...at the Movies

Imperial Grand Strategy

(Noam Chomsky - AK Press 2005) Not bad value this - a 220 minute DVD packed with Noam Chomsky. Of course, if you are not a Chomsky fan you will probably find this unwatchable. It is, without doubt, probably the least entertaining DVD you will ever watch but, at the same time it is fantastic. If you really can't be bothered to read a Noam Chomsky book then THIS is the DVD for you! There are three sections, the first from a speech at the University of Manchester (England) deals with the main title of the DVD, the second is a speech delivered at Merrimack College on the assault on freedom and democracy, whilst the third is an interview on anarchism. If you have read his work then you will it remarkably densely packed with facts and data. You would think that he must have an army of researchers helping him piece together his books but when you see him speak you suddenly realise that he has it all in his head. He speaks for an hour without notes plucking quotes and data out of the air with enormous authority. If you read his "Understanding Power", which was compiled from his talks, then this will ring true. That book reads like a thorough piece of research but it was just the words from his mouth. You could just transcribe every word into a manuscript, publish and - bang - a new Chomsky book. No wonder he is so prolific. He can just dictate his books. This can only mean that Noam must have one of the most remarkable minds of this century. He is a walking encyclopaedia on the conditions and politics of modern empire. Although the content may be dry there are a few laughs raised from his equally dry sense-of-humour. His chosen topics were bang up to date when this was recorded in 2004. The talk at Manchester marked the one year anniversary of Bush jnr's declaration of the "end" of the Iraq War. He talks about the invasion and the reasons for the US military aggression against Iraq. The second section moves onto broader topics of imperial strategies. He discusses the Patriot Acts I & II and the long US history of democracy prevention abroad. The interview at the back is a more personal interchange about Chomsky's anarchist principles with Barry Pateman of the Emma Goldman (famous Anarchist) Archives. Although the content is 100% pure gold dust the presentation is sadly amateurish in places. The videography (and sometimes even the sound) on the Manchester speech borders on the atrocious. The camera's look like they are being operated by a group of passing five-year-olds. Chomsky deserves better than this. Copies of this work were available through Amazon but you can purchase direct from AK Press in the UK at www.akuk.com. Classic.

Money as Debt

'Money as Debt' would not seem to be a title of immediate relevance to Peak Oil or Climate Change. We were put onto this by the people behind the UK Transition Towns Project so we were intrigued as to its relevance. It is a 47 minute animated documentary - which, at first, sounds dreadful. However, give it a minute. It is relevant to the flawed paradigm of infinite growth. It shows, through simple illustration, how our money supply has been conjured out of thin air and is only serviced by Debt. If there is no debt then there is no money and our Financial Institutions would collapse. The entire monetary system only perpetuates itself because a small number of Loans actually foreclose to inject real world capital into the system. This all seems counter-intuitive as we personally experience an increase in our fortunes when we pay off our loans as it gives us more money. However, for Central Banks and the Governments who entrust our Economic welfare to these centralised systems, the system only works if we keep borrowing money. This means that the economy cannot be static. It keeps having to grow to service the debt and make the money that makes the world go around. This pushes the paradigm of endless growth. Endless growth pushes the requirement to continually extract more and more mineral resource from the Planet, ie, Oil. Oil is specifically illustrated if only briefly, with a Peak Oil graph. Hence the entire house of cards comes tumbling down. We cannot grow infinitely on a Finite Planet hence the monetary system cannot continue to exist in its current form. At this point several alternative systems of money are discussed. We were previously aware of the fiscal weakness of the system as it has been illustrated in a couple of works on Peak Oil already. Continual expansion of energy supplies continues to pump up the Economy and Population. This is unsustainable therefore it has to come to an end one day. If this all sounds like some kind of Marxist conspiracy theory then stop right there. The producers of this DVD sprinkle in liberally with quotes that back them to the hilt. The quotes are from some of the World's leading Bankers and US Presidents - all of whom openly admitted that the system could not be sustained and would be - someday - in need of reform. To learn more go to www.moneyasdebt.net. This DVD is only available from its artist & videographer in Canada - specifically Paul Grignon at the above web site. The animation is not for kids. You may not like it. It isn't for al tastes but it delivers the message very well and is sometimes amusing.

Internationally Speaking

Christine Rose's 2005 Documentary is based on a really simple idea. She drew inspiration from the James Zetlen website where people posted "sorry" notices to the rest of the World in 2004 after George Bush Jnr won his second term in the Whitehouse. Christine obviously struck upon a really good idea. Why not travel the globe performing a global vox-pop to find out what ordinary people in 'the street' really think of America? Unfortunately such a opus would require a lot of money. Instead she brought together her "coalition of the willing" - independent film makers on all continents - to do the work for her and pop the tape in the post! The end result has a highly variable quality picture whilst the sound level jumps around a bit so be prepared to have your TV remote with you as you watch! However, this is purely a cosmetic complaint and it rarely distracts from the genuinely fantastic effort that we see. Sadly, cosmetics to one side, the quality of the vox pop leaves a lot to be desired. Despite getting input from what must be over twenty countries the actual number of participants looks like one person per country. We don't get a genuine sense that this is a very representative sample! This somewhat erodes the authority of the work. Around an hour into it the makers are so obviously bored with what people have to say that the start inserting black and white movie clips of old Westerns with a few Popeye Cartoons thrown in for good measure. Most of this stuff is just great but why wait until so late in the work to include and then massively over-use it? If you want to see how to use that technique really well watch "The Corporation". Despite these disappointing aspects we do get some good quality insight from Noam Chomsky, Medea Benjamin ("Code Pink" founder) and Michael Ratner (human rights lawyer). Christine does manage to edit all together into a meaningful whole and it hangs together reasonably well. However it lacks a satisfying thread to hold it together. Some of the traditional beginning, middle, end structure doesn't manifest itself and you get the feeling it may have worked better with a good editor at the helm. It comes so close to a 'killer point' on many occasions only to fluff it at the last minute with overly long footage. It might have been a better idea to organise the topics around what people were saying in the vox-pop. You get the feeling that they simply didn't get the quality of the material they wanted from 'the street' so they ended up bulking it out into a conventional documentary. Ironically the "conventional Documentary" bits work really well. In fact, with a bit more work this could have rivalled "The Corporation". Christine kept to her guns so that everything about the movie is orientated around her precious "voices of the world". Maybe we should have a whip-round so she can go out and film the vox-pop again? To be fair she does cover the ground. All the right topics are here - from the Human Rights abuses to the suffering of Afghanistan.... But it is all couched in the 'brotherhood of people' hippy-chic that it leaves you feeling confused. You should be angry. But the movie directs to go out and hug someone. Will the right people in America watch this and gain insight into why they are hated so much? I doubt it. But 10 out of 10 for effort.

