The Shock Doctrine released in 2009 by More4 from Revolution Films/Renegade Pictures attempts to adapt the book of the same name by Naomi Klein. This documentary details the use of shock doctrine economics through its application in foreign situations.
The movie showcases the principle of the shock doctrine through a variety of clips, a voice over, and portions from a lecture by Naomi Klien. Through this format the film attempts to document how the concept of shock economics causes a detrimental effect to society and worldwide economics as whole. In my option this movie fails to achieve these results beyond a rudimentary effect in comparison to the book.
Universally praised for its writing style and details, the book paints a picture that details how shock economics affects different economies and people, according to a variety of reviews. But what I think is useful to know is that: Naomi Klein, the author of the book, asked to be removed from the credits of this movie due to disagreements about the "tone, content, and structure of the film," according to The Guardian. To me the movie was entertaining and enlightening especially in regard to how shock doctrine economics and the chicago boys affected Chile. Although, I do think I agree with many critics' critiques (and the author's) that throughout the documentary the director overgeneralizes with narration for emotion rather than fact. I also think that as a result the overall structure with title cards was sort of jarring and disjointed, especially compared to a documentary like Inequality for All. Conversely, I think that I can praise the similarity between shock therapy and shock doctrine. It was quite interesting, but due to the odd (and frequent) title cards, narration, and lack of interviews it makes me question a lot of the authenticity of the information. Overall I think that I would give the movie a 7/10 because while I do not think it is the best description of the shock doctrine, I do think it is a good introduction and starting point for those who have never heard about this topic before.
The movie showcases the principle of the shock doctrine through a variety of clips, a voice over, and portions from a lecture by Naomi Klien. Through this format the film attempts to document how the concept of shock economics causes a detrimental effect to society and worldwide economics as whole. In my option this movie fails to achieve these results beyond a rudimentary effect in comparison to the book.
Universally praised for its writing style and details, the book paints a picture that details how shock economics affects different economies and people, according to a variety of reviews. But what I think is useful to know is that: Naomi Klein, the author of the book, asked to be removed from the credits of this movie due to disagreements about the "tone, content, and structure of the film," according to The Guardian. To me the movie was entertaining and enlightening especially in regard to how shock doctrine economics and the chicago boys affected Chile. Although, I do think I agree with many critics' critiques (and the author's) that throughout the documentary the director overgeneralizes with narration for emotion rather than fact. I also think that as a result the overall structure with title cards was sort of jarring and disjointed, especially compared to a documentary like Inequality for All. Conversely, I think that I can praise the similarity between shock therapy and shock doctrine. It was quite interesting, but due to the odd (and frequent) title cards, narration, and lack of interviews it makes me question a lot of the authenticity of the information. Overall I think that I would give the movie a 7/10 because while I do not think it is the best description of the shock doctrine, I do think it is a good introduction and starting point for those who have never heard about this topic before.