Three new subversive treats for the eyes and the creative mind:
The Take: Occupy. Resist. Produce. There have been several movies made about the anti-corporatism movement, but The Take, a new documentary from Naomi Klein (nologo)
and Avi Lewis (son and grandson of the former NDP leaders, and producer
of Counterspin), is different. Its heroes don't just protest, they take
charge. The website intro says it perfectly):
In the wake of Argentina’s
spectacular economic collapse in 2001, Latin America’s most prosperous
middle class finds itself in a ghost town of abandoned factories and
mass unemployment. In suburban Buenos Aires, thirty unemployed
auto-parts workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats
and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines.
But this simple act —the take —has the power to turn the globalization
debate on its head. The directors take viewers inside the lives of
ordinary visionaries, as they reclaim their work, their dignity and
their democracy.
What they mean by "turning globalization on it's head" is that, instead
of striking, withholding services, the people's best response to
corporatism is insisting on working,
not allowing the government-corporate hegemony, what Lewis' grandfather
called "the corporate welfare class", to deprive workers of their right
to decent jobs. Watch the trailer. And if you can't see the movie in
your theatres, you'll soon be able to buy it on the website. Think of
it as an investment in the movement, and in Canada's venerable National
Film Board, a wonderful example of the value of government support of
independent media.
I've realized that this is what is missing from by book Natural
Enterprise, perhaps the 'hook' it needs to attract a publisher: A
manifesto for how taking the economy into our own hands, and wrenching
it away from the conspiracy of thieves who run it today will benefit
the vast majority, and perhaps save our world in the process. As Klein
says puts it: "Argentina is supposedly this heavily indebted country
that owes everything to the world. What people in Argentina are saying
is 'actually, you owe us, we’ve been subsidizing you.' And they’re not
just saying it, they’re acting on it. And to me that’s the future of
activism."
On the Day the World Ends: Here's a stunning example of poetry combined with film, brought to you by Adbusters. I've got to learn to do this. Just watch.
Free the Genie: Creative thinking from a small partnership of innovation consultants called Idea Champions.
Fifty-five hints to stimulate creativity and lateral thinking are
posted on cards. You can deal one out online (like the one pictured
above). You can buy ($20) the whole deck and deal yourself a hand to
provoke your thinking in real space. You can even have the deck
installed on your corporate intranet so everyone can use it to get
their right brains moving. I've read through quite a few of the cards
and the quality is uniformly excellent. A great deal of thought and
work has obviously gone into their development.
The Idea Champions website is one of the finest sites I have ever seen
-- cleverly designed, well laid out, aesthetically attractive,
content-rich, stimulating, and it makes full use of the visual and
interactive aspects on the online experience. I've been exchanging
e-mails with Idea Champion Mitch Ditkoff, and I'm really hooked. There
are hours of useful and fascinating guidance on their website, all of
it smartly written. The free downloads are great fun, and having fun at
work is clearly a hallmark of the group's philosophy. The FAQ is
hilarious, and you actually feel you've got to know the people at Idea
Champions by the time you finish it. And one of their products,
Innovator 2.0, includes a 'collaboration space' to allow shared
creative activities. Readers will know I'm a skeptic about whether an
'online collaboration tool' is even possible, but if anyone can pull
this off, they can. I'm also astonished that they can make ends meet in
today's anti-innovation business climate.
I'm hoping to get a peek into the inside workings of Idea Champions,
and an opportunity to meet with their team. If I can, I'll report more
here on How to Save the World. Meanwhile, if your company recognizes the value of creative thinking and innovation, check these guys out.
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