorporate to reduce their psychopathic behavior while at the same time making profits. I believe that the documentary would have been more potent if it had provided more solutions.

Conclusion

Apart from corporations, other entities can function to as well as influence the economy of a country. Such entities may include entrepreneurship, which offers more significant benefits for both the people and the economy. Entrepreneurship helps to create an environment where individuals can flexibly develop their ideas, which turn an economy from productive activities to activities that are not focused on wealth creation but the health of the people and the planet.

Work Cited

Achbar, Mark, and Jennifer Abbott. "The Corporation (2003)." YouTube, 27 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMNZXV7jOG0.