Manufacturing Consent

1992's "Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky and the Media" was put together by Mark Achbar (Co-Produced and co-Directed) who also brought us "The Corporation" in 2005. In fact he makes specific reference to his previous work in the Commentary and the "Making of... The Corporation" as featured on the DVD presentation of the later work. This is recommendation enough as "The Corporation" is one best made movies in this category you will ever see. Sadly "Manufacturing Consent" is as dull as the 1988 book (of the same name as co-authored with Ed Herman) is fascinating. That isn't to say that it doesn't have its moments, but at an unbelievably 167 minutes long, this is way too much quantity and not enough quality. The makers admit to putting together 120 hours of 16mm film as well as various sizes of video and archival images from around 185 sources through 500 people. It is just too much. The film meanders through what seems to be several years of Noam Chomsky's life. Noam himself commented on what felt to him as being 500 hours of video scrutiny. It took four years to make and it feels like it. Never has so much time been dedicated to making such a long movie about one man. Those of you who thought there was much of a connection between this and the book of the same name might be a little disappointed. Although that element does run through the movie (and supplies some of the more interesting bits) a large proportion is just general coverage of Chomsky Globe-trotting around the globe to various lectures, debates and award ceremonies. Ironically you can learn all of this from the companion book to the film. Yes, they wrote a book about a movie about a book. Well, if you spent five years putting one movie together you might as well make the most of it. The topics covered are quite vast and a lot of air time is given to Chomsky critics and those wishing to defend the media against this Chomsky intellectual onslaught. The archival material spans around 25 years but, in truth, we get to know Chomsky from the cradle. Inside this movie is one humdinger of a great documentary just waiting to get out. You just want to pay an editor to do the job.... This DVD contains an extra 45 minutes of "extra video material" that I haven't even had the heart to watch yet. The cover blurb optimistically talks about how "funny" and "accessible" "Manufacturing Consent" is but, unless you are deep into Chomsky-worship then you will find this tedious. So, why buy this? Probably because there are nuggets of gold here. It is recommended that you do not watch this entire movie at once. It is probably for this reason that there is an intermission in the middle! Call it "Volume I" and "Volume II" - a few bite-sized chunks will make this easier to swallow rather than losing the will to live. The original 1988 book is highly recommended - given a choice please choose the book. However, if you have a lot of time to kill dip into this movie when the fancy takes you. Give it a year or two maybe it will even grow on you. Otherwise it has the feel of an amateurish Film School art project - both clever and infuriating. Borrow before you buy.

Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy

"Instant Mix Imperial Democracy" and "Come September" - two talks by Arundhati Roy with Howard Zinn. This was released by AK Press in 2003. This 210 minute presentation also includes the Q&A session at UCLA and "Day of the Jackals" reading (also at UCLA). The "Come September" talk comes first and was recorded at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Sante Fe, New Mexico, on September 18th 2002. "Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy - Buy One Get One Free" was presented at the Riverside Church in New York on May 13th 2003. "The Day of the Jackals" was recorded a few days later in May that year. Those of you more familiar with the work of Chomsky or Pilger may well be taken aback by Arundhati. Her publicity photo's have her formally dressed in Sari and she looks quite formidable. Certainly her intellectual breadth is astounding as brings together great writing skills with politics in what is closer to poetry. Her turn of phrase is rich in irony and, as the title suggests, humour! The UCLA monologue has her in far more relaxed mode as she faces the camera in casual western clothes. Her strappy top says "Drop Bush Not Bombs"! For the first time the "formidable" drops away and the viewer finds that Roy appears fragile, young, pretty. Such a great mind in such a small package. Lovable. The 2002 speech is not her finest hour as she seems a little awkward and admits that talking in public is not really her thing. In all cases she reads aloud from her own writings. However, by 2003 she presents with greater confidence and the quality of her work is head and shoulders over "Come September". "Instant Mix" is cutting, angry, emotive, sarcastic - a rallying call to the people of the World who are afraid of America, angry, or both. Although seemingly never moved to emotion herself it is difficult for the viewer not to get caught up in the passion. You just feel like punching he air and saying "Yes! That is so true!" At points she is greeted with rapturous applause - remember she is in New York less than two years after 9/11. You would not expect her to have such appeal. The audience is there. Sadly, as is true through this entire DVD there is only one Camera angle, ie, only one camera, so we never get an idea as to where she is or the size of her audience. It is pretty much her talking head for three hours. We do get some Q&A which is largely dispensable. The sections with Howard Zinn are awkward as he clearly is not comfortable in front of an audience until he warms to a topic - then he talks endlessly forgetting his guest. So maybe too much quantity but the quality is remarkable. Sound and picture quality are perfect. A must.

