Change Makers: The Struggle for Consumer Rights

Change Makers could have been a terrific video; after all, it has a unique story to tell, full of drama, historic import, and interesting personalities--the story of rising consumer activism and consumer protection legislation in the latter half of this century. Unfortunately, the program fumbles this opportunity pretty badly on a number of counts. After a perfunctory nod to early century fights for consumer welfare, such as the passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, the blandly generic narrator turns to a discussion of the post-War consumer boom and the beginnings of grassroots consumer activism. The tape also traces the intensification of governmental interest in consumer welfare (perhaps a byproduct of an interest in growing consumer economic and political clout), including the formation of cabinet-level consumer advocacy positions, and the pioneering lobbying and legislative work of such redoubtable activists as Persia Campbell, Helen Nelson, Mildred Jeffrey, and Betty Furness. From here, Change Makers rips along into the next three eventful decades, rapidly tossing off a numbing litany of events, names, organizations, and unsupported statements. The expectable archival footage and sound bites from key players (including ol' unavoidable Ralph Nader) are rather fecklessly popped into the mix here and there. In general, the video seems to gain narrative steam and lose viewer interest as it careens over the decades like some defective video Hyundai. In the end, however, one can't say that Change Makers is an egregiously bad piece of work; it's simply not as compelling as it could have been in the hands of a better storyteller. The fact that there aren't many other treatments of this topic around might make it a likely candidate for larger public and academic libraries with interests in economic and popular history, contemporary government, or labor issues. Aud: C, P. (G. Handman)