He's a new kind of modern journalist, one we need more of, I believe. You might think he just makes documentaries, but I would suggest they are so much more than that. His title is, BBC film essayist, he is Adam Curtis.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/ His film, "Pandora's Box" looks at the intimate relationship between science and politics over the last fifty years with communism in the Soviet Union, systems analysis and game theory during the Cold War, economy in the United Kingdom during the 1970s, the insecticide DDT, Kwame Nkrumah's leadership in Ghana during the 1950s and 1960s and the history of nuclear power. His film, "The Mayfair Set" looks at how buccaneer capitalists were allowed to shape the climate of the Thatcher years, focusing on the rise of Colonel David Stirling, Jim Slater, James Goldsmith, and Tiny Rowland, these four leaders of the free market came to dominate world politics in the 60s and 70s and who hangout at the same private casino, The Clermont Club. His film, "The Century of the Self," a personal favorite of mine, begins with the establishment of the first PR company by Sigmund Freud's nephew, then flows into global psychological manipulation, mind control and the powerful political focus groups of the 90s. Robert Reich in appearing in the film, says clearly and precisely, that, "if these politicians only stand for what the pollsters tell them to stand for, then what do they stand for?" His film, "The Power of Nightmares" compares how the beliefs of the neoconservative and Islamic fundamentalist movements, are very close and how they mutually benefit from the use of fear to subjugate the masses. Controversially, it argues that the threat of radical Islamism as a massive, sinister organized force of destruction, specifically in the form of al-Qaeda, is a myth perpetrated by politicians in many countries, particularly American Neo-Conservatives in an attempt to unite and inspire their people following the failure of earlier, more Utopian ideologies. He uses found footage and existing soundtracks, such as the music of John Carpenter films and mash ups the visual and audio to weave his tales much like a music producer hunts for the prefect sample, beats, and loops all the while he scours the BBC archives for the most amazing images to tell his story. He also does his own narration. His programmes express a clear and sometimes very controversial opinion about their subject. Several times after seeing his work, I've been unable to sleep, worrying about our future and my place in it. I'm typing this now when I should be sleeping because I've just watched his awesome film, "The Trap" about individual freedom and what our leaders promise to give us, how we think of ourselves, how we go to war to impose freedom around the world. But what freedom actually means for us today, is a strange and limited kind of freedom. Maybe it's not freedom at all? Real freedom would possibly be something very frightening. I have only included the first episodes of each, or a trailer, it will take a bit of navigation for you to find the rest, Google his videos, seek his work out, because it would be well worth your effort to find them as these films are currently unavailable, as far as I know, on DVD. Prepare for an eye opening and mind blowing experience that is the work of Adam Curtis.
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