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Here is a documentary by Naomi Klein- one of the more intelligent Liberal commentators. The film makes some very good points about brands and their power over us (I have been saying similar things on this blog). Unfortunately the film offers no solutions. This is because Naomi can only blame the usual suspects (men, capitalism, the USA) because she cannot blame the people she hopes will buy her book (feminists, socialists and so on). This leads her to treat consumers (mostly women) as simple sheep who buy whatever is put in front of them.
We all want to agree with Naomi and blame the business man. There is something sickening about millionaire CEO's using youth rebellion to sell clothing and then paying sweatshop workers five dollars a day to make it. The problem is that this leads nowhere. Would it help to abolish brands? No. It would simply make life dull and grey. Would it even help if we were to stop buying this stuff? No. This would simply throw the sweatshop workers out of work. For all her carefully targeted criticism Naomi has no solution.
The great irony and hypocrisy is that Naomi is the very thing she hates. She admits that she decided to write the book when she became aware of an anti corporate political movement. In other words she identified a market and then wrote a book to appeal to a particular demographic. She has branded her variety of outrage and sells it to liberals who lap it up. Unfortunately the product is as empty and hollow as the brands she criticises.
In short- this film describes the current situation brilliantly but offers no solution. It remains worth a view.