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Bruce · 07-09-2007

List of documentaries that I believe are highly relevant to understand in particular U.S. foreign policy and the impact it has on the citizens of the United States and the world around us.

The Century of the Self
"This series is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy." -- Adam Curtis
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 [video.google.com]
[runtime: 04:00:00, director: Adam Curtis, released: 2002]

The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom
"The Trap is a series of three films by Bafta-winning producer Adam Curtis that explains the origins of our contemporary, narrow idea of freedom. It shows how a simplistic model of human beings as self-seeking, almost robotic, creatures led to today's idea of freedom. This model was derived from ideas and techniques developed by nuclear strategists during the Cold War to control the behaviour of the Soviet enemy." -- BBC
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 [video.google.com]
[runtime: 03:00:00, director: Adam Curtis, released: 2007]

The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear
"In a new series, the Power of Nightmares explores how the idea that we are threatened by a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion. It is a myth that has spread unquestioned through politics, the security services and the international media." -- BBC
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 [video.google.com]
[runtime: 03:00:00, director: Adam Curtis, released: 2004]

The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara
"Documentary about Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, who subsequently became president of the World Bank. The documentary will combine an interview with Mr. McNamara discussing some of the tragedies and glories of the 20th Century, archival footage, documents, and an original score by Philip Glass." -- Paul Klenk
The documentary [video.google.com]
[runtime: 01:35:00, director: Errol Morris, released: 2003]

Why We Fight
"The film describes the rise and maintenance of the United States military-industrial complex while concentrating on wars led by the United States of the last fifty years and in particular on the 2003 Invasion of Iraq." -- Wikipedia
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 [youtube.com]
[runtime: 01:38:00, director: Eugene Jarecki, released: 2005]

Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire
"Hijacking Catastrophe is powerful, understated, straightforward and educational. In a single meticulously organized hour of evidence and analysis, viewers are treated to a thoughtful explanation of modern American empire, neo-conservatism as a driving force for the current Bush administration." -- Information Clearing House
The documentary [video.google.com]
[runtime: 01:08:00, director: Jeremy Earp, Sut Jhally, released: 2004]

The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis
"In the 22-minutes of the PBS documentary available for free viewing below, host Bill Moyers exposes the inner workings of the secret government. Though originally broadcast in 1987, it is even more relevant today. Interviews with respected, top military, intelligence, and government insiders reveal both the history and secret objectives of powerful groups in the hidden shadows of our government." -- WantToKnow.info
The documentary [video.google.com]
[runtime: 01:30:00, director: Bill Moyers, released: 1987]

Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Times
"The film chronicles the latest in the thinking and activism of the noted linguist Noam Chomsky, who since the Vietnam War era has been a vocal and consistent critic of the way the United States exercises state power in the world arena." -- video description
The documentary [video.google.com]
[runtime: 01:10:00, director: John Junkerman, released: 2002]

Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism
"The film examines the global growth of Murdoch's media enterprise and how having one person in control of a large media conglomerate might negatively impact society, specifically freedom of the press." -- Wikipedia
The documentary [video.google.com]
[runtime: 01:18:00, director: Robert Greenwald, released: 2004]

Bill Moyers' Journal: Buying the War
"Buying the War is a 90-minute documentary that explores the role of the press in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq. How did the mainstream press get it so wrong? How did the evidence disputing the existence of weapons of mass destruction and the link between Saddam Hussein to 9-11 continue to go largely unreported? "What the conservative media did was easy to fathom; they had been cheerleaders for the White House from the beginning and were simply continuing to rally the public behind the President — no questions asked." -- PBS
[runtime: 01:36:00, director: Mark Ganguzza, Kathleen Hughes, released: 2007]

Mission Accomplished: Langan in Iraq
"Seven months after the end of the war, Sean Langan (Behind the Lines, Travels of a Gringo), armed with just a camera, takes a brave and eventful trip through Iraq, seeking to shed light on what life is like in this newly occupied territory." -- BBC
The documentary [video.google.com]
[runtime: 01:30:00, director: Sean Langan, released: 2007]

The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends
"This film overrides familiar images of heroic soldiers in battle, and overjoyed returning faces, reunited with their families with one effortless stroke. Instead, we see a scenario that can include illness, amputation and injury, depression and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), of which Iraq has become a fertile breeding ground. While America's poor treatment of veterans is not news to most, The Ground Truth makes it so personal and real, it is impossible to dismiss its characters simply as war statistics." -- Film overview
The documentary [video.google.com]
[runtime: 01:12:00, director: Patricia Foulkrod, released: 2006]

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media
"The film presents and illustrates Chomsky's and Herman's propaganda model, the thesis that corporate media, as profit-driven institutions, tend to serve and further the agendas of the interests of dominant, elite groups in the society. A centerpiece of the film is a long examination into the history of The New York Times's coverage of Indonesia's invasion and occupation of East Timor, which Chomsky claims exemplifies the media's unwillingness to criticize an ally." -- Wikipedia
The documentary [video.google.com]
[runtime: 02:47:00, director: Mark Achbar, Peter Wintonick, released: 1992]

