Ever found yourself struggling to explain why common business practices like undercutting the competition, underpaying workers, and lobbying against regulation are ultimately unsustainable? If so, you might want to take a peek at “Lemonade War: the Double-Edged Sword of Regulation,” a short starring comedian Patton Oswalt and wry German director Werner Herzog. In just under eight minutes, it manages to illustrate a handful of economic principles, wrapping up the basic business lesson in the charming story of a struggling lemonade entrepreneur and her greedy, grotesque, big-business competition. As an added bonus, Herzog tees up a grim, bizarrely hilarious rant about the economic endgame of unregulated competition.
“Lemonade War”, directed by Ramin Bahrani, is a production of We the Economy, a partnership between Paul Allen’s Vulcan Productions and Morgan Spurlock’s Cinelan. The group has developed 20 short films that explain economic topics ranging from regulation to globalization, foreign aid to economic inequality.
Overseen by a stable of veteran directors, including Mary Harron, Catherine Hardwicke and Bob Balaban, the films form a sort of next-generation Schoolhouse Rock. Assuming, of course, that Schoolhouse Rock had featured Patton Oswalt picking his nose ... and Werner Herzog muttering about how bad business is like the hedgehog’s dilemma. In other words, it’s even better.
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