Anarchism in America

"Anarchism in America" is not new as it consists of two documentaries filmed in the early 1980's by Steven Fischer and Joel Sucher. The first is the title feature (75 minutes) and the second is the same-ish "The Free Voice of Labor: The Jewish Anarchists" (55 minutes). This will probably be the first DVD you may have bought in English and Yiddish. The quality of the picture is poor as the original celluloid has faded in the last 25 years before transfer to DVD and the look is heavily dated. The first movie is a road-trip across America meeting various peoples who call themselves "Anarchists". With one exception they all seem perfectly wonderful people and the film makers muse about the essential "freedom from government" ethic that came across with the first European settlers. Is this the American spirit? It almost all falls apart when they interview one jackass who believed that his personal anti-social behaviour, such as jumping red lights and Bus Queues, constituted "anarchy". There is a thin line between anarchy and chaos. It is a short distance from chaos to selfishness and tyranny. Maybe American anarchism is within the thought patterns of today's American Empire builders? You can react to persecution in two ways: run away, or remake the world in your image. The US Government is trying the latter. One man's freedom, security and independence is another's slavery. Just look at Israel. However it is hard to dispute the genuinely benign ambitions of the true Anarchists featured. One was a former speech writer for the Republican Party in the 1960's. He believed the politicians talked anarchist concepts but could never live up to the dream. The follow up documentary about the Jewish Anarchists concerns immigrants to America in the 19th and early 20th Century. They reacted to sweat shops with Unions and Anarchism. They were persecuted, some even executed on trumped up charges. This work proves that there was a rich and active form of socialism and left-wing thinking in America right up until World War II. Ironically whilst the world triumphed over Fascism in 1945 the US quietly slipped into its grips as it peoples gave up their dreams. They became co-opted by the vision of a consumerist paradise. Apart from some interesting historical insights and some footage of Emma Goldman there is nothing much here that can be classed as essential viewing. Interesting background is all it lives up to. Most amusing is the opening to the first movie where the film-makers conduct a vox-pop asking members of the public whether they knew what Anarchism was and if they knew any Anarchists? The answers were mostly ludicrous with one gentleman even saying that the Ayatollah Khomeini was an anarchist. Living a life free of Government oppression has never been a more dim and distant dream. Especially in America.

How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

A 53 minute Documentary from the "Community Solutions" Organisation operating out of Ohio, USA. It is incredibly unusual to find a Documentary about Peak Oil. Indeed it is quite rare to find a Documentary that is sympathetic to Cuba. Here we have both. Often we see Cuba as a basket case. A dinosaur Communist Country in a World where Capitalism won. If this is your view then maybe this film will just change your mind. Whilst Cuba has suffered from an illegal and unjust economic blockade by the USA since the 1960's (not to mention the illegal military intervention and terrorist attacks) their world collapsed with the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1989. Suddenly their Oil Imports dropped by 90%. Due to their enforced economic isolation Cuba then became a model of what will happen when Peak Oil hits everyone else. Falling outside the neo-liberal models of the West they didn't cut the schools, universities and health-care programs. Cuba today has a higher-life expectancy than America does. It has higher literacy rates too. So how did they manage without Oil? Well, they called in Permaculture experts from Australia. They made a million bicycles. They broke up the Universities and Healthcare services and based them in the communities. They introduced food rationing. They expanded public transport with ingenious measures. Oxen reappeared on the land. In short, their leadership responded to the crisis: - they organised, they powered-down, they recycled and substituted, they moved and stayed, invested and generated, they made do and grew their own food. It was a text-book example. People returned to the land and farming became a prized skill. They learnt to grow all their food organically - no pesticides, no fertilizers. This is a message of hope for all of us. We can cope with Peak Oil and American sanctions. Watch the faces in this movie - they are not the middle-class, muesli eating, Guardian readers, worrying about Climate Change. Global Warming is NEVER mentioned once in this entire documentary. These are people who's Communities responded to change with grass-roots activity. The people didn't wait for the Government to solve their problems. They voted with their feet. If you know anything about Cuba, its people or style of democracy you will know this is typical. At no point do any Government officials appear in the movie. It isn't clear how much guidance they supplied or whether any censorship was applied. However, it appears genuine. Cuba is a test-tube experiment and we must all learn from it. What is more - Cuba deserves our sympathy and help. To learn more about Cuba and Peak Oil go to www.communitysolution.org/cuba. You can buy your copy of this movie from www.green-shopping.co.uk.

A Crude Awakening

This hit the cinema screens at a few selected places in the UK in November 2007 and was hyped considerably. Unfortunately it was unable to top the "Crude Impact" work released around the same time. Coming out maybe a little later the Indy movie crowd had warmed up to Peak Oil as a documentary theme which probably guaranteed greater exposure for this lesser work. It obviously lacks much of the globe-trotting human element of its elder and wiser sibling. Produced and Directed by Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack this movie takes you to Baku, Azerbaijan to look at the origins of the Oil Industry with some great vintage footage. The movie is set to a specially written score by Phillip Glass but it is not particularly inspiring and it doesn't set this movie aside. You will get the usual assortment of talking heads - everyone from Colin Campbell to Matt Simmons. The usual suspects. However, there is probably just a little too much opinion and not enough graphics to make this generally palatable to a wider audience. Indeed, most of the extra material on the DVD just consists of extended interviews with these people. The general population is simply not going to sit through this. The subject matter is handled in a straightforward and non-sensational manner. There is plenty of illustrative stock-footage to amuse the eye. Most of the movie is spent ruminating over Oil and War. We learn that one of the talking heads believes that the Bush administration sees "democratisation of the Middle East" as a way of liberating their Oil Supplies.... But then there is plenty of attention given to the shady relationship between Washington and the Saudi Royal Family. The documentary does make pains to tell the audience that American support for corrupt and un-democratic regimes in the Middle-East is the reason for their mass unpopularity in those parts of the world. That is putting in mildly. Some of the talking heads rather gleefully tell us that Oil comes from the places that are full of "terrorists". This is putting effect before cause. These subtle contradictions in the opinions, between the experts, will only serve to confuse the audience. This work should have been edited together in a more cohesive fashion to deliver a clear message. All-in-all this is just TOO tame to awaken Joe Public. Otherwise it is a pick'n'mix of vaguely related ideas designed to confuse the issue. It all ends in a whimper when we fade with the picture of some crofter digging her garden and herding her goats as the Wind Turbine turns in the background. When asked to consider life after the oil crash we cut to a short and pointless section on the Amish running around in horse-drawn buggies. This goes largely without comment and we assume the audience is meant to draw their own conclusions? This is really expecting too much. Then we cut to a talking head who tells us that we can't return to an agrarian existence because it would be against "evolution". On what evidence does he base this? I am sure the Romans thought the same way 2000 years ago. We are treated to a vague ramble through the hydrogen economy although no one properly points out the technological challenges that, as yet, remain unsolved. Likewise, bio-mass fuels are not given a proper review and we are left guessing whether they are good, bad or indifferent. Too subtle by half. This movie has no end and no conclusion. A run-of-the-mill documentary. Obtain your copy from www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net or www.dogwoof.com. To learn more go to www.oilcrashmovie.com.

