Educational Media Reviews Online

Contrary to the hype about the new global economy, this documentary describes the “Global Village” as a revamped “Divine Right of Kings” in which multinational corporations become wealthier while the world’s poor become poorer. General Motors is now worth more than the economy of Denmark; Ford Motor Company is worth more than the economy of South Africa.

Journalist John Pilger examines Indonesia as the prime example of a country gutted by globalization. From his statement that the US and Great Britain backed the Indonesian dictator Suharto to the collapse of the Indonesian currency in 1998, Pilger outlines a history of a country rich in raw materials and skilled workers continuously being plundered by the West.

This documentary contained several inserts of “secret filming” in Indonesian sweatshops which produce goods for The Gap, Inc. Anonymous workers reported working 36-hour shifts. Labor unions are forbidden and whistle blowing is simply implausible. The Gap denied any knowledge of such conditions citing that plant supervisors report satisfactory conditions.

The exceptional feature of this documentary is Pilger’s interviewing. Pilger conducts several interviews with high-ranking IMF and World Bank officials. His questioning is uncompromising. Pilger contends that multinational corporations and large economic governing bodies such as the World Trade Organization and the World Bank, run the global economy without having been elected. The documentary closes with a call for cancellation of third world debt and democratically accountable international lending institutions.

This is a film that closely examines the malignancies of global economy in the context of Indonesian strife. This film is recommended for adult learners interested in the history of what has sadly become perhaps the world’s worst national economy.