Mclibel Film by Franny Armstrong and Ken Loach - Movie Review Example

The paper "Mclibel Film by Franny Armstrong and Ken Loach" is a good example of a movie review on business.
Part 1 - This section introduces “two people who wouldn’t say sorry”, namely Helen Steel and Dave Morris. They are ordinary people who talk about childhood bullies and the need to bring children up to stand up for what they believe in. It is clear that they have the moral courage to stand up to the powerful junk food provider, McDonald's but they did not realize how much their early protests would later change their lives, and at first, they did not realize that their protest group was being infiltrated by spies employed by McDonald's.

Part 2 - McDonald's sends a writ to the protestors and demands that they apologize. The two protesters show great courage in refusing to do this. The whole legal system seems to favor McDonald's because the protesters had to represent themselves while McDonald's had the best lawyers money can buy.

Part 3 - Helen and Dave had to defend every word that had been printed in the protest leaflet. They won the argument about the nutritional dangers of junk food. The next question was about McDonalds’ advertising strategy – they were claiming to serve nutritious food, and they were advertising directly to children, even in schools and cinemas. The example of direct marketing at a children’s party was described as brainwashing.

Part 4 - The actor who played the clown character Ronald McDonald is shown saying how he could not remain in that job because it bothered him to be selling junk food to children. McDonald's tries to stop the court action against Helen and Dave, but there is no basis for agreement because McDonald's will not agree to any of Helen's and Dave’s conditions. Damage to the environment through packaging is shown.

Part 5 - In 1996 the anti-McDonalds protest makes its presence felt on the internet, which was just coming into its own as a means of publicity. This brought them more donations and supporters. Some workers report on the poor working conditions, such as low pay, high turnover, and very repetitive, mechanized work with no room for initiative. No union activity is allowed on McDonald's premises.

Part 6 - The culture of McDonald's is described as one of uniformity, conformity, and control and this is becoming increasingly the norm in modern society. The issue of animal welfare is raised, and the use of chemicals in cattle farming is shown to cause disease in humans. Poultry conditions are shown to be cruel – they are treated as a commodity and not a living being.

Part 7 - The cost of McDonald's seems cheap when you consider the cost of a meal, but the point is made that there is a much greater cost in terms of harm to the environment and risk to human health. The role of multinational corporations is discussed – they have more power than some countries.

Part 8 - After 340 days in court, the judgment day comes. The protesters were fined £60,000 which was reduced to £40,000 on appeal. About half of their points were upheld by the court.

Part 9 - The protesters take the UK government to the European Court on freedom of speech issues. They win this case. The film shows how two ordinary people can take on a multinational and win.