A DOCUMENTARY REVIEW ON THE FILM DARK MONEY
Dark money is an American documentary film that was directed by Kimberly Reed in 2018
that analyzes the influence of corporate money in American elections and America’s political
system to influence them for corporate benefit. The documentary investigates dark money’s
influence on politics in the state of Montana, where it tackles Montanan’s fight to preserve fair
elections. The target audience for the film is the average American citizen and voter. Focusing
on the themes of politics, corporate influence and corruption, dark money uncovers the reallife impacts of the US Supreme Court Citizens United Decision and reveals the grim reality of
how American elections are bought and sold. It does this in an effort to call for urgent action
in campaign finance reform across America in order to preserve American democracy.
The term “dark money” is used to refer to political spending meant to influence the decision of
a voter where the donor is not disclosed and the source of the money is unknown. The
documentary opens with a commentary on Montana’s history of exploitation by industrial
entities, one such example being a mining company called ‘Anaconda’ that exerted a significant
influence in Montana’ politics during the 19th Century. The adverse ecological effects caused
by the company and the high level of corruption resulted in Montana adopting strict campaign
laws to curb corporate influence on the state in 1912. However a big change came with the
Citizens United decision by the U.S Supreme Court that recognized as “people” entitled to the
First Amendment right to make political contributions to the candidates of their choosing. The
documentary follows an investigative journalist named John Adams who diligently works to
track down the untraceable money trail and in doing so uncovers a scandal of the illegal and
unethical influence peddling. The documentary features interactions with a myriad of
characters like Montana State legislators, former members of Montana’s Federal Election
Commission (FEC), political activists, other journalists and activists as well as other Montana
officials who through their contributions help build a bigger picture on the impact of dark
money.
In the documentary, John Adams helps discover the cycle of dark money spending i.e. the
untraceable corporate money that is laundered through Political Action Committees (PACs)
and dark money organizations. This is the means through which corporations are able to
absolve themselves from affiliation with the bribery that is used to influence the elections and
secure loyalty from American politicians. The other side of the coin is where legislators who
fail to vote in accordance with the dark money groups and their backers “corporations” end up
being targeted in elections with malicious and false advertising. The false advertising is used
to turn the public against them by providing them with false narratives of the politician’s
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opinion on critical matters such as healthcare, taxes, guns and sex-ed which is not the actual
views of the politicians themselves. The false adverts make it difficult for voters to make
informed decisions, it diminishes the American voter’s role in impacting change and as a result
undermines American democracy. Events in the documentary build up to the conclusion of the
enactment of the Citizens Act in Montana which restricts corporate contributions in Montana
state elections.
The documentary relates to our course firstly through the theory of political economy, it
showcases commodification of the media by the corporations. Secondly is through the topic of
the internet as a political tool where the ease of internet access has given it a central role in
dissemination of political information in the interest of political groups and corporations.
Critic of the Documentary
The documentary dark money does a good job of bringing the critical issue of dark money to
the attention of the American citizen. It provides a gripping story and insightful commentary
in a sober, linear fashion that is able to resonate not only with American citizens but all of its
views at large. Its avoidance of sensationalism helps it avoid being labeled as conspiracymongering. It is able to spur up discussions on dark money in America and urgent action in
campaign finance reform across the country. The weakness of documentary is that it maintains
a singular focus on one state and one country and in doing so lessens the scope of its study and
application. It fails to suggest reforms can be carried out in America’s other 49 states that can
be applicable to the other state’s different demographics. Moreover it presents viewers with a
barrage of information without any prior introduction that can help them understand how
American politics works and how they can apply this information to their home state.
A summary of terrorists' use of the media presentation
The media has a huge role to play in terrorist organizations' approach and strategy. Terrorists
are aware of the power that the media holds in influencing the public. Thus they continue to
make use of media channels such social media and the internet to gain more supporters and
create their own narrative. Journalists and media agencies should take care not to aid the
terrorist’s agenda and narrative by sensationalizing terrorist acts on media channels. This calls
for journalists to maintain objectivity, make use of careful language selection for impact and
uphold victim privacy. They should also take care not to diverge revealing information that
could potentially endanger civilians involved.
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