In response to Ron Deibert's request for the WS video suggestions
I received, here they are:
1. Controlling Interest: The World of the Multinational Corporations.
1 reel, 45 min. : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 16 mm. 1974 or 1975
Put out by California Newsreel
Examines the scale and underlying dynamics of multinational corporate expansion, and shows the
deleterious social and economic effects of the multinationals'power in both the U.S. and the Third
World. Includes interviews with several corporate executives and with workers in a small New England
city (Greenfield, Massachusetts) faced with the threat of a runaway shop. Investigates the role of
the multinationals in influencing U.S. government policy in underdeveloped nations. Focusses on Chile
and Brazil, and the overthrow of Allende. The CEO interviews are among the best the part.
(suggested by Bob Ross)
2. "Hungry For Profit." This one hour film was originally put out over a decade ago
by, I believe, PBS. It describes the machinations of multinational corporations in Third World
Countries and the subsequent starvation that ensues as they ironically increase food exports to rich,
western nations. PBS took a great deal of heat from corporate sponsors, hence it had only a limited
showing. But--the good news is that Food First picked it up and shortened it to a half hour VCR tape
which they sell for $25. Although the material is somewhat dated, the dynamics and trends are
virtually the same today as then. Contact:
Institute for Food and Social Development
145 Ninth Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 864-8555
The title is slightly different from the PBS title, but they only have 3 or 4 tapes so it should be no
problem identifying it. Hope this helps.
(from Denny Braun)
3. "Global Assembly Line" from PBS (?).
From New Day Films, New York
"It helps undergrads
see the HUMAN dimensions of world-system structures. I wish they'd
considered doing a version that updates things into the 1990s."
"Travelling from Tennessee to Mexico's northern border, from Silicon Valley to
the Philippines, THE GLOBAL ASSEMBLY LINE takes viewers inside our new global
economy. A vivid portrayal of the lives of working women and men in the "free
trade zones" of developing countries and North America, as US industries close
their factories to search the globe for lower-wage workforces. We take a rare
look at the people whoi are making the clothing we wear and the electronic goods
we use -- as well as the business decisions behind manufacturing -- on the global
assembly line."
(From David Smith and Quee-Young Kim)
4. The"politics of oil" from the PBS series based
on a book "The Prize." The last two or three parts of theseries appear quite
relevant to the "dynamics of the world system."
Hope this short list is useful all around.
Thomas A. Loya
Department of Sociology
1555 Pierce Drive
Emory University
Atlanta GA 30033