''Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers'' is a 2003 Swedish

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...

and

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

, created by director

Erik Gandini Erik Walter Gandini (born 14 August 1967) is an Italian-Swedish film director, writer, and producer anprofessorof documentary film at Stockholm University of the Arts. His film '' The Swedish Theory of Love'' premiered at the 2015 Stockholm Inter ...

and editor Johan Söderberg. It looks at the arguments for

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

, such as greater efficiency, more time and less work, and argues that these are not being fulfilled, and they never will be. The film leans towards

anarcho-primitivist Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of civilization (anti-civ) that advocates a return to non-civilized ways of life through deindustrialization, abolition of the division of labor or specialization, and abandonment of large-scale or ...

ideology and argues for 'a simple and fulfilling life'.

Synopsis

Opening *Footage of the protests at the

27th G8 summit The 27th G8 summit was held in Genoa, Italy, on 20–22 July 2001 and is remembered as the peak of the worldwide anti-globalization movement as well as for human rights crimes against demonstrators. Overview The Group of Seven ( G7) was an unoffi ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. *

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

gives a speech. John Zerzan *

John Zerzan John Edward Zerzan ( ; born August 10, 1943) is an American anarchist and primitivist ecophilosopher and author. His works criticize agricultural civilization as inherently oppressive, and advocates drawing upon the ways of life of hunter-gathe ...

is interviewed. RealDoll * RealDoll manufacturer gives a tour of his warehouse, showing the variety and cost of the sex-dolls. Cuba *Mirta Muñes shows the Cuban ration card, Cuban toothpaste. *Pre Fidel Speech Parade, Fidel going up to the pulpit. *Tania speaks about having gone out of Cuba, amazed by supermarkets, McDonald's, and gaining a lot of weight. Internet *Internet-wealthy Svante says he hates money, feels empty. *John Zerzan on emptiness in consumer society. * Ballmer's monkeyboy dance and then "I love this company" statement intermixed with workers stretching, then Fidel Castro lip-synched to "I love this company". *footage from

Alang Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Because it is home to the Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang beaches are considered the world's largest ship graveyard. Demographics As of the 2001 Indian census, Alan ...

, India where it says 40,000 workers scrap ships to recycle steel. *John Zerzan speech saying violent protesting is better than peaceful protesting, intermixed with a car show, and protesting. New Ethic *John Zerzan says corporate property of Starbucks or similar is the main target of his criticism due to being understood as destructive and wiping out freedom and diversity. *footage of primitive man. *landfills, with conclusion: there is a paradigm shift coming where people will not want corporate products and will desire a simple, fulfilling life. This can be understood ironically. Credits

Views

It prominently features the views of

John Zerzan.

Talking Heads

writer, editor of '' Against Civilization: A Reader'' (1998) *

President of Cuba The president of Cuba ( es, Presidente de Cuba), officially the president of the Republic of Cuba ( es, Presidente de la República de Cuba), is the head of state of Cuba. The office in its current form was established under the Constitution of ...

Kalle Lasn Kalle Lasn () (born March 24, 1942) is an Estonian-Canadian film maker, author, magazine editor, and activist. Near the end of World War II, his family fled Estonia and Lasn spent some time in a German refugee camp. At age seven he was resettled ...

, from

Adbusters The Adbusters Media Foundation is a Canadian-based Nonprofit organization, not-for-profit, Environmentalism, pro-environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia. Adbusters describes itself ...

Svante Tidholm Svante is the shortening for the Swedish male first name Svantepolk. It originates from Slavic ancestors of first prominent Svantes in Sweden. The Slavic languages have the name which is rendered as Sviatopolk in Russian, Swiãtopôłk in Kashub ...

, from

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, a wealthy web-designer of

Spray Spray or spraying commonly refer to: * Spray (liquid drop) ** Aerosol spray ** Blood spray ** Hair spray ** Nasal spray ** Pepper spray ** PAVA spray ** Road spray or tire spray, road debris kicked up from a vehicle tire ** Sea spray, refers to ...

and author of the autobiographical novel '' Loser'' (Wahlström & Widstrand, 1998, Swedish) *

Carlo Giuliani Carlo Giuliani was an Italian anti-globalization protester who was shot dead while attacking a Carabinieri van with a fire extinguisher, by an officer who was inside the van, during the anti-globalization riots outside the July 2001 G8 summit i ...

, Activist and anarchist killed during Anti-G8 demonstrations in Genoa, 2001

Criticizes

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Steve Ballmer Steven Anthony Ballmer (; March 24, 1956) is an American business magnate and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Associ ...

, CEO of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

from 2000 to 2014 *

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

, Chairman of the Board and Chief Software Architect of

Style

Surplus uses many montages. Surplus overtly uses

lip-synching Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...

to put words in the mouth of people who hold similar world powering positions. Examples of this are

speaking for

mouthing the words of

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

: "I love this company! Yeah!"

Soundtrack listing

*''

Gotan Project Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris (France), consisting of musicians Eduardo Makaroff (Argentine), Philippe Cohen Solal (French) and Christoph H. Müller (Swiss), a former member of Touch El Arab.Madlen Albrecht ''Le développemen ...

- Triptico'' *''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

- Orozco'' *'' Aphrodelics - Aphrodelics – Rollin' on Chrome (Wild Motherfucker dub)'' *'' Marc O´Sullivan (The Mighty Quark) - Smokescreen'' *'' Marc O´Sullivan (The Mighty Quark) - Theme from Good People'' *''Johan Söderberg and David Österberg - No-tech-no'' *''Johan Söderberg and David Österberg - Rice&Beans'' *''Johan Söderberg and David Österberg - 18 Miljener'' There is much repetition of footage and soundtrack; no more so than in ancient Pali dhammasutras; but certainly at least as boring; and without their excuse that in an oral tradition the technique was necessary to learn the words for their public recitation.

Locations

, Italy -

(2001) *

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, China - Stock Exchange *

, India - Metal reclaiming * United States /

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

/ Hungary / Sweden / Canada

Awards

IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary, 2003

References

External links

Official website
*{{IMDb title, id=0368314, title=Surplus: Terrorized into Being Consumers
Surplus: Terrorized into Being Consumers
Direct download (free)
The film in its entirety on Youtube.
2003 films Anti-modernist films Films directed by Erik Gandini Documentary films about globalization Documentary films about consumerism Documentary films about politics Swedish documentary films 2003 documentary films 2000s Swedish films