The End of Suburbia

Since World War II Suburbia has become the American Dream which is why Peak Oil strikes at the very heart of that way of life. In terms of the word 'dream' this is quite an alien concept outside of the US as few countries have had the luxury (or short-sightedness maybe) to follow this model. It is a product of seemingly endless cheap energy and boundless post war optimism. The automobile replaced the community - roads replaced pavements. Ironically, whereas Europe was destroyed by bombs the post war American Urban landscape was demolished by the wrecking ball in what Kunstler calls the 'greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world'. Europe and Japan neither had the space nor the energy for this experiment. This 78 minute 2004 documentary is accompanied on the DVD by two whimsical 1950's educational films - interesting but hardly essential - and an audio commentary. The Director, Gregory Greene, started the project thinking he would make a documentary about 9/11. However, the more he studied the 'war on terror' the more he realised it was about Peak Oil. Outside of the US it is hard to image why Americans are willing to close their eyes to the evil done in their name. Why is the American way of life non-negotiable yet everyone else's is? It is the myth of suburban life that is under the skin of the America. It is a living breathing cult. No one in the documentary is scared to say this. There is one architect who is trying to promote "The New Urbanism" in places like Denver and the documentary does steer clear of the darker side of Peak Oil theory. Food production is mentioned at length but the Directory describes this work as "peak Oil-lite" but at the same time said that this film scared his wife. If Peak Oil-lite is this frightening God help us all. The expert talking heads appearing in the movie is a who's who of Peak Oil guru's. Anyone who is anyone gets extended interview slots: Richard Heinberg, Julian Darley, Michael Klare, Colin Campbell, Michael Ruppert and James Howard Kunstler. In fact the film-makers were criticised because all the participants were men. This movie is a far better introduction to the topic than Greene's later work but it is still too long. Some points are too laboured and it could have been edited down to a more punchier 60 minutes. However, it is all good and probably one of the best documentaries we have seen so far that should be shown to a general audience on the basis that it could hold their attention. All the main themes are there. All the characters are in place. It is still NOT Peak Oil's "An Inconvenient Truth" but it is half way there. It doesn't overly shock nor numb and audience. Buy this and show it to everyone you know. And hundreds you do not. The makers are so convinced of the cause that they grant open license. You can show this movie to whoever you want. They originally talked to major Distributors to finance the work but no one wanted to make the documentary in the form proposed. It was seen as too depressing. So the makers decided to make it independently. The world is a better place for this. Get your copy from www.powerswitch.org.uk/order.htm

The Oil Factor

"The Oil Factor" is far less about Peak Oil and far more about the State of the World and the so called 'War on Terror'. Readers of Chomsky, Ruppert or Vidal would find this pretty familiar territory and there is nothing new here. However, if you are not familiar with the topic and like a nice 90 minute DVD Movie to watch then this is the Documentary for you. It is made by Gerard Ungerman and Audrey Brohy who won't be familiar names to many. However, the professionalism and style of the Movie means you could easily see this playing on terrestrial TV. Although overly long it is a proper documentary and seemingly well funded. The Directors spent three months in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan filming this work which exposes the terrible human cost behind the war on terror. They reveal how the 'war' has very little to do with the 'terror'. It is, obviously, all about pursuing control over the last remaining oil supplies on the planet. This is a fact that is so obvious now it seems a truism. However, to an American audience this is probably subversive stuff. There is a surprising combination of characters interviewed including Zbigniew Brzezinski, Noam Chomsky and Gary Schmitt. Sadly Noam's contribution is too short whilst we get to hear quite too much of the new world order fantasy of the Director for the "Project for the New American Century (Schmitt). "Taliban" author Ahmed Rashid appears as does someone called Karen Kwiatkwoski who used to work at the Pentagon. If you want to make sense of the endless wars being waged across this planet then watch this. If you despair of the mounting body bags flying home at midnight and it makes you angry then show this movie to your friends. Recommended but it isn't that punchy or exciting. You can order yourself a copy at www.freewillprod.com/Order.htm and read more about the movie at www.theoilfactor.com.

