| Directer: | Mat Whitecross & Michael Winterbottom |
| Starring: | |
| Countries: | UK |
| Genre: | Documentary |
| Year: | 2009 |
| Type: | Color |
| Language: | In English, with Closed Captioning |
| Length: | 78 minutes |
| Aspect Ratio: | 16:9 aspect ratio |
A brilliant skewering of modern economics in the tradition of Inside Job and The Corporation.
From acclaimed filmmakers Michael Winterbottom (The Trip, The Killer Inside Me) and Mat Whitecross (The Road to Guantanamo), and based on Naomi Klein's provocative bestselling book of the same name, The Shock Doctrine is a gripping and incisive deconstruction of how radical “free market” policies have come to dominate the world.
Using “shock therapy” as a metaphor, the film investigates Klein’s central idea of “disaster capitalism.” When countries are jolted by catastrophic events such as war or natural disasters, they are often subjected to totally un-regulated “free market” remedies that benefit corporations at public expense. The film traces the doctrine’s beginnings from the theories of Milton Friedman and the Chicago School economists, through its implementation over the past 40 years in Pinochet’s Chile, Yeltsin’s Russia, Thatcher’s Britain, and the American Neo-Con directed invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Critical Acclaim
“Polished and persuasive...fluent and mesmerizing”
-Leslie Felperin, Variety
“Slams more information and anger into 82 minutes than most networks convey in a full 24-hour news cycle.”
-Jason Bailey, DVD Talk
“Will clear some things up for you about how the powerful have rigged the political game to
give themselves even more wealth.”
-Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Official Selection -Sundance Film Festival
