My presentation hinges on the idea that industrial or corporate documentary films, or non-theatrical as a field or genre of film studies, have potentialities as visible historical documents to study the architecture of Indonesia's present developments, particularly from the standpoint of science and technology, which has long been the backbone of the country’s growth. Through a close reading of Conquering the Jungle, a documentary produced by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in 1939, I argue that a documentary has the power to reveal the ideological basis of capitalism and expansion fuelled by the imperialist spirit. A film, then, should be understood not only as a tool for mass entertainment and a source of information but also as a form of ideology throughout each of its images, scenes, and sequences. Cinematic materials of non-theatrical films are pertinent to open new dialogues and complicate the study of the so-called progress in Indonesia.