The War on Democracy

John Pilger is somewhat of a romantic and this comes across in his 2007 documentary charting the American Empire's attempts to crush South American Democracy since 1945. In content there is not a lot here that you could not read about in far more detail in Chomsky's brilliant "Deterring Democracy". However, Chomsky is a hardened realist who would probably not put quite such a shine on recent events. For it is the very idea that Latin America must not be self-governed - under ANY circumstance that is so very frightening. The struggle has been bitter and countless lives have been lost. In fact this is a very painful documentary to watch. The "12" rating on the back actually says "Contains real images of human suffering". Be warned - it does. Dreadful suffering. Unimaginable suffering. Entire nations and peoples suffering. Awful stories of torture under Pinochet. This movie moved me to tears. It is hard to watch such suffering and not get angry. However, as we say, Pilger retains some romance for Latin America. He sees the nobility in their endurance and resistance. He relishes the tales of the people who fought back against empire - and won. His work is at its most compelling when he presents the undeniable evidence of Washington's complicity in the destruction of hope in an entire continent. The truth is admitted to by a long string of CIA Agents who seem almost gleefully happy to tell Pilger about their contempt for other people's Democracy. Then we have the tortured American Nun. She recognised one of her torturers as a fellow American citizen. In tears she gasps at the US Media's charade that made out that Abu Ghraib was an isolated incidence. "What kind of history do we teach in our schools?" she cries. Indeed. America is blind to its own crimes. Pilger gets to interview Hugo Chavez to cut through the American Media's grossly distorted view of him. Sadly, although obviously intelligent, we get no great impression of who 'Chavez-the-man' is. I am sure an interview with Stalin would have been equally unenlightening. Few, however, could not be moved by how the people of the barrios love him - and for good reason. The Venezuelan middle classes hate him only because they have lost political power. Oddly they seem to have lost nothing else and their TV Stations throw out hateful polemic out against Chavez on a daily basis. What censorship?! His poor have a constitution and a leader they elected. They have democracy, at last. One day in 2002 it was nearly snuffed out in a coupe. The people of the barrios rose up against the replacement dictator (in the payroll of America's "Endowment for Democracy" - truly a fine piece of Orwellian doublespeak). Pilger glosses over the fact that it was the Army who over-threw the coupe, not really the people. As Chavez is a former Army Officer this maybe explains his true power-base. American undermined 50 elected Governments since 1945 and directly attacked 30 countries. Pilger listed those Latin American states so attacked in his lifetime. It left you wondering - was there anywhere left that Washington had not bombed? And so to Chile where Pilger is highly effective in covering the rise of Washington's man - Pinochet. Sadly the coverage of the post-Pinochet era of "economic violence" at the hands of Bush's "Chicago Boys" pails into insignificance in comparison to the death squads of the Pinochet fascist regime. The economic horror should really have been left to another documentary. Finally we end up in Bolivia with a story of hope as the indigenous people fought, and won, not only over the Bechtel takeover of their Water, but also for the election of an Indigenous President. This is a great documentary, sometimes painful to watch, mostly inspiring, thoroughly convincing, a touch weak in places, but always on the money. If you buy one Pilger DVD make it this. To learn more go to www.warondemocracy.net.

Documentaries that Changed the World

"Documentaries that Changed the World" was released as a 4 DVD set in 2006. It has a small booklet written by the Guardian's Mark Curtis (who also appears in "Stealing a Nation"). It also has an interview with John Pilger by Anthony Hayward at the Guardian Hay Festival in 2006. For your money you get a total runtime of 644 minutes covering 12 separate documentaries. The earliest dates back to 1970 in Vietnam. We track John in no particular order as he globe trots across the world taking in Cambodia, Nicaragua, East Timor, Australia, Iraq, Palestine and the Chagos Islands. We get to see absolutely everything wrong with the world through John's eyes. In this he is utterly faultless. Apart from the first Vietnam work the documentaries all bare his hallmarks. Particularly of note are his interviews with many terrible villains. He treats with journalistic respect but always managed to pull out some statistic that stuns his interviewee. There is then always some preposterous response leading to John's characteristic "you are joking right?" withering look. Classic. Of note was the US Government official's utter disbelief when John points out that the US had intervened Militarily in 77 separate countries. John then lists them on screen with all the facts. There is much brilliance here. Often the reaction of the viewer is outrage. You are easily moved to tears not so much my man's inhumanity to man but by the bravery of the victims. John exposes the lies not only of foreign Governments but also those of the US, Australia and Britain. We should all hang our heads in shame that we ever let these things happen in our name. John's angle is always that the Wes is somehow to blame. Given the evidence he unveils it is hard to disagree with this conclusion. So, what to do with nearly 11 hours of documentary? You just need to dip into these when you feel motivation - when you want to get angry. For this, and tears, is what this work invokes. He says more in 1 hour than Chomsky can communicate in a dozen books. If you want to know what happened to Nicaragua then "A Nation's Right to Survive" is the one to watch. The War on Terror? Watch "Breaking the Silence". And so it goes on. Did these Documentaries change the world? Probably not but we know for sure that his work in Cambodia, East Timor, the Chagos Islands and Vietnam told people uncomfortable truths that got prime-time airtime. He moved people. Things changed. Recommended, but don't try and watch them all at once.

