Corruption in plain sight
Still from the documentary Requiem for the American Dream
The Forces Reshaping American Democracy
Two films for making sense of this political moment
A Washington Post analysis found that just 50 individual donors have already poured more than $1.6 billion into this year’s midterm elections.¹
That staggering flood of money gives a tiny circle of Americans vastly disproportionate power to determine which candidates can compete, which ideas receive serious consideration, and whose interests shape public policy.
It’s little wonder recent surveys show that overwhelming majorities of Americans across party lines believe big money is corrupting politics and that the U.S. government represents billionaires and big corporations more than ordinary people.² ³
Two powerful documentaries available from MEF explore how we reached this point. Together, they give students a powerful framework for understanding the destructive self-reinforcing cycle at the center of American political life — one in which concentrated wealth produces concentrated political power, which is then used to generate even greater concentrations of wealth.
Both titles are now available in multiple formats on our streaming platform. They’re also available as part of our new MEF Premium Collection.*
Featuring acclaimed journalist and author George Monbiot, The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism (and How It Came to Control Your Life) traces how an obscure ideology rose from the fringes of society to radically transform our politics, economics, and public life over the past half-century. Along the way, the film reveals how policies routinely presented as inevitable, pragmatic, or simply “the way the world works” grew out of a deliberate political project to cut taxes, weaken trade unions, gut government regulations, privatize public services, and expand corporate power. And it surveys the anti-democratic wreckage left in its wake, from concentrations of wealth in fewer hands to concentrations of power that influence elections, shape public debate, control media platforms, gain access to elected officials, and write the rules governing the economy. Directed by Peter Hutchison and Lucas Sabean.
Featuring legendary public intellectual Noam Chomsky, Requiem for the American Dream dissects the principles that have driven the deliberate concentration of wealth and power in the United States. With characteristic clarity, Chomsky shows how corporations and wealthy elites have weakened organized labor, rewritten tax and regulatory policy, manipulated public opinion, and restricted the range of ideas permitted serious political consideration. The result is a devastating account of how economic power has hollowed out democratic institutions and left ordinary Americans with less influence over the decisions that shape their lives. Directed by Peter Hutchison, Kelly Nyks, and Jared P. Scott.
The MEF Premium Collection offers flexible subscription and permanent-access licensing options. To learn more, contact Stephen Belcourt at [email protected].
1. “Meet the megadonors pouring more than $1.6 billion into the 2026 elections,” by Clara Ence Morse, Leslie Shapiro, Praveena Somasundaram, and Eric Lau, The Washington Post, July 21, 2026.
2. “Poll: Voters Want Solutions for Government Corruption,” by Alex Brunet and Marina Pino, Brennan Center for Justice, June 2, 2026.
3. “72% of Americans Agree: There Is Too Much Money in US Politics,” by Olivia Rosane, Common Dreams, May 10, 2026.
