EGOnomics

Docu­men­ta­ry for an arte the­me night
´52, WDR/arte

In the age of glo­bal eco­no­mic and ban­king cri­ses, manage­ment cul­tu­re gives rise to count­less ques­ti­ons. The see­min­gly aloof par­al­lel world of count­less bos­ses and the beha­viour of many mana­gers – illus­tra­ted by ani­ma­ted sequen­ces in this film – make us think. On this visu­al level of reflec­tion the­re is one domi­nant ele­ment in addi­ti­on to moni­tors and retrac­ta­ble arms: the tri­ang­le as the so-cal­led dark tri­ad of Machia­vel­lism, nar­cis­sism and psy­cho­pa­thy. An ana­ly­ti­cal look at indi­vi­du­als in high posi­ti­ons and the sys­tem high­lights the dif­fe­rence bet­ween mana­gers and lea­ders as well as the cha­rac­ter traits requi­red to be suc­cess­ful as a natu­ral lea­der in our cur­rent sys­tem. But what is to be or can be regar­ded as suc­cess? The collec­ted ans­wers of the seven psy­cho­lo­gy, manage­ment, socio­lo­gy and con­sul­ting experts inter­view­ed here sug­gest that we are not only facing a cri­sis of eco­no­mic growth but also a cri­sis of values, ethics and morals.

Credits:

Festivals:

59th Inter­na­tio­nal Leip­zig Fes­ti­val for Docu­men­ta­ry and Ani­ma­ted Film.
Inter­na­tio­nal Competition.