Distorted Morality

"Distorted Morality" is a three Hour film of Noam Chomsky delivering a couple of talks on themes similar to those found on "Imperial Grand Strategy". Indeed the second feature on the DVD is "Washington's Imperial Grand Strategy" as delivered on April 15th 2003 at MIT. Much of the comments made for "Imperial Grand Strategy" apply to this release although the quality of the filming is somewhat better. The first feature is from a talk given at Harvard University on February the 6th in 2002. Chomsky kicks off with his familiar, and authoritative, interpretation of recent events that goes a little like this: there is no war on terror. He goes back to the 'peak year' for international terrorism in the mid 1980's to discuss how academics and the media portrayed 'terrorism' as being 'state-sponsored' by some foreign power and directed against Americans and their allies (primarily Israel). The 'peak year' feature a handful of deaths of those 'people who matter'. This made the news and was classified as a terrible evil. However, the same year saw of CIA bomb kill nearly fifty women and children leaving a mosque in Beirut. The same year Israel bombed Tunis killing many more... And so on. In each case our own crimes are never classified as terrorism, no matter how great those crimes were. "Terrorism" is always something THEY do to US. WE can terrify an entire population of a country or bomb it into the stone age. But it will be 'self-defence'. Hence this leads us to the Chomsky definition of "terrorism", ie, it is something the enemy does. The US went to the UN time after time and veto'd Resolution after Resolution condemning Terrorism. Yet who remembers this today? Was it even reported by the media? No, it just isn't fit for the people to learn their own country is the World's number ONE exporter of state-sponsored Terrorism. In terms of death toll the US is head-and-shoulders above the nearest competitor. Terrorism is the chosen weapon of the strong against the weak. The follow-up talk, from MIT a year later, touches on the National Security Strategy announced on September 17th. There it was made clear that US Foreign policy would choose violence over diplomacy as a first resort. This will be a permanent arrangement and pre-emptive war will be a matter of policy. The US reserves for itself the right to attack anyone, anytime for ANY REASON. No actual evidence of a real threat has to be involved. It is enough to challenge the US in the economic sphere. This is all Chomsky at his best. He reveals what we all know to be true and terrifying. Then he backs it up with demonstrable fact after demonstrable fact. A perfect companion to the DVD "Imperial Grand Strategy". Recommended. Orwell has a spare copy of this DVD to give away. Just send me you name and address on a note to .

America - Freedom to Fascism

Aaron Russo's 2006 Documentary "America - Freedom to Fascism" runs for 105 minutes in this, its "expanded theatrical version". It is good if not remarkable. The first hour is solely a challenge to the US Constitutional basis for Income Tax. Most Americans don't know that the 1913 16th Amendment remain unratified and was not passed into Law in the individual States of the Union. Way too much attention is spent on this one fact. It is illustrative of the problems with America but is given too much prominence. I suspect this is because this film was made for their domestic audience and there is nothing more heart-warming than bashing the IRS. What this does illustrate is the way that big government has run rough-shod over their Constitution and the "Law" is whatever the Judicial system says it is. Illuminating. This opens an interesting footnote in American history but it is par for the course for those of us who study such matters. After this first hour we get on to the meat and potatoes of the movie (I am sure most viewers outside the US would have long lost interest by this point so it might be worth hitting fast forward through the first hour) and that is the need for monetary reform. The link between the Income Tax issue and the privatisation of public money may not be clear to those of us in Europe but in the US it is a different matter. Income Tax is the mechanism by which the publically elected Government pays interest charges to the banking system for creating debt. This is also unconstitutional - but most people either haven't noticed, don't understand or don't give a damn. Thus the American economy became institutionally engineered on a quasi-Soviet model towards generating wealth to be sucked up into the pockets of a minority. As was quoted during the film - if this was actually discussed in the media there would be a revolution tomorrow. After half an hour of this good stuff the last 15 minutes descends into a peculiarly North American obsession - the "new world order" and "global government". It is funny that outside of the US the words "new world order" (to most people) would mean US hegemony. The words "world government" would be rather meaningless in the light of the fact that governments have lost their right to govern in country after country as international agreements and the policies of the IMF & WTO have rendered public mandate irrelevant. The confusion is about terminology. Most of us would agree that we are heading towards "global governance" or, indeed, "global corporate governance" but to describe it as a "government" gives it way to much credit. "Government" implies organisation and centralised controlled. North Americans talk about the evaporation of government and it replacement by private finance and transnational corporations as if it is its own "government". This is a peculiar use of the word. Its use is probably a reflection of how US liberals agonise over the malignant effect of their own foreign policies. Since it is hard to recognise blame they transfer it to a "world government" rather than their own. Outside the US we know who to blame. Beyond these points the film drifts off into some navel-gazing upon the wrongs of ID Cards and RFID Tags. All very Orwellian but rather too conspiratorial to hold a lot of weight. It waters down the impact of the movie so it goes out on a puff rather than a bang. As a slice of modern American paranoia this is all very instructional but its lack of global perspective means it doesn't travel well. America remains obsessed with itself as if the damage it does is entirely internal. It is not. Grow up.

V for Vendetta

"Ideas are bullet-proof" Maybe not a big box-office draw but a big hit with film fans rated 116 in the top 250 best movies as voted for by IMDB users. Probably not since Steven Spielberg's "Munich" has such a post-9/11 movie stirred up so much controversy. Utterly spellbinding cinema. An instant timeless classic. Stirring, Topical. Poignant. How did a movie with such a dumb title spark such passion? The original Alan Moore graphic novel was written during the 1980's and imagined the rise of English Fascism as a conclusion to the coming to power of Margaret Thatcher. As such it was extremely anti-establishment. The choice of London as a backdrop is intriguing. Although the reality has departed from the novel (a long way), recent world events, and the rise of the religious-right in North America, draw frightening parallels to events in the novel. These parallels were apparent to the Wachowski brothers who updated the story to include current events. Chillingly the words "America's War grew worse and worse and, eventually it came to London" feature in the story. Events are triggered by bombings of the London Underground which leads to the rise to power of a fascist part known as "Norsefire". The story is set around 2035 some years after Norsefire's rise to power. All the blacks, gays, Muslims and immigrants have been murdered or expelled during a period known as the 'reformation'. This period was triggered by a terrorist biological warfare attack upon England. The hero - "V" - is a former inmate of a concentration camp where he was used for medical experiments for developing germ warfare agents. He escapes and hatches a plot to blow up Parliament in order to bring down the regime. He also plans to kill all those who ran the camp where he was interred and where so many innocent lives were lost. Along the way he accidentally becomes allied to a girl - Evey (Natalie Portman). A detective Finch (Stephen Rea) is attempting to hunt down V & Evey before the secret police get to them. His detective work leads him to believe that the Terrorist attack (that lead to the Reformation and rise to power of Norsefire) was not all that it seemed. Therein lies the political dynamite in the plot. The Norsefire regime, of course, label "V" as a 'terrorist'. Yet he is the hero of the story. Whereas Spielberg's "Munich" chose to question the wisdom of State-sponsored revenge assassination of so-called terrorists, "V for Vendetta" tackles the issue of "what is a terrorist" head-on. The movie also clearly illustrates the process whereby democracy can easily be turned into dictatorship. Events leading up to Norsefire gaining power clearly parallel Germany in the 1930's. Even more obviously the events have parallels to World events in 2005 when the movie was made. Proof, if any was needed, that we are condemned to repeat history if we don't learn from it... Pearl Harbour, Gulf of Tonkin, the burning of the Reich Stag, the Twin Towers. It's is all the same. Any Government can engineer events, and the subsequent public fear, to give them the power they desire.

