The Corporation vs The New Corporation
What makes The New Corporation an unfortunately necessary sequel?
Q: When is a sequel even more, Unfortunately Necessary?
A: When it takes a Book, a Film, and a Deep Conversation with the Author, led by a top Canadian Journalist, to encourage us to seek answers to some of today’s most important moral and ethical questions that affect our day to day lives as consumers, employees and shareholders sharing this planet, our home.
The Vancouver CHW Book Club was privileged to offer North American’s an exclusive opportunity to be part of a conversation with Joel Bakan, an internationally recognized and award-winning author, producer, law scholar and teacher who has worked on landmark legal cases and government policies. Due to popular demand, viewing of the recorded talk between Joel and moderator Adam Elliott Segal will be available by tax deductible donation for you and your family, indefinitely.
For Canadians only, the film is now available on Crave tv for a limited time. The film will be released into US theatres and is available online through CoolWorld for groups, educational license and individuals.
Books are available for sale through our order form in Canada until June 5th. After that buy through Penguin RandomHouse, Amazon, local bookstores and as e-book.
This special event, in concert with the film and book, will thoughtfully inspire all ages who want to ensure a better tomorrow for ourselves and for future generations.
Please share this opportunity to create meaningful discussion. We encourage you to submit any questions and we will try to feature them.
Email: [email protected]
Joel Bakan is a professor of law at the University of British Columbia, and a legal scholar and commentator. A former Rhodes Scholar and law clerk to Chief Justice Brian Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada, Bakan has law degrees from Oxford, Dalhousie, and Harvard. A frequent recipient of awards for both his writing and teaching, Bakan has worked on landmark legal cases and government policy, and served regularly as a media commentator, appearing on national television and radio. He is a popular and accomplished public speaker who has addressed business, government, academic, and activist audiences in Canada, the U.S. and abroad.
If you have not already seen the film or read the book, The New Corporation, or the original The Corporation, we encourage you to do so at some point. The film was long- listed for an Oscar and the book is currently up for the BC and Yukon Book award. What is necessary, is to get some important insights into the green-washing of “new and presumably improved” Corporations. We need to understand what we can do as individuals and what really constitutes “fake news.”
For more visit: http://www.joelbakan.com/
The Book:
The New Corporation:
How ‘Good’ Corporations are Bad for Democracy
The world has changed a lot since 2003 when The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power pulled back the curtain on the real costs of the corporate entity and the holy grail of shareholder value above product or service, its employees, customers, or location. Political, social, and environmental disasters including the current Coronavirus, laid bare systemic inequities and a looming global crisis of epic proportions.
To appear relevant and current, big business slyly rebranded themselves as The New Corporation; socially conscious and purposeful superheroes ready to do battle often by masquerading immoral corporate actions and power grabs dressed up as saviors to pressing social initiatives.
Bakan’s The New Corporation takes a scathing look at the whole ‘doing well by doing good’ movement, exploring how companies insidiously position themselves as ‘good corporate citizens’ without acknowledging the damage they cause.
Meanwhile it takes students like Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai and locally, Western Canadian activists like Tzeporah Berman, Politicians like Chief Judy Wilson and Elizabeth May and more recently, after the book and film, passionate young men and women like Nova Stevens, the current Miss Universe Canada, who came to Canada as a refugee at 6, and helped get Emancipation Day recognized in Vancouver, and Canada. Globally, grassroots citizen movements were born or re-invigorated to address issues like CEO compensation in the face of huge gender and racial disparity, climate, food security, housing, aging and health care that can no longer be ignored. Even the very concept of democracy is in question given the combination of corporate and governmental global actions and inactions.
Here’s a Clip from audiobook
The Film: The New Corporation:
The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel
It literally took the pandemic to unwrap a wrap for this film, as it became unfortunately, an even more necessary sequel than Joel Bakan and Jennifer Abbott could ever have imagined given the additional gamechangers of the end of the Trump term, US election events and COVID-19. The New Corporation traces the devastating consequences of a world perilously close to losing its foundation of democracy, a world remade in the corporation’s image-split between the primary responsibility (by definition) to the shareholder’s interests and the public good. Bakan and Abbott graphically connect the dots between then and now, including the cataclysmic changes within the timing of the making of the film because according to Bakan, of the “ways governments and corporations responded to it hit upon just about every one of our themes – privatization, economic and racial injustice, corporate greed.” Its final cut did not just leave us in despair but rather inspired us to keep forcing accountability with stories of resistancew we and change from around the world that demands both a thriving public and private sector.
