Review: "The End of Poverty?"
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But now, we have had no less than three major documentaries taking a hard look at global economics, and their detrimental effect on those who have nothing. It started with Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story, The Yes Men Fix the World, and now Philippe Diaz's The End of Poverty. Each film takes a unique look at the adverse effect of unchecked capitalism. Moore's film focuses mainly on American capitalism and corporate greed. The Yes Men follows a group of corporate pranksters who take on corporate America for their injustices. The End of Poverty, on the other hand, takes a much larger and sweeping look at global economics, and the historical effects of colonialism on poverty in the third world today.
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It's a shocking and eye opening doc that puts a searing face on the issue of global poverty. The problem is that it may be a little too far reaching for its own good. There is a lot of information thrown at us in a very short amount of time. We are given numerous statistics and percentages of how the third world has been kept in poverty by powerful governments in the Northern Hemisphere, how the World Bank has successfully kept these countries in debt and beholden to the wealthy nations. It even traces American intervention in other countries, replacing leaders who do not fall in line with the economic wishes of their creditors with those who are seemingly more friendly. In one such instance, a young assassin was sent to take out the then leader of Iraq. The assassin, a young Saddam Hussein, failed in his mission, but saw his family given control of the country by the Americans, starting a down a path that would eventually lead to the Iraq war.
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The film throws fact after fact and statistic after statistic at us, but no real way for us to do anything about it. It's frustrating, wanting to help but knowing that the pattern is so entrenched that it's nearly impossible. The End of Poverty does a good job of laying out the historical roots of the problem, even if it could have used some streamlining and feels a bit overstuffed. But in the end it leaves the audience with a desire to make a difference and no outlet to do so.
GRADE - ★★½ (out of four)
THE END OF POVERTY?; Directed by Philippe Diaz; Narrated by Martin Sheen; Not rated; Opens tomorrow, 11/13, in NYC, and 11/25 in LA.
Comments
there is a solutions section of the film near the end.
among the solutions proposed by Cliff Cobb and Sergey Letouche
1. Forgive international debt unconditionally
2. Change the tax system in every country of the world so that it falls not on consumption or wages but on land ownership where wealth is concentrated
3. Restore the land to the people who actually work it...
4. End privatization of natural resources...
5. exiting the religion of growth and entering degrowth.
the film makes the mathematical arguement that we need 6 planets like ours to keep up with current consumption models. the earth doesn't regenerate fast enough so these offer a matrix of alternatives to go after.
you are right - the film is huge and we packed a lot in. the 3 hour cut is near and dear to my heart but we couldn't put it all in of course.
best,
mjs, co-producer
There needs to be a huge grassroots movement among the people to affect change.
poverty is systemic and therefore not easy to fix/undo.
there is no parallel to changing light bulbs or recycling more as an easy 'do it yourself ending poverty' you need to get involved with these high level issues. for example - I had these ideas and wrote a treatment for a film that thankfully Philippe Diaz liked enough to expand upon it. Start where you can with the grandest aim and see where it goes.
again - thanks for your thoughtful review.
I wonder, if you know, if it's in any way related to the Jeffrey Sachs book of the same name.
We're not fans. The question mark in the title is provocative to the conventional wisdom that Sachs represents.