Surplus is a visually colorful, compilation-style documentary that offers a critical view of consumer society. The authors use footage collected over three years from eight countries to create a playful but serious look at globalization and its impact on the developing world. Police marching in formation against demonstrators during anti-globalization protests in Genoa in 2001, a passionate speech by Silvio Berlusconi, and arguments from opponents of the World Bank and IMF are synchronized to modern dance music. Next to these gripping images, the filmmakers give space to the ideas of radical anti-globalization guru John Zerzan and shots of Indian workers, who on average consume thirty times less than the average person in the United States.