Wile E. Coyote has exhausted all possible contraptions in his long-lasting and unsuccessful pursuit of the Road Runner. However, could this continuous failure actually be attributed to the products of the Acme Corporation? What if the renowned company responsible for creating items like the “Instant Tunnel” and the “Do-It-Yourself Tornado Kit” simply produces subpar goods?
This is the central theme of “Coyote vs. Acme,” where our unfortunate protagonist enlists the help of a similarly hapless lawyer to challenge the Acme Corporation in court for the physical pain he has endured from using their products.
After a convoluted journey, the film is set to premiere in theaters this Friday. Initially completed in 2023, it was shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery as a tax write-off, only to be resurrected when independent distributor Ketchup Entertainment acquired the rights last year.
To commemorate the essence of the movie, we have compiled a list of our favorite anti-capitalist films from the past four decades.
“RoboCop” (1987)
Paul Verhoeven’s “RoboCop” envisions a future where Omni Consumer Products dominates the Detroit police force. The film follows the cybernetic officer as he uncovers the ruthless ambitions of Omni executive Dick Jones. Despite being programmed not to harm the company’s executives, RoboCop must navigate a complex web of corporate deceit.
“They Live” (1988)
In John Carpenter’s sci-fi masterpiece, a working-class individual discovers special sunglasses that reveal a hidden reality where aliens manipulate humanity into consumerism and conformity to exploit Earth’s resources.
“Fight Club” (1999)
A critique of consumer culture, “Fight Club” explores the protagonist’s disillusionment with societal norms and his involvement with an underground fight club that escalates into anti-capitalist acts of rebellion.
“Michael Clayton” (2007)
“Michael Clayton” exposes the lengths to which corporations will go to conceal their wrongdoing, as a fixer becomes entangled in a legal battle involving a deadly pesticide and a ruthless conglomerate.
“WALL-E” (2008)
In this Pixar animation, WALL-E, a lone robot on an uninhabitable Earth, juxtaposes humanity’s consumption-driven existence aboard the Axiom spaceship controlled by Buy N Large, a corporation promoting excessive consumption.
“Sorry to Bother You” (2018)
Director Boots Riley’s satirical film follows a telemarketer who rises through the ranks by adopting a “white” accent, leading him to uncover the company’s exploitative practices and inhumane experiments on hybrid creatures.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” (2022)
This indie thriller follows a group of activists aiming to disrupt the fossil fuel industry by sabotaging pipelines, highlighting the challenges and consequences of radical environmental activism.
Each of these films offers a unique perspective on the negative impacts of capitalist systems, inviting viewers to critically examine society’s relationship with consumerism and corporate power.