Films on Corporate Practices and Health
Most of these films are available from online DVD sellers or commercial rental outlets.
Feature Films
Class Action (1991). Courtroom drama in which father and daughter represent opposite sides in a suit against a negligent auto company.
A Civil Action (1998). A slick lawyer takes on two giant chemical companies for their pollution of a town’s water.
The Constant Gardener (2005) Based on the John Le Carre novel by the same title, The Constant Gardener explores how pharmaceutical companies knowingly test dangerous AIDs drugs on populations of developing countries.
Fast Food Nation (2006) This fictionalized version of the book by the same title looks at the impact of fast food and corporate control over food production on health, society and the environment.
The Runaway Jury (2003). Based on a John Grisham thriller about the tobacco industry’s efforts to manipulate juries, the film switches to the gun industry’s role in avoiding liability damages.
Side Effects (2005). A film about a young pharmaceutical rep who is torn between earning a good living and living a good life.
Thank You for Smoking (2005). A satirical look at the practices of the tobacco, alcohol and gun industries and their impact on health.
Documentaries
Bad Seed: the Truth about our Food (2006). An examination of the hidden costs of genetic engineering of food told through the perspectives of farmers, victims of genetically-engineered products, leading scientists, food safety advocates and more.
Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease & Pushing Drugs. This documentary examines how pharmaceutical companies profit through the creation, definition, and redefintion of disease, direct marketing of pharmaceutical products to consumers, and the increasing medicalization of mental and physical health.
The Corporation (2003) Using case studies, this documentary examines corporations through a psychological lens, argues that corporations fit the criteria for psychopathy, and highlights the dangers that corporate practices can have on the environment and society.
The Future of Food (2004) Looking at the effects of genetic engineering in Mexico, the United States and Canada, this film explores the health impact of genetically engineered food and the dangers of increased corporate control over the food system.
Poultrygeist (2007) "Poultrygeist" is a satirical look at the fast food industry, examining what happens when "American Chicken Bunker," a military-themed fried-chicken chain, builds a restaurant on the site of an ancient Indian burial ground. The film was written by a fast-food employee, produced with the support of PETA, and shot almost entirely through volunteer effort.
Supersize me (2004) Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock examines the impact of fast food consumption by eating nothing but McDonalds food for 30 days and by looking at the impact of the fast food industry on health and society.
Have a film you think should be added to our list?
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