Surplus (film)
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| Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Erik Gandini |
| Produced by | Erik Gandini |
| Written by | Erik Gandini |
| Music by | David Österberg |
| Cinematography | Lukas Eisenhauer
Carl Nilsson |
| Editing by | Johan Söderberg |
| Release date(s) | 21 November 2003 |
| Running time | 54 min. |
| Language | Swedish / Spanish / English |
| IMDb profile | |
Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers is a 2003 Swedish documentary film on consumerism and globalization, created by director Erik Gandini and editor Johan Söderberg. It opens with footage of the protests at the 27th G8 summit in Genoa and centers on the views of anarcho-primitivist John Zerzan. Zerzan has written several books and numerous articles questioning various aspects of civilization taken for granted - such as time, progress, culture, technology, even language and mathematics.
He argues that peaceful protest has almost no impact. People don't take it seriously, he says. It doesn't "deserve" to be taken seriously. He advocates "property damage" and "property destruction." While condemning violence against people, he claims "you can't violate a building or a window." He favors dismantling technology and returning to a way of life in-tune with nature.
The documentary relies heavily on fast-paced audio-visual collage techniques, resembling MTV videos and commercials. It uses lip-synching to subvert the ideas of those in power, like having George W. Bush speak for Adbusters or Fidel Castro mouth the words of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer: "I love this company! Yeah!" It also uses music to emphasize action.
Contents |
[edit] People appearing in the documentary
- John Zerzan, anarcho-primitivist writer, author of Elements of Refusal (1988), Future Primitive (1994), Against Civilization: A Reader (1998) and Running on Emptiness (2002)
- George W. Bush, President of the United States
- Fidel Castro, President of Cuba
- Kalle Lasn, from Adbusters
- Matt McMullen, RealDoll sex-doll manufacturer
- Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft since 2000
- Bill Gates, Chairman of the Board and Chief Software Architect of Microsoft
- Tania, Havana, Cuba
- Mirta Muñiz, Cuba ("toothpaste lady")
- Svante Tidholm, from Stockholm, Sweden, a wealthy web-designer of Spray and author of the autobiographical novel Loser (Wahlström & Widstrand, 1998, Swedish)
- Carlo Giuliani, Activist and anarchist killed during Anti-G8 demonstrations in Genoa, 2001
[edit] Music
- Gotan Project
- Tosca
- Aphrodelics
- Marc O´Sullivan - The Might Quark
[edit] Locations
- Genoa, Italy - 27th G8 summit (2001)
- Shanghai, China - Stock Exchange
- Alang, India - Metal reclaiming
- USA / Cuba / Hungary / Sweden / Canada
[edit] External links
- (Swedish) Official website