07-09-2007	#1 (permalink)
Bruce Commentator Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 46	List of documentaries relevant to understanding current U.S. foreign policy List of documentaries that I believe are highly relevant to understand in particular U.S. foreign policy and the impact it has on the citizens of the United States and the world around us. The Century of the Self "This series is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy." -- Adam Curtis Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 [video.google.com] [runtime: 04:00:00, director: Adam Curtis, released: 2002] The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom "The Trap is a series of three films by Bafta-winning producer Adam Curtis that explains the origins of our contemporary, narrow idea of freedom. It shows how a simplistic model of human beings as self-seeking, almost robotic, creatures led to today's idea of freedom. This model was derived from ideas and techniques developed by nuclear strategists during the Cold War to control the behaviour of the Soviet enemy." -- BBC Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 [video.google.com] [runtime: 03:00:00, director: Adam Curtis, released: 2007] The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear "In a new series, the Power of Nightmares explores how the idea that we are threatened by a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion. It is a myth that has spread unquestioned through politics, the security services and the international media." -- BBC Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 [video.google.com] [runtime: 03:00:00, director: Adam Curtis, released: 2004] The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara "Documentary about Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, who subsequently became president of the World Bank. The documentary will combine an interview with Mr. McNamara discussing some of the tragedies and glories of the 20th Century, archival footage, documents, and an original score by Philip Glass." -- Paul Klenk The documentary [video.google.com] [runtime: 01:35:00, director: Errol Morris, released: 2003] Why We Fight "The film describes the rise and maintenance of the United States military-industrial complex while concentrating on wars led by the United States of the last fifty years and in particular on the 2003 Invasion of Iraq." -- Wikipedia Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 [youtube.com] [runtime: 01:38:00, director: Eugene Jarecki, released: 2005] Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire "Hijacking Catastrophe is powerful, understated, straightforward and educational. In a single meticulously organized hour of evidence and analysis, viewers are treated to a thoughtful explanation of modern American empire, neo-conservatism as a driving force for the current Bush administration." -- Information Clearing House The documentary [video.google.com] [runtime: 01:08:00, director: Jeremy Earp, Sut Jhally, released: 2004] The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis "In the 22-minutes of the PBS documentary available for free viewing below, host Bill Moyers exposes the inner workings of the secret government. Though originally broadcast in 1987, it is even more relevant today. Interviews with respected, top military, intelligence, and government insiders reveal both the history and secret objectives of powerful groups in the hidden shadows of our government." -- WantToKnow.info The documentary [video.google.com] [runtime: 01:30:00, director: Bill Moyers, released: 1987] Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Times "The film chronicles the latest in the thinking and activism of the noted linguist Noam Chomsky, who since the Vietnam War era has been a vocal and consistent critic of the way the United States exercises state power in the world arena." -- video description The documentary [video.google.com] [runtime: 01:10:00, director: John Junkerman, released: 2002] Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism "The film examines the global growth of Murdoch's media enterprise and how having one person in control of a large media conglomerate might negatively impact society, specifically freedom of the press." -- Wikipedia The documentary [video.google.com] [runtime: 01:18:00, director: Robert Greenwald, released: 2004] Bill Moyers' Journal: Buying the War "Buying the War is a 90-minute documentary that explores the role of the press in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq. How did the mainstream press get it so wrong? How did the evidence disputing the existence of weapons of mass destruction and the link between Saddam Hussein to 9-11 continue to go largely unreported? "What the conservative media did was easy to fathom; they had been cheerleaders for the White House from the beginning and were simply continuing to rally the public behind the President — no questions asked." -- PBS [runtime: 01:36:00, director: Mark Ganguzza, Kathleen Hughes, released: 2007] Mission Accomplished: Langan in Iraq "Seven months after the end of the war, Sean Langan (Behind the Lines, Travels of a Gringo), armed with just a camera, takes a brave and eventful trip through Iraq, seeking to shed light on what life is like in this newly occupied territory." -- BBC The documentary [video.google.com] [runtime: 01:30:00, director: Sean Langan, released: 2007] The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends "This film overrides familiar images of heroic soldiers in battle, and overjoyed returning faces, reunited with their families with one effortless stroke. Instead, we see a scenario that can include illness, amputation and injury, depression and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), of which Iraq has become a fertile breeding ground. While America's poor treatment of veterans is not news to most, The Ground Truth makes it so personal and real, it is impossible to dismiss its characters simply as war statistics." -- Film overview The documentary [video.google.com] [runtime: 01:12:00, director: Patricia Foulkrod, released: 2006] Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media "The film presents and illustrates Chomsky's and Herman's propaganda model, the thesis that corporate media, as profit-driven institutions, tend to serve and further the agendas of the interests of dominant, elite groups in the society. A centerpiece of the film is a long examination into the history of The New York Times's coverage of Indonesia's invasion and occupation of East Timor, which Chomsky claims exemplifies the media's unwillingness to criticize an ally." -- Wikipedia The documentary [video.google.com] [runtime: 02:47:00, director: Mark Achbar, Peter Wintonick, released: 1992] Last edited by Bruce : 07-23-2007 at 02:08 PM. Reason: adding a couple of documentaries