Bakan added, “It’s really interesting to see how corporations – especially those that purport to embrace purpose and sustainability, ones that say they care – have pushed Trump to be even more Trump-ish. Major US corporations at the helm of the ‘new’ corporation movement continue to lobby for tax cuts and deregulation that disable governments from promoting the very social and environmental values they purport to care about. We allude to this in the film, andI provide chapter and verse in the book. So, yes Trump has given more carte blanche – but big business has pushed him to give even more than he might have.”
The film shows how corporations have become skilled at “camouflaging their activities, dressing up in shades of green and paying lip service to diversity and innovation.” The book and film could easily spawn many more necessary sequels while delineating a bird’s eye view of these chaotic times. The onus is thrown back on us to make the necessary connections and to actively seek meaningful solutions if we want to leave our children and grandchildren a real future.
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Meet our Moderator
Adam Elliott Segal
Asked why Adam was excited to moderate Joel’s talk....
“Presenting Joel's book and film, The New Corporation, resonates with me personally. All Canadians should be deeply concerned with our relationship to government and business and the ethical crossroads we find ourselves at in a technologically-driven world that rewards private companies at the expense of the individual.
How we chart a path forward in the future following the pandemic is inevitably up to us, but Bakan's book illustrates ways in which we as individuals can monitor and protect the environment, keep corporations in check and remain diligent and determined on a local and international level to providing a better future for the next generation”.
You will really appreciate Adam’s approach to moderate the discussion from some very unique perspectives.
About Adam
Adam Elliott Segal is a writer, editor, journalist and author. Winner of the 2020 Toronto Star Short Story Contest for his story “Burning” and nominated for a 2020 National Magazine Award for “The Dahlia,” he has published award-winning work in leading Canadian magazines and newspapers over the last two decades and lived and worked in Canada’s three largest cities. Passionate about social justice and social issues, he has written about black market adoption for Maisonneuve, genetics and DNA for This magazine and his byline has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Vancouver Province, Reader’s Digest, enRoute, Chatelaine and VICE.
He has held editorial and administrative roles at Hot Docs International Film Festival, Sportsnet, Spafax and holds a Combined Honours Degree in Comparative and English Literature from the University of Western Ontario and diplomas from the Humber School for Writers and the Ryerson Publishing program. Originally from Vancouver, he lives in Toronto with his wife, and their cat, Cleo and now, his most creative work to date, his newborn son, Jonah.
Learn more about Adam Segal:
Don’t miss this extended opportunity.
Replay of interview will be available indefinitely by tax deductible donation. Don’t miss out!
The must-see documentary of the year"
FORBES
A very important book: an arresting study directed to a central issue of the times.”
--Noam Chomsky
“Impeccably researched and beautifully written.”
--Wendy Brown
“Vital reading for all who are concerned to protect the public good, life, and freedom.”
--Vandana Shiva
“A rigorously argued manifesto against corporate capitalism.”
--Kirkus Reviews
Here are interesting production notes:
Ten years after the release of The Corporation, which remains the most successful Canadian documentary ever made, The New Corporation’s genesis rose from an initial meeting in January 2015 between Producer Trish Dolman and members of the team behind the original 2003 film about the possibility of a sequel. Producer Betsy Carson joined the team that same month and Writer/Director Joel began writing the treatment for the sequel based on ideas he had been formulating for his follow-up book The New Corporation: How ‘Good’ Corporations are Bad for Democracy.
