Koch Brothers Exposed

Robert Greenwald's Koch Brothers Exposed makes no claims of journalistic impartiality. From the director of Outfoxed and Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, this is advocacy documentary filmmaking all the way—overwhelming, passionate, and committed to challenging the legitimacy of power held by those whom Greenwald considers plutocrats. The focus here is on billionaires Charles and David Koch, whose various industries give them an economic and political stake in most states in the U.S., and whose libertarian, anti-regulatory, and seemingly profit-driven views are backed by the influence of their enormous wealth. Greenwald follows the money and finds the Kochs' hands in all sorts of things, such as concerted efforts in the U.S. Congress to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency; campaigns to overtake the Raleigh, NC, school board and end integration-promoting busing; and Gov. Scott Walker's goal of killing collective bargaining in Wisconsin. The sons of a founder of the John Birch Society, the Kochs have a major impact on regional and national government, says Greenwald (seconded by many of the film's interviewees, including Vermont's Sen. Bernie Sanders, The Nation's editor Katrina vanden Heuvel, and NAACP president Benjamin Todd Jealous). Viewers are also told that the Kochs are actively spreading disinformation about the collapse of Social Security and the destruction of jobs through environmental protections. As the siblings continue to push for the building of the Keystone Pipeline across Canada and the U.S.—risking ecological catastrophe, says Greenwald—it's important for the American public to know who these powerful men are and what they want. Presenting an eye-opening exposé, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)