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| Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Erik Gandini |
| Written by | Erik Gandini |
| Produced by | Erik Gandini |
| Cinematography | Lukas EisenhauerCarl Nilsson |
| Edited by | Johan Söderberg |
| Music by | David Österberg Johan Söderberg |
Release date |
|
Running time | 54 min.(approx.) |
| Country | Sweden |
| Languages | Swedish Spanish English |
Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers is a 2003 Swedishdocumentary film onconsumerism andglobalization, created by directorErik Gandini and editorJohan Söderberg. It looks atcapitalism andtechnology, exploring arguments that their promises have not been fulfilled, and never will be. The film features explanations ofanarcho-primitivist ideology, alongside calls for a "simple and fulfilling life".
Opening
John Zerzan
Cuba
Internet
New Ethic
Interviews withanarcho-primitivist John Zerzan are featured prominently.
Director Erik Gandini explained the context behind the film's production: "I don't want to send messages, and I don't take sides. I'm a filmmaker, I'm interested in understanding issues that are of interest to everyone. I was in Genoa at the G8, they burned my Fiat 500, and I tried to understand why someone had done it." He said: "When I returned to Sweden, I found that the Gothenburg protests in March were still being discussed, but, as here, always from the perspective of public order."[1]
Surplus uses many montages. It overtly useslip-synching to put words in the mouth of people who hold similar or contrasting positions of world power. Examples of this areGeorge W. Bush speaking forAdbusters, andFidel Castro mouthing the words ofMicrosoftCEOSteve Ballmer: "I love this company! Yeah!"
Inil manifesto, Nicola Falcinella wrote thatSurplus "offers spectacle and investigation" of an era when "the globalization of consumer society is under attack", and said that it "combines images and music with great rhythm and technical expertise without turning them into a long video clip".[1]Adbusters magazine calledSurplus "an open declaration of war on terror".[2]
Presenting the film with the Silver Wolf Award, the jury of the 2003International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam said:
This film about consumerism totally consumed us. It used the language of music video, propaganda and commercial advertising as a response to the forces of globalisation. It fights fire with fire. The questions it raises are ultimately more important than any answers it might suggest. And we believe audiences can only profit from the debate that will ensue. For its originality, sense of humour, irony, forcefulness and visual virtuosity, the Silver Wolf Award goes to SURPLUS.[2]