Research, development, fundraising and preliminary interviews took place from January 2015 through 2017. In 2017, Associate Producer Dawn Brett-Hauschild joined the team to secure the core interviews for the project and director Jennifer Abbott (co-director and Editor of The Corporation) re-joined the team as Director and supervising editor. With extensive and ongoing research completed and development shooting secured, and DOP Ian Kerr on board, principal photography began in early 2018 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Filming took place for the next two years around the world at the following locations: Vancouver, BC Berkeley, CA Boston, MA Los Angeles, CA New York, NY Portland, OR San Francisco, CA Seattle, WA London, UK Brussels, Belgium Davos, Switzerland Nairobi, Kenya Barcelona, Spain Sydney, Australia.
Post-production began concurrently with filming. In 2018, editor Peter Roeck came on board to help craft Joel’s treatment into a feature documentary structure. Sound Designer Velcrow Ripper and Composer Matt Robertson worked closely with the editing team throughout 2019 and 2020. Principal archival researcher Kate Lingley sourced more than 1100 clips for the film over the 2 years of the edit. The film was completed in mid-August of 2020.
Interview Subjects included Anjali Appadurai Chris Barrett Heidi Boghosian Wendy Brown Lord John Browne Ada Colau John Coyne Peter Dauvergne Richard Edelman Marshall Ganz Angelo Gavrielatos Anand Giridharadas Bibop Gresta Juan Gonzalez Nick Hanauer Michael Hardt Chris Hedges John Hepburn Vallerie Keller Sanjay Jain Murrawah Johnson Sam La Rocca Abrahm Lustgarten Elizabeth May Shannon May Ray Madoff Paul Mason Heather McGhee Stacy Mitchell Sandra Navidi Grand Chief Stewart Phillip Joseph Stiglitz Diane Ravitch Robert Reich Michael Sandel Kshama Sawant Klaus Schwab Dr. Vandana Shiva Wilson Sossion Dr ha-Hong Sun Jonathan Tasini Robert Weissman Micah White Chief Judy Wilson.
 
 
 
Our Deepest Gratitude
Words cannot express our appreciation to Joel Bakan, Adam Segal, Cool World and Penguin House for allowing us to bring this exclusive opportunity to offer such an important book, film and discussion to a broad audience. The ability to ask direct questions to Joel is unique, and we already have received thoughtful submissions from some well known names in the fields of environmental stewardship, business and entertainment. Yours are welcome as well.
They say it takes a village. In our case, this took a loyal book club with a cause and a dedicated committee. Special kudos for the incredible hard work of our Co-Chairs Bev Corber and Marilyn Hooper as well as the Vancouver and National office staff including our new National Director, Lisa Colt.
To each of our sponsors and patrons listed above, we are grateful beyond words for your support and what it will mean to Children and Women at this time.
Special thanks to our previous book club featured authors, Don Chapman of The Lost Canadians and Mozhdah Jamalzadah , the Oprah of Afghanistan, with Author Roberta Staley who told Mozhdah’s story in ‘Voice of Rebellion ’. Their passionate determination to help others effect big changes on a personal and national scale, set a high bar, making Joel Bakan’s global sights set on the biggest corporations, a perfect progression.
Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) is a non-political, non-partisan national network of dedicated volunteers and professionals who strongly believe that the advancement of childcare, education, healthcare, and women’s issues transcends politics, religion and national boundaries.
Randi Winter:
Facilitator/Social Entrepreneur
It is an gift to be able to combine my passions and purpose in reading and writing, creating and curating content, researching and interviewing as well as mentoring and volunteering to further engage (or entice) you to be part of Joel Bakan’s insight as a law professor, author, film maker and illusion breaker. Wherever you live, it is impossible to ignore the effects of politics, the pandemic and personal vs corporate responsibility.
I am proud to be an early supporter and adopter of new digital technology, like Magma . It is one way to ensure equality of opportunity for us all to tell our stories quickly, easily and armed with nothing more than a cell phone and an idea.
Wearing any of my hats in the travel and event world, The P2P Life , my work in the non-profit 501 (3) c world Diabetes and Me , writing for LuxeBeat , being a co-author in Pursuit:365 and my years of being part of an active CHW leadership team gives me opportunities to be a facilitator, connector, and problem solver in words, thoughts and deeds.
I’d love to hear from you after our event, and your thoughts on this new publication.
