The Top 10 Evil Corporations from Movies
The Better Business Bureau Isn’t Going to Do Much Against These Evil Corporations from Movies.
It turns out that big business doesn’t always have your best interests at heart (shocking, I know) and that’s why I’ve decided to take a look at the top 10 evil corporations from movies. Cinema has a long history of exposing the dark side of capitalism in which evil corporations put the all mighty dollar ahead of the safety and well-being of the rest of us. Don’t worry, I’m not going to start advocating for the masses to seize the means of production or anything like that. However, I’m not totally wrong in pointing out that these villainous ventures are more vile and terrifying than any single big-screen villain. That being said, in order to qualify for this list, the companies have to be objectively immoral. That means businesses in moral gray areas like The Tyrell Corporation from Blade Runner don’t earn a spot, because it never intended to be oppressive. I’m also going to try to avoid companies that appear in comic book movies (at least for this list). Even with that rule in place, there were still a ton of evil corporations to choose from, but I think I managed to find the 10 worst. So, clip your coupons and get ready to speak to the manager, because these malicious multinationals are going to try to screw you over.
10. Omni Consumer Products- The Robocop Trilogy
First up on this list of evil corporations is a company with a pretty despicable marketing campaign. Their commercials aren’t the worst thing about Omni Consumer Products though. They’re responsible for creating one of the most iconic big-screen cyborgs we’ve ever seen in an attempt to privatize and control the police. Now when I say they “created,” I mean they hired goons to kill a cop so that they could Frankenstein him into a living weapon. Unfortunately for them, their programming doesn’t really take and instead they created one of the greatest movie superheroes of all time. That accidental “good deed” doesn’t make up for all their bad ones, and Omni Consumer Products has a pretty disgusting track record thanks to their hooks being in every possible market from automotive to communications. OCP’s take no prisoners attitude and power-hungry business practices make it a truly malevolent super conglomerate.
9. Zorg Industries- The Fifth Element
The fact that Zorg Industries CEO, Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg, is in league with the ultimate physical manifestation of evil in the universe is probably enough to earn it a spot on this list. However, Zorg Industries has plenty of other corrupt deeds to answer for. Like Omni Consumer Products, they have a hand in dozens of markets from taxi services (which recently underwent massive layoffs) to robotics. It’s their weapons branch that is the most troubling. Not only is it responsible for one of the coolest sci-fi guns in movie history, but they’ve been known to supply weapons to terrorists in order to further their CEO’s nefarious goals. Despite being a massive multinational corporation, Zorg Industries is just an extension of its CEO’s will and thus a servant for the ultimate evil incarnate.
8. Cyberdyne Systems- The Terminator Franchise
In all honesty, Cyberdyne Systems probably isn’t intentionally evil. Sure, they’re responsible for creating the tyrannical artificial intelligence, Sky Net, that led to an eventual apocalypse, but how could they have known that it would end up nuking the planet and unleashing an army of killer androids? Probably anyone who actually took a moment to think about the implications of reverse-engineering unknown tech from the future that’s so advanced it’s practically alien. Now, I’m just a humble moviegoer, but when it comes to discovering frightening future technology, I think the best bet is to probably leave it alone (that’s how you get time paradoxes after all). Despite not having malicious intentions, they have to take responsibility for one of the greatest corporate disasters in cinema history and I doubt their shareholders are happy about that.
7. Resources Development Administration AKA RDA- Avatar
The next entry on this list of evil corporations is a heavy-handed metaphor for the evils of colonialism. Their business model is basically going to other planets and mining the hell out of them until all their resources are gone. The most cherished of which is a rare mineral called unobtainium (yes, James Cameron actually named it that…). Of course, there are a lot of rules and regulations that RDA is supposed to follow when it comes to protecting and coexisting with the inhabitants of the planets they mine, but they definitely crossed their fingers when they agreed to all that. That’s why they bring a ton of trigger happy mercenaries with some pretty sick mech suits with them. You know, “just in case.” Just in case tends to happen more often than not and soon RDA is involved in another attempted genocide. That’s just the cost of business though, baby.
6. International Genetic Technologies, Inc. AKA InGen- The Jurassic Park/ Jurassic World Franchise
Hey, I like John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) as much as the next guy, but that doesn’t mean that InGen doesn’t deserve a spot on this list of evil corporations. For one thing, they develop this incredible cloning technology and decide to bring dinosaurs back from extinction with it instead of, oh say, growing transplant organs or increasing food supplies in third world countries to end world hunger. Then, they buy an island so they can open a dino amusement park. While I’ll admit that seems pretty cool, it also seems like they’re focused on a very specific, very white, and very rich clientele. After repeated dinosaur-related disasters, they open up another even bigger theme park. This, of course, leads to another disaster, that would have been completely avoidable if they weren’t so concerned about profit.