BuzzFlash Reviews
"Our Brand is Crisis" DVD
Directed by Rachel Boynton
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– David Edelstein,
New York Magazine
Watch the trailer of "Our Brand is Crisis" first.
If you have doubts about the globalization and "neo-liberal" strategy that ties IMF and World Bank policies to "expanding democracy," this is an explosive documentary to view. It's all the more disheartening to see a key Democratic consulting firm on the wrong side of a foreign presidential campaign, this one in Bolivia in 2002. It's not the first time that James Carville's group has backed an international DLC-type against populist challengers.
Carville has become a member of the wealthy, entrenched ruling elite. His tart folksiness is now more a performance than a reflection of his political outlook.
As one of the consulting firm's senior advisors declares in Bolivia,"We must own crisis and we must brand crisis. I think we should make a commitment: We should bet the house on the message."
"As you know, we are a slave to strategy," says the Carville-backed Bolivian presidential candidate in unaccented English. (Ironically, his Spanish is heavily accented by his U.S. upbringing and education.)
The background is that this was the last hurrah for the globalists in Bolivia. The candidate that Carville's firm supported (for a steep fee we are sure) barely beat the indiginous populist, Evo Morales. But it was a pyrrhic victory.
The Carville candidate went on to tax the poor and middle class Bolivians to meet World Bank-IMF demands, instead of increasing the taxes on corporations (sound familiar?).
As a result, Bolivia exploded as citizens rose up against the government. Eventually this led to the 2005 election of the current Bolivian President, Evo Morales, who is loathed by the Bush Administration.
What is amazing about this documentary is the access that the young director, Rachel Boynton, had to the advisors from Carville's firm and the candidate that they backed. It is astounding to view the cynical calculation and manipulation practiced by Carville's consulting group, amidst their pious statements that they are supporting democracy, when it is clear that they are supporting a "neo-liberal" economic outlook that goes against the best interests of the majority of citizens in this impoverished nation.
Carville's people claim that they are "exporting democracy" by conducting focus groups and polls and "listening to the people." But they are just doing that to then turn around and manipulate public opinion into support for their candidate. The "research" does not appear to be employed at all to have an impact on the their candidate's policies, which becomes crystal clear in the disastrous aftermath following his "election."
From movie critic Sam Dolnick:
"Boynton's documentary....follows the 2002 re-election campaign of Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, a wealthy businessman who had already served as Bolivia's president -- and who didn't have much luck improving the lives of poor Bolivians the first time around.
The campaign is not doing well. The movie follows a team of Democratic political consultants who rebrand the candidate, known as Goni, as the solution to the country's economic crisis.
Using focus groups and polls to determine what the public wants to hear, and negative ads to bash a leading opponent, they craft a simple message for Goni to trumpet. The insider's view is fascinating and revealing -- and the aftermath is devastating."
From the Cinema Guild:
"Our Brand is Crisis is an astounding look at one of their campaigns and its earth-shattering aftermath. With flabbergasting access to think sessions, media training and the making of smear campaigns, we watch how the consultants’ marketing strategies shape the relationship between a leader and his people. And we see a shocking example of how the all-American art of branding can affect the “spreading of democracy” overseas.
The film follows James Carville, Jeremy Rosner and a team of U.S. political consultants as they travel to South America to help Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (a.k.a. “Goni”) become President of Bolivia. When the consultants arrive, the candidate’s prospects for a win look bleak. But the consultants are convinced Goni is the best man for the job… and with a strong message and the right brand, so will the Bolivian people.
In classic verite style, Our Brand Is Crisis is the first documentary to take viewers into the rooms where the strategies and decisions are made, giving audiences access to some astonishing realities. We watch Americans employing the same imagery and techniques used to market McDonald’s to change the political future of another country. And it happens all the time."
Released as a DVD in 2006.
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