The Business of America...

45 minutes, 1984 , United States

Producer/Directors Larry Adelman, Larry Daressa and Bruce Schmeichen

Educational Streaming

Colleges, Universities, Government Agencies, Hospitals and Corporations

Streaming licenses for institutional use—ideal for education, training, and research.

1-Year Single Campus Academic Streaming $200.00

One year of embeddable streaming access for a single institution. Includes captioning support, and easy LMS integration. Perfect for courses, workshops, and staff development.

3-Year Single Campus Academic Streaming $350.00

Three years of embeddable streaming access for a single institution. Includes captioning support, and easy LMS integration. Ideal for recurring curriculum use and long-term academic programming.

Life-of-the-File-Format Digital Site License (DSL) $650.00

Includes downloadable .mp4 video and .srt caption files. Permits secure, password-protected streaming via the licensing institution’s distance learning or internal streaming platform for students, faculty, staff, and on-campus researchers. Also includes 5 years of embeddable streaming. Perfect for long-term archiving and flexible institutional access.

Add a DVD to Any License (when available) $50.00

Available to U.S. licensees only. Shipping via USPS Priority Mail and California sales tax (for California customers) will be calculated at checkout.

Community Screening

Short-term use for small groups, organizations, or high school classes (under 100 participants-where no admission is charged).

Flexible options for educators, facilitators, and non-commercial screenings.

7-Day On-Demand Group Rental $75.00

Streamed via a secure screening page to a single purchaser. For use in a real-time, synchronous group setting, either in person or virtual. Ideal a single discussion, classroom session, or community gathering.

30-Day On-Demand Group Rental $100.00

Streamed via Newsreel.org for use by a single group of up to 100 participants for 30 days. A moderator or instructor will receive a secure URL and password to share with students. Ideal for high school and non-college classes.

Single Course Rental (15 weeks) $150.00

Streamed via Newsreel.org for use by a single course or group of up to 100 participants over a 15-week academic term. A moderator or instructor will receive a secure URL and password to share with students. Ideal for high school and non-college classes.

Add a DVD to Any License (when available) $50.00

Available to U.S. licensees only. Shipping via USPS Priority Mail and California sales tax (for California customers) will be calculated at checkout.

Home Viewing

48-hour personal streaming rental for in-home use only.

For individuals without institutional access.

Home Viewing Rental $20.00

Enjoy a 48-hour streaming rental, beginning at checkout, available through Newsreel.org for personal, at-home use only.

Home viewing is offered as a courtesy for individuals without institutional access. We encourage you to check with your local public library, college campus, or community organization to see if they already hold a viewing license.

By selecting this option, you agree not to show the film in any public, group, or classroom setting.

Add a DVD to Any License (when available) $50.00

Available to U.S. licensees only. Shipping via USPS Priority Mail and California sales tax (for California customers) will be calculated at checkout.

The Business of America... is the first film to probe one of our most treasured economic assumptions: that private corporations can be trusted to make the investments upon which all Americans depend.

The film contrasts two Pittsburgh steelworkers conventional faith in private enterprise with the actual strategies and priorities of a giant corporation, U.S. Steel. It traces their growing realization that despite "supply side" business claims, increased profits don't necessarily "trickle down" to working Americans.

To discover why, The Business of America... interviews U.S. Steel chairman David Roderick, travels to Wall Street and visits Harvard Business School. The film reveals that shareholder pressures to increase profitability have led many American firms to transform themselves from manufacturing enterprises into financial conglomerates. It raises troubling questions about whether the prevailing emphasis on short-term profits provides for the long-term investments industries--and the country--need to provide economic opportunities to all Americans.

The urgency of these concerns has made The Business of America... a standard audio-visual "text" in many economics, sociology, management, labor studies, and business ethics courses as well as a prescient warning of the ruin left behind when a nation allows corporations the unabated freedom to pursue profits any way they can.

An impressive, compelling tour through the new industrial wasteland. This film deserves a wide--and responsive-- audience.
-- John Kenneth Galbraith

"The Business of America_x0085_ goes to the heart and soul of the American Dream...It is an important contribution to the debate about the future of capitalism."
-- Bill Moyers

"One of the most thought-provoking documentaries of the year. Neither government, industry nor the average American can afford to ignore it."
-- The Christian Science Monitor

"A powerful documentary... makes personal many abstract economic issues while raising important questions about the nation's industrial decline."
-- The New York Times

"A compelling and insightful chronicle of America's deindustrialization."
-- Robert Reich, Former U.S. Secretary of Labor

The Business of America... trailer image

Ways to Watch

Educational Streaming

Colleges, Universities, Government Agencies, Hospitals and Corporations.

Community Screening

Short-term use for small groups, organizations, or high school classes (under 100 participants, where no admission is charged).

Home Viewing

48-hour, personal rental for in-home use only, restrictions apply