Before I continue with this thread, alert reader Lyle pointed out to me that the Tet Corporation from the Dark Tower series is, in fact, not evil. I apologize for the mix-up. I never finished the series, but have a dim recollection that they were bad guys. I think I got them mixed up with the Sombra Corporation, who actually are the bad guys. So, thanks Lyle, for pointing that out. And for completely ruining the premise of my blog. :)
Anyway, where was I?
Ah, yes. Kittens.
So, how come there are never ‘good’ corporations in movies? Is the idea that corporations are evil (pardon me, EVIL) simply engrained in our consciousness?
And if a corporation is shown as being the good guys, they’re one of two types: either an EVIL corporation in disguise or some paramilitary organization that assassinates people for the greater good.
There’s never a Kittens, Inc., whose mission statement is to ‘spread love and smiles throughout the world via the aggressive use of kittens.’
You never get this:
Rebel Leader: “All right, here’s the plan. We go in at midnight, subdue the guards, and then plant C4 throughout the building. Once we’re clear, we’ll detonate and take out those bastards’ entire power base!”
New Guy: “Great! What’s our target?”
Rebel Leader: “Those murderous scumbags at Kittens, Inc.!”
New Guy: “You mean the corporation that uses kittens to solve the world’s problems, one adorable whisker at a time?”
Rebel Leader: “But they’re a corporation! They’re EVIL!”
New Guy: “Ummm, not really. I mean, they could do more to combat poverty and disease in sub-Saharan Africa, but kittens aren’t really the best weapon there.”
Rebel Leader: “So what are you saying?”
New Guy: “Relatively speaking, we’re the bad guys.”
Rebel Leader: “Huh. Anybody know how to form a corporation?”
Cheers,
-Jason
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8 comments:
To be honest, after I wrote that comment, I had an "Oh crap, I hope I'm right about that" moment.
I wouldn't be too surprised to learn that Tet Co. did some fairly evil things in the name of protecting the Rose, though.
In a society where schooling is a way of making money, where naïve teachers, inspired by watching Dead poets society, are crushed at their first day of work when the principal tells them; "we're not here to teach. We're here to make money", I'd say that yes, corporations are evil, and money-hungry.
Considering the main purpose of corporations, and the reason they're created, is to be a safe way of investing money and make more money, and the laws created for corporations are there to help those goals... Yeah, pretty much. I mean, there's no law against good corporations, and no real reason that a corporation can't be good, but, that's like creating a pistol for cleaning (and not that kind of cleaning) your apartment. You can probably attach a brush to it, but it's not going to be very good for it, and you're wasting a lot of potential for "cleaning" (yes, that kind of cleaning).
Uh... Yeah... That's all I have. The word verification thinks I'm a little weird, but doesn't chime in on anything else.
Nah, I looked it up on Wikipedia (the source of all knowledge) and they're the good guys. Good call! :)
Well, I would argue that there's nothing intrinsically bad with wanting to make money, it's just when they start edging into the 'grey' areas that I start to get nervous. Making money - great. Manipulating politics and the public to make money - verging on evil. Thanks for the comments as always, Silver :)
Oh, yeah. Right. That's just me being a silly communist.
But still, the whole deal seems made for evil. Corporations have their own laws, they consist of a bunch of rich kids throwing money at it, to make more money, and the laws protect them from losing money if the corporation fails to make a profit, or the stock plummets when the corporation is found to use the blood of newborn kittens to lubricate the wheels of their company cars.
The whole separate set of laws, and protected interests thingy really feels like it's a perfect set-up for EVIL.
PS. I think you're word verification has been drinking. It sounds drunk.
A good Corporation is called Foundation, you know. Soits easier to distinguish between them. Like the black and withe hats in wild west films.
For example:
Knight Foundation
or
Phoenix foundation
But I guess this Foundation was a child of the 80 years. :-)
PS.: I dont tell you from wich serial the above foundations are. Shame on you if you dindt know it yourself. :-)
Others have seen the trend as well:
http://www.evil-comic.com/
I have heard of the Phoenix Foundation RalfTshu, though the Knight Foundation was new to me. I guess I'm only half shamed :)
Oh, yeah! Evil-Inc! It's a fun comic. I got a chance to talk to the creator, Brad Guigar, at last year's Emerald City (briefly). He was very cool and very amiable.
Knight Foundation was from Knight Rider.
Phoenix Foundation was from McGyver.
:-D
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