The War on Democracy (2007)
Set both in Latin America and the United States, the film explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger says that the film "...tells a universal story... analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called "war on terror". According to Pilger, the film’s message is that the greed and power of empire is not invincible and that people power is always the "seed beneath the snow".
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Pretty Good
Excellent but underrated film
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
I'm dual nationality US & UK, I've spent half my life across each nation and have always been far prouder of my American heritage but by that I mean the country, it's people but not it's government.Let me clarify, the British government is atrocious and highly corrupt but the leaders over the pond have taken it to the next level ever since their creation.This fantastic piece by British journalist John Pilger is about Americas direct influence into Latin American countries such as Chile and Venezuala and the atrocities they have caused to better their own interests.Heartbreaking, powerful and eye opening if you aren't aware of the steps the US go to further their economy this is essential viewing.The USA for anyone with any awareness is the proverbial boy who cried wolf. They manipulate their people using the media to such an extent with their lies that every time a new story comes out you do have to question it.They've been lying about the middle east for decades and still are. At time of writing how much of what we are told about North Korea is true? And how much is to sway public opinion to their own personal agendas?The Good: Professionaly made Great interview segments Essential viewingThe Bad: Doesn't make for the easiest watch Things I Learnt From This Movie: The US has attempted to overthrow 50 governments, more than I had originally believed
This movie is a pile of dung. He doesn't have any references to any of the "facts" he is spewing from his mouth. I know from my life experience that some of the things he said are true but it's the rest that he fails to prove. Just like a Michael Moore documentary he has no actual evidence to back the claims, by the way Carl Deal helped produce this pile*. Yes the wars and conflicts that are highlighted in the movie did happen. The problem is that he mentions "secret" documents from the U.S. that implicate the united states. He does not mention where they came from, a place where we can cross reference these allegations or even a expert opinion from an impartial investigator. I am a liberal and can't even support this garbage for a second. Overall this movie has no right to be rated so high. If you try to read the critics reviews on this site you will see that most are taken down. I am sure they wrote a good review then realized they had made a mistake. Watch this movie for entertainment only. * Wikipedia.com, IMDb.comOW look at that, References!
Marxist film-makers who take a public stand FOR democracy and freedom? Now I've seen it all.I've read "Das Kapital" and I haven't really found too many segments espousing the advantages of democratic rule.Why do they lie to us so? "But it's their job and their passion to lie to us", I keep having to remind myself. I sometimes forget that extremist Leftists are psychopaths, misfits, hypocrites, liars, and charlatans of the highest order. Also, they have no cheek: they will unashamedly pretend to defend all those things that they hate with a passion: freedom, democracy, and the truth.PRAVDA! "Offense is the best defense", must be this movie's credo. In other words: "let's blame the other side for what WE do - namely undermine democracy with out Marxist/liberal agenda - and that way we will look like the good guys, while the Republicans get labeled as freedom-hating tyrants".A simple but effective formula served to the brainwashed masses: "Those who wage war are BAD. Republicans start wars. Hence Republicans are BAD." Period. Populistic logic par excellance. No discussion over the nature of war, or why they get initiated, just mind-blowing illogic and fact-twisting.The Left are masters of deception. Like so many psychopathic movements and individuals. Some truly brilliant, corrupt minds work in their propaganda machine. Well done.
Using the recent action in Venezuela and the ongoing tensions with the US as his focal point, journalist John Pilger looks at the role of Washington in the control and manipulation of Governments and politics in Latin America. What he finds is elected Presidents removed with the support and perhaps connivance of the US, resulting in suffering, massacres and poverty for the indigenous populations left to face the consequences of US foreign policy.It helps to be fairly liberal in your views to watch this film because Pilger does not hide his colours for even a second here. And this is a weakness of the film because it is so heavily delivered that it is likely to put off the very sections of the audience that it should be looking to win over. At times it is so clearly leaning that even a liberal, middle-class white person like myself will feel like Pilger is standing 30cm from them, shouting and ranting for two hours. It is a shame because otherwise the material is really well put together, convincing and impacting. If Pilger had delivered this same material with a colder air of fact and journalistic detachment then the film might have done a better job of making non-liberals having their opinions changed or at least challenged.The film uses Chavez to put the topic in the present and make sure the viewer understands that this is not a history film but rather a relevant and topical documentary that draws on the past to back up the present. From here it takes us through Guatemala, Bolivia and so on and the case is built in such a way that it is hard to argue with the basic points made and accusations levelled. It is a very well researched film that I found fascinating throughout. I'm repeating myself here but again this is why it is frustrating to see Pilger take away from his own film by having the presentation subtlety of Michael Moore at his worst. His point is that the US preaches democracy but will go to bloody ends to remove any democratically elected Government that does not suit US interests; so in essence the crux of the film is "democracy" and he does not need to defend the people put in power but merely point to the fact that they were put in power by the people they represent by way of elections and people power. This point could have been made while still also recognising that Chavez, Morales etc are not perfect leaders. Instead of doing this, Pilger feels that having them be elected is not enough and so he presents them as near-perfect leaders who should be the ideal. This may well be his opinion but it is not the truth and by simplifying and spinning it is likely that he will lose viewers who ignore his message and assume that this liberal "nut" cannot be trusted.This is a real weakness in the film but it is still worth seeing if you can cope with it. The liberal "choir" will lap it up regardless, while those very much in the same camp as former CIA man Duane on the right will not even think of watching it. The material is strong enough to win over those in the middle but Pilger's presentation is so heavy and slanted that he risks losing viewers before the material gets to work. Well worth seeing and impacting stuff but while Pilger deserves credit for pulling it together as writer/director, his presentation and style is also a real liability.