Doco ignores inconvenient facts

The New Zealand-made documentary Capital in the 21st Century is a mightily impressive piece of film-making. Inspired by the best-selling 2014 book of the same name by the Left-wing French economist Thomas Piketty, it’s taut, fast-moving and masterfully edited. Auckland director Justin Pemberton makes inventive use of graphics, montages, music and even clips from old movies to keep the viewer engaged.

Originally screened as part of the International Film Festival and now on commercial release, Capital in the 21st Century has received admiring reviews. Some critics say it translated Piketty’s 700-page book into something easily digestible and even entertaining

The film uses every trick in the documentarymaker’s book to dramatise its message, which is that capitalism is rigged in favour of the ultra-rich and basically rotten to the core. Viewers receptive to that message will have come away more convinced than ever that capitalism should be dismantled.

As I say, an impressive piece of film-making – in fact a masterpiece of the propagandist’s art.

The basics of effective propaganda film-making are no mystery. They consist of being highly selective about the information presented, which means carefully excluding anything that doesn’t conform with the desired message, and then delivering it in the manner most likely to manipulate the viewer’s emotions.

The American film-maker Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 )isa master of these techniques. But with Pemberton’s emergence, Moore’s status as the king of cinematic agitprop has been challenged.

As with all the best propaganda movies, there is a grain of truth in Pemberton’s film. It focuses relentlessly on the excesses of global corporate capitalism, the emergence of a super-wealthy elite and the disparities between rich and poor. It conveys this message via a succession of eloquent talking heads and powerful images, many of them chosen for maximum emotional impact rather than veracity or strict relevance to the script

Even a defender of capitalism can nod in agreement with some of the points made. Unrestrained greed is no easier to justify in the 21st century than it was in the 19th.

But what Capital in the 21st Century lacks is any notion of balance, because propaganda is never about presenting two sides of a story.

The possibility that capitalism might be beneficial isn’t considered. The film doesn’t mention inconvenient facts such as World Bank figures which show that 1.1 billion fewer people are living in extreme poverty than in 1990.

Most of the people who have been lifted out of poverty in that time live in capitalist economies that Capital in the 21st Century damns as concentrating massive wealth in the hands of a tiny elite.

Neither does the film mention that life expectancy is steadily improving around the world, because this doesn’t gel with its resolutely pessimistic portrayal of how humanity is faring under capitalism.

It shouldn’t have been too hard to find a talking head willing to point out that ordinary people generally do well in market economies where the excesses of capitalism are moderated by liberal democratic government, as in New Zealand. Capitalism and democracy are the magic combination.

Such countries consistently lead global rankings not only for prosperity but for freedom and respect for human rights, which is why they are a beacon to people desperate to escape corrupt and oppressive states.

Hardly anyone, other than the fictional Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, argues that unbridled capitalism is the pinnacle of human civilisation. It’s a matter of getting the balance right, as many countries do. But Capital in the 21st Century isn’t interested in such nuances. It conveys the impression that capitalism is incapable of being anything other than exploitative and unfair.

And here’s the interesting thing. Apart from making a general pitch in favour of a tax crackdown on the super-rich, the film doesn’t put forward any economic model as an alternative to capitalism. At the end, I was left wondering what system the film-maker would prefer us to adopt. It can’t be socialism, because that’s failed wherever it’s been tried. But the film doesn’t say, and I think that’s either a copout or dishonest.

Hardly anyone, other than the fictional Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, argues that unbridled capitalism is the pinnacle of human civilisation.

Footnote: In my last column, I speculated that Justice Minister Andrew Little indulged in political mischief by appointing Paul Hunt as Chief Human Rights Commissioner. In hindsight, I should have re-read a column I wrote six months ago in which I reported that Little had accepted the recommendation of an interview panel. If we accept that, and I have no reason to doubt it, the appointment was not initiated by him. This acknowledgment was not prompted by any complaint from Little or anyone else. It is a voluntary act of atonement for my error.