Programmer's Note

Léa Pool’s incendiary and profoundly trou­bling Pink Ribbons, Inc. begins on a sunny day in San Francisco as thousands of people, primarily women, prepare for a gruelling two-day run to raise money for a cure for breast cancer. Those involved are in extremely high spirits, both from the sense of community and the devout belief that they’re engaged in a righteous activity. As the film proceeds and Pool explores the history of breast cancer treatment, corporate fundraising, the rise of some key fundraising bodies and the presen­tation of breast cancer campaigns in media, each return to the run makes the effort seem more problematic.

Pink Ribbons, Inc. focuses primarily on the increased involvement of corporations in fundraising campaigns — which goes as far as outright ownership in some cases — and the impact it’s had on the charities. According to the film, the undue emphasis on awareness and the search for a cure has skewed the types of research being done. A doctor explains how there’s little data on the cause of breast cancer. Which raises the question: how do you cure something if you don’t know what causes it?

One of the central issues in the film is the disease’s status as the poster child for what activist Barbara Brenner deems “cause mar­keting,” a kind of microcosmic variation on disaster capitalism, rife with hypocrisy and awash in money. From car manufacturers to fast food companies to professional sports leagues, corporations have wholeheartedly embraced the effort — but many of the campaigns to raise money have done more for the companies than for the cause. Fuelled by informative and often chilling interviews with activists, patients, former patients and writers (including authors Barbara Ehrenreich and Samantha King, who wrote one of the first studies of the “industry”), Pink Ribbons, Inc. is a ferocious and infuriating exposé. Steve Gravestock