This documentary’s made by Alex Gibney. It tells the story of the rise and fall of Enron, a corporation known as the most spectacularly crooked of modern times.
It's based on the book The Smartest Guys In The Room written by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind.
The story is told by a narrator and McLean and Elkind (authors) act more or less as additional narrators.
Other key expositors are the Enron shareholders attorney Bill Lerach, Mike Muckleroy, ex executive of Enron, Amanda Martin-Brock, an Ennron vice-president Sherron Watkins, and former Republican Party strategist Kevin Phillips.
Enron Corporation was an American energy company based in Houston Texas. It was one of the leading energy companies in United States and was repeatedly named as “America’s most innovative company”. Enron was found to have used various accounting methods to misrepresent its financials.
Approximately 22,000 employees lost their jobs after the company filed for bankruptcy. Dreams of many of them were shattered into pieces. Families of the employees were left devastated.
Honestly, i did not enjoy the documentary. It was too dull for me. In style, it was a generic documentary. No distinctively personal style or a bit of humor, no reality-television false dramatics. The opening was kinda catchy, but after that it relies almost entirely on the content to create its impact. But that is my personal taste.
But considering the topic and its seriousness, i wouldn’t change the style of the documentary.
I would’ve only make the film shorter and adviced people to go and purchase the book for further details.
The movie starts with a lady describing Enron as an arrogant, intolerant and greedy company which led to fraud. Within a matter of time, the company was bankrupt. The top executives made millions by cooking the books and hiding all the materialistic information from the customers and its staff. The key players in the scandal were Chairman Kenneth Lay, CEO Jeff Skilling and CFO Andrew Fastow.
I’ve learned that a very important lesson: People act in their own best intereset. Many of the executives were only thinking of themselves.
Business ethics did not play any role in decision making. This made the culture of the company ethically weak.
Traders were not disciplined in this company because the main goal was money, their leadership team was extremely weak in terms of morality. They did not put their foot down regarding sending a message to act ethically.
The company was led a few bad apples who not only were dishonest but also corrupted the whole system.
Greed played a big role in this scam of an organization. Greed, a human characteristic played a major role in materializing the fraud. The executives were focused on increasing their bank balances rather than building the company.
Enron was in my opinion doomed to fail.
I’ve learned that this type of business is called "Synergistic corruption". In other words, the more corruption you've got, the more you can create. Anybody who's near it can make money by joining in, and the bigger the network gets, the more goodies there are to go around.
Instead of putting a stop to it people are seduced into participating in the lies and scams because they are promised to get a piece of the action.
Would i set up a business in this industry? No. I would probably fail before i even begin. Or i’d have to scam my way out of it like Enron did, but how long did it last before the company started falling apart?
I would’ve probably do a pyramid scam if i had too. That’s considered ‘legal’. Think of Bitcoin or ACN. It’s a system where you can make money of the people you introduce to the system. They pay a introduction fee, and work beneath you. And everytime they introduce someone else tot he company, you get a percentage of their fee. I would to this with common products that are hard to purchase.
What the health? (2007)
What the Health is a follow-up film from the creators of the award-winning documentary Cowspiracy. The film exposes the collusion and corruption in government and big business that is costing us trillions of healthcare dollars, and keeping us sick.
What the Health exposes how deep the corruption is by attempting to interview various leaders in several health organizations such as the American Diabetes Association, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the USDA etc.
What the health caught my attention right away. Kip Anderson leaves no time to waste. He starts with many hard-hitting facts, and he tackles common assumptions about animal products.
Although this comes across as a little rushed, it tells the viewer the urgency of the subject matter and gains the viewers intrigue.
This documentary taught me that we all have been brainwashed in to thinking that these organizations are trying to help us. These organizations collect millions of dollars in donations every year from hard-working people to make them think they are searching for a cure, meanwhile, they’re also accepting millions of dollars in donations and sponsorships from corporations that are causing our most harmful diseases in the first place.
One of the quotes that stood out for me were off Dr Milton Mills. He said “Our government is encouraging Americans of colour to eat foods that it knows will make them ill. This is so that it will benefit dairy farmers. That is a form of institutionalised racism.”
This qoute along with the data showing the environmental impact in this documentary, as well as occasional clips of animals within farms, made me question meat, dairy and eggs in my diet. Is this really as healthy as we think it is?
The companies that are being addressed (American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, Susan G Komen and American Medical Association.) give me a good glimpse of what the effects are in a money making business. People their lives/health are involved and it doesn’t matter, because they can make money off it. It’s sad, because these people trust these companies. The principles of these companies are all wrong.They lack integrity and honesty. Two common business ethics companies NEED in the health business. They are denying the public the truth about their intentions.
If i would set up a company in this business, i would start with a Vegan company. I am not vegan but it is a lifestyle that’s gaining popularity, it’s seems to be healthier way of living, – eventhough i wonder if they get enough vitamines and proteins out of their diet-. People are opening up allot of vegan restaurants, raising awareness, developing cookbooks. This would be a company that would generate an honest income and that will NOT jeopordize people’s health but instead learn them a healthier way of life.It’s a win-win situation.
It’s entirely your choice to consume these unhealthy products and to support these organizations. The best, most effective and easiest way to change this corrupted system is by how we spend e ouroney. If we do not buy it, they won’t make it. If we stop donating, they’ll be forced to change their mission. A cure is great, but prevention is even better.