Saturday, July 24, 2010

Programming note: An insightful look at the world's new powerful global elite in Al Jazeera's regular Empire documentary slot.


What I think is going to be a simply brilliant documentary will be broadcast in the week ahead on Al Jazeera (DStv 406 / TopTV 401), so make a note to watch. Al Jazeera's regular end of the month Empire documentary starts on Wednesday, July 28 at 21:00 with this month's edition entitled ''Superclass''.

''They fly on private Gulfstreams, set the global agenda and manage the credit crunch in their spare time,'' Al Jazeera tells me about the doccie looking at the world's new elite: our modern-day global aristocracy and the unelected, superclass people who wield tremendous influence and power in today's world. ''They're the self-made super rich who are using their money to lay down a new set of global rules. They have more in common with each other than with their countrymen - an elite group who have money, power and influence and are shaping the future of the world''.

''This global aristocracy is made up of leaders of countries and corporations, superstars and cultural icons and their power and influence transcend their own fields, whether it is politics, economics, film, or music. People like Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Bill GatesTed Turner, Bono and Oprah Winfrey. But who elected this new global aristocracy? And do they act in our best interest, or their own? Where did this new global aristocracy come from? Is the world suffering from a global governance gap? Have public institutions failed to evolve as fast as private ones in adapting to the new reality of the global era?''

This promising-to-be-brilliant episode of Empire will debut on Al Jazeera this Wednesday, and then repeat daily until Sunday.