Oil, Smoke & Mirrors

"There is no War on Terror". This documentary really grows on you. It is not aimed at a mainstream audience because it is primarily concerned with the link between Peak Oil and the War on Terror. Although practically everyone makes this link this movie goes right for the jugular on 9/11. It launches this as a surprise half way through the documentary. We get a good assortment of talking heads - everyone from Colin Campbell and Richard Heinberg to Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed (author of the wonderful "War on Truth") and Michael Meacher MP. The first half hour is a decent representation of the problem of Peak Oil but then we hit the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory section. This is so highly controversial that even the program makers print a disclaimer saying that not everyone participating in the movie would agree with each other on the matter. The makers have taken a big risk with this approach and they do carry it off remarkably well. (And they all do it without one mention of Michael Ruppert. Very clever.) It is all glued together with a wonderful red firework graphic motif that illustrates the curve of Peak Oil and a suitable piece of hypnotic music. It is slick and convincing. The 9/11 Conspiracy section could have sunk this documentary. Indeed, many will still find this unpalatable. However, the talking heads carry this off with such tremendous authority that you just have to pay attention. It is so matter-of-fact it opens your eyes. It still stretched credibility as to why it would be necessary to actually demolish and implode the twin towers with thermite explosive. This is all so unnecessarily complex. However, to fly four hijacked airliners around the skies of the most heavily defended airspace in the world for an hour without interception is till a mind-boggling fact that defies all explanation. Was it all setup to provide a convenient excuse to take over the world's last remaining Oil fields? We'll probably never know. However, the fact is that it was all too convenient. This can be coupled to the fact that there is plenty of historical precedence for democratic Governments conjuring up terrorist outrages in order to exercise undemocratic control of domestic population and to pursue aggressive foreign policy. You need only look at the burning of the Reichstag. As long as the powers-that-be can maintain public incredulity that such a crime could be committed against them then no further cover-up is required. It is a surprise in this movie to see how passionate Richard Heinberg is about this topic. It is not the sort of thing that you would associate him with as he is the great Peak Oil guru and not seen as a political animal prone to flights of fancy. This can only be evidence of just how many 'peak oilers' are viewing world events differently now. Has 9/11 Conspiracies gone mainstream? It remains a dirty word to many. Many will close their eyes and minds to the very concept. Whatever the truth you don't have to believe a word of it to look at the world differently from now on. In ten years, when Oil and Food Prices are spiralling, unemployment is at 15% and your country's Army is sending its dead back at midnight by the plane-load, you will be seeing Peak Oil. Of course the Media and Politicians will blame terrorists or lack of investment or anything else-but-peak-oil. You will know the truth. When the history books are written they will label the period 'peak oil' in retrospect. To learn more about this movie and order your copy go to www.oilsmokeandmirrors.com. Recommended.

The Corporation

Many reading this page may have never heard of this movie. Many will find its anti-corporate message a bit too left-wing to be acceptable or interesting. However, there is much material here that is relevant. Whilst it doesn't exactly tackle Peak Oil there are many participants who talk about depletion of resources by Global (read American) Corporations who operate in the manner of a psychopath. For this we often read 'immoral' but that would be a mistake. A psychopath is 'amoral' he, she or it has no morals. A Corporation is a machine to make money and it will do it in any fashion it sees fit. As such there is nothing surprising with this. The damage is done in a system (such as the US) where 'Corporate Capitalism' (or worse 'Corporate Democracy') is in place. Where the decisions that effect our lives and those of our children are not made by us in open debate but are made by Corporations behind closed doors and then acted upon by Governments. This movie calls for the reining-in of Corporate Power. This is highly pertinent if we look at how ExxonMobil has funded Climate Change Denial programs in the US. However, most Business is small-business run by good people for the benefit of their workers and communities. So don't get too caught up in anti-business fervour!

Crude Impact

"It's worse than you think... but it's not too late." Without a doubt the best Peak Oil documentary made to date. Both moving, emotive and entertaining this 98 minute extravaganza hit the screen during 2006. It won a string of awards at various Indy film festivals and stands head and shoulders above the similarly titled "A Crude Awakening". It gets off to a cracking start although the opening comment by Matt Simmons could have been better chosen. The production is so slick that it will easily draw in even the most disinterested of viewers. Whilst many of the talking heads appear in many of the Peak Oil movies, you see on this web site, this movie is far more visually thrilling. The makers got out of their Director's chairs and actually travelled the globe to supply probably the most holistic view of the ill effects of Oil upon the nations of the world. Unlike other Peak Oil movies this one looks more closely at the effect upon the environment, people and climate. The effect upon our population is touched upon in quite a sensitive fashion. It is well scripted and easily understood. We even get treated to an amusing slot on the lack of coverage of these matters in the U.S. Media. News has been replaced by "infotainment" after the networks were deregulated. God help us if this happens anywhere else. Americans don't get to see what is "really happening in the World" as their airwaves are filled with trivia. Instead the media are in bed with the corporations. The most touching piece is the section on the protestors in Nigeria who fought the Government and the Shell Oil Company only to have their leaders tried in a kangaroo court and executed. The fight goes on in their name. Here we see, not only the link between Oil and War but also Oil and Poverty. Apart from a few western countries who were in on the ground floor of the Industrial Revolution, all the other latecomers have not benefited from Oil at all. It lead to more poverty not less. We get to see the opinions of Richard Heinberg, Michael Klare, Matt Simmons and Kenneth Deffeyes. This is the best documentary you will see on the subject. You can get your copy from either www.peakoilstore.com or www.powerswitch.org.uk. Recommended. Learn more about this movie at www.crudeimpact.com. This is close as we have got so far to Peak Oil's "An Inconvenient Truth". It ends on a really lame song for the end credits which is really disappointing. Al Gore got an Oscar winning song by Mellisa Etheridge that could just move you to tears. A Peak Oil Movie should and must move its audience to tears. We just haven't seen that quite yet.

