Corporations have a hand in every corner of American’s lives-or at least they try to. Many people who analyze America say that we are a country driven by greed. Now, that is not for me to say, but I can’t deny that major corporations have a certain affinity towards the big bucks. In “State of Play” the audience has a chance to see an example of how American businesses attempt to undermine democracy by turning war, not into an attempt for a greater peace, but a money-gathering market.
The corporation the film deals with is PointCorp, which is in the process of setting up a “Killer-for-hire” process to be used in future combat situations. The film’s leading man, Cal, drives the story by investigating information he receives from various sources, then checks that information with his congressman friend, Collins. The incident in the film that holds the most ground with showing how PointCorp tries to undermine democracy, is the scene where Cal and Collins discuss how PointCorp is doing more than just creating a mercenary-run war, but they are plotting to cooperate with other defense contractors in purchasing various surveillance and defense contracts, thus creating a monopoly over the security of America. Now, the point of this scene was to instantly paint PointCorp as the villain in the film, and potentially tie it to other issues in the film. But the real emphasis should be noticed-just how easily a corporation can create a monopoly over America’s democracy.
What should be noticed in today’s world is how dangerous this situation can be. Enron ruined hundreds of people’s lives, and went unnoticed for years. By corporations growing too large, they certainly, even if not intentionally, take away from American's rights. Everyday, this was even an issue in the film, newspapers print articles that are not driven by the need to inform the public, but to sway their views on certain individuals that have had their right to privacy violated. The democracy we hold as our governing body would be null, and if we let it go that far, who is to say that it would not go even further? What would the world be like if our safety and privacy was under control by a monopoly? I don’t want to find out.
Go to see Inside Job; it is a documentary about how corporations, in collusion with government officials, control all the money and steal from the middle and working class.
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