ongoing

I was talking with radical historian Howard Zinn at a Red Sox game in late September, and Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" came up. (It hadn't yet been released.) I was saying, that yes, I generally agreed with Moore's ideology and his belief that runaway greed and self-interest is killing the country. It was just that some of his showboarting antics got in the way and grew tiresome over time. Zinn politely disagreed. He thought that the "entertainment" value Moore injected into his documentaries is what helped them get into mainstream theaters and attract audiences normally turned off by docs. And he's right. When I later saw "Capitalism," I cringed when Moore tried to bullhorn his way into AIG and make a citizen's arrest, but, overall, the message rang true. Capitalism was very good for the rich and the (false) promise of being rich was what kept the lower classes enthralled with the idea.

Well, here's another film that tackles corporate America with a ready dose of radical humor and a punk'd mindset, "The Yes Men Fix the World." Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno aka "the Yes Men" have put together a screwball film that tells how the Yes Men, posing as top executives of giant corporations, manage to get themselves invited to high-level corporate conferences and media events, where they pull off outrageous pranks that unmask human rights abuses and global injustice.

How so? In one of their best pranks, the Yes Men, pretending to be spokespeople for Dow Chemical, announce that Dow will at last take complete responsibility for the thousands of victims of the 1984 toxic gas disaster at a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India – the largest industrial accident in history. Their mea culpa creates a media sensation that embarrasses the powers at Dow, which bought Union Carbide in 2001. Impersonating Exxon spokesmen at an energy conference in Canada, the Yes Men pass out candles made of Vivoleum, a new, foul-smelling biofuel supposedly made from climate change victims. And outfitted in their wacky SurvivaBall getups (huge inflatable orbs “designed to protect the corporate manager no matter what Mother Nature throws his or her way”), the Yes Men address a room full of insurance representatives. The straight-laced execs don’t think there is anything ironic about going to insane lengths to assure one’s personal safety in the event of any and all calamities, and line up to take the Yes Men’s fake business cards. Tix: $9.50. Check site below for times.

290 Harvard St. Brookline, 617-734-2500 www.coolidge.org