Escape from Suburbia

"Escape from Suburbia - Beyond the American Dream" is a full length feature running to 95 minutes. It is Directed by Gregory Greene and is his sequel to "The End of Suburbia - Oil Depletion and The Collapse of The American Dream". 2007's "Escape...." picks up where the previous work left off. This is North American-centric. In the U.S. the problem of Suburbia has reached its ultimate absurdity but there is nothing here that would not be familiar to the people of the industrialised Nations of Europe or Asia. In our more crowded confines our Suburban nightmare finds expression in the trips to the out-of-town Supermarket. Maybe the difference for Europeans is our population density. Whereas Americans look to retreat into their wilderness there is nowhere for the average Briton to run to. We have to make a stand. Greene's first movie was criticised for not having enough women in it. With this follow-up he redresses the balance because this movie is about what ordinary people are doing rather than what the Oil Geologists say. It is about practical examples and leadership. This move was an indie success story, winning major festival awards and attracting major media attention. Such a movie can be used to raise awareness but it does run for too long. It follows the stories of various communities and activists in various locations in the U.S. Their story is one of either running away or making a stand. Either way they are getting ready for a low-energy world and relocalising. The documentary is littered with expert talking heads with both Matthew Simmons and Michael Ruppert given extensive opportunity to express their opinions. However, if that doesn't impress you then the other experts on hand is a who's who of shakers and movers in the Peak Oil world. In fact everyone bar Colin Campbell makes an appearance. The movie describes itself as a 'wake up call'. It challenges the paradigm of infinite growth and shows the alternatives that citizens are pursuing. There are countless thousands coming together to discuss Peak Oil and to work to relocalise their communities to ensure their survival. An inspirational work. Special mention must be made for the section on the LA Community Farm that the local authority had bulldozed to build a warehouse. They claim it was needed for 'jobs'. Do jobs come before food? What a tragic waste. What a setback. The delusion of never-ending growth will have these occasional victories over sustainability but the ball is rolling. Let it gain momentum. Show this movie to your friends, family and community. Relocalise now. Get your copy from www.powerswitch.org.uk/order.htm

Peak Oil - Imposed by Nature

This 28 minute documentary is by Norwegian Producer/ Director Amund Prestegard. For your money you get a bunch of talking heads as Amund stitches together a series of interviews with the likes of Geologist and ASPO Chief, Colin Campbell, and well known author and Energy Consultant, Matthew Simmons - who wrote "Twilight in the Desert". For good measure we get a thankfully short slot for Michael C Ruppert, to peddle his usual slant on conspiracy theories, before an even shorter slot for a canned George Bush speech. The other talking heads are authoritative but largely unknown. The camera-work is mostly fly-on-the-wall-documentary-style as Amund appears to have no camera tripod. There are no funky graphics and no comforting voice-over to string it all together. It all looks like a cheap Corporate Marketing video. We get to see Colin Campbell present his case in a Speaker's Committee at the House of Lords. Nobody in the Government turned up. Colin dominates the half hour. At times his story is quite touching as he introduces the sad tale of the extinction of a mollusc by way as analogy for the position of mankind. At the end we see him shuffling into his home with some logs to add them to his wood-burning stove. He takes the end-of-oil seriously. This work is educational, accurate, brief and unexciting. It won't score high on the entertainment stakes so will not prick the public consciousness to any significant extent. We still await Peak Oil's "An Inconvenient Truth". DVD Available from www.troposdoc.com/006.htm

What A Way To Go

An enormous 123 minute movie that is more art than science. It is so unnecessarily long that it comes with an opening statement that suggests the audience let the experience just wash over them at the first watch. Quite why there are so few good movies about Climate Change and Peak Oil when so much money has been spent on this project in unfathomable. Despite the high production values and the slick packaging this comes over as a film-school project for one of their more pretentious doom-merchants. It is the kind of thing you will sit through once and then never watch again. The maker admits that he interviewed some of his friends and neighbours to make this. At the same time he has conjured up a broad spectrum of the authors of all the books he has read. Of note is the inclusion of the Richard Heinberg. However, as Richard appears in practically every Peak Oil-related film on this web site then this is nothing new. Practically nobody else appearing here is of note outside of the small circle they inhabit. There is not much here about Peak Oil or Climate Change. Instead you get a doom-laden two hour recitation of poetry ("a personal essay") interspersed with occasional talking heads who wax lyrical about the reasons WHY mankind has drifted into this state of affairs. It seems we all went wrong when we stopped being hunter-gatherers and started agriculture. Really helpful insight (not). This won't help you at all. It is occasionally thought-provoking but seldom does it warrant the praise that the cover sleeve quotes suggest it received. It will leave most audiences cold - and that is if they stayed awake or didn't walk out in the first ten minutes. The LAST movie you would ever show the uninitiated. Not recommended. Learn more at www.whatawaytogomovie.com.