The Spectre of Hope (2002)

The SpectrE of Hope is based on the latest work of photographer Sebastiao Salgado. Salgado spent 6 years traveling to over 40 countries, taking pictures of globalization and its ... See full summary »

Director:

Paul Carlin

Stars:

Sebastião Salgado, John Berger

Cast

Cast overview:
Sebastião Salgado	...	Himself
John Berger	...	Himself

Storyline

The SpectrE of Hope is based on the latest work of photographer Sebastiao Salgado. Salgado spent 6 years traveling to over 40 countries, taking pictures of globalization and its consequences - most notably, the mass migrations of populations around the world. In the film, Salgado presents his remarkable photographs in conversation with John Berger.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Release Date:

29 January 2002 (Netherlands)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Minerva Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

52 min

User Reviews

Ignores the real roots of poverty

I was really disappointed in this documentary. Everything from poverty to environmental degradation to mass migration is blamed on one thing and one thing only..."globalization." I find it impossible to believe that someone traveling in developing countries for 6 years would ignore the real root causes of some of the most serious problems facing the world, including disease, drought, corruption, conflict, and failed political systems. The majority of the photos depicted, while very powerful, most likely depict one or more of these realities.

What this documentary boils down to is little more than socialist propaganda. Instead of a thoughtful look at some of the root causes of poverty, what we are left with instead is propaganda material for the trendy 18-21 year old anti-globalization crowd. Certainly capitalism isn't perfect, and corporations need to be kept in check by public opinion, but if that is the case then let's get down to specifics and identify which companies are committing which acts of malice, single them out, and pressure them into change. This has been done before, and we've sweat shops closed and company products boycotted, and it's because we live in a free society that we can carry out such campaigns. So please let's carry on with some more productive investigation and response activity, instead of hanging out with the maladjusted youths and throwing rocks at WTO and World Bank officials.