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#1
08-20-2007, 12:30 PM
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The Power of Nightmares.
I just finished watching "The Power of Nightmares" on google video. For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a three-part miniseries that aired on BBC in 2004. It details the histories of the neoconservative movement within the executive branch of the U.S. government and of the Islamic jihadist movement dating back to the 1940s, and describes their use of the politics of fear to keep a population in check. All in all, very interesting stuff. Each episode is one hour, but I think that the third episode gives a good synopsis of the whole series, and has the most riveting content. ( here )
I would be interested in any thoughts those of you who have seen this series could offer, and would strongly urge anyone who hasn't seen it to take an hour and watch. 
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#3
08-20-2007, 04:28 PM
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Re: The Power of Nightmares.
BBC
Bush Bashing Coporation Bagdad Broadcasting Corporation Bugger Blair Corporation All these names were given to it by memebrs of the Brit Military I used to work with. Honest professional men. BBC on the whole tends towards decent world coverage, but to even hint that they don't posess a serious anti-American (not just anti-Bush or neocon) bias would be the worst kind of head in the sand thinking. For those that haven't spent much time in The UK, Yank bashing is a kind of sport over there in any political discussion. Most do it in a friendly, "taking the piss out of you" way but BBC makes it a professional mission to take as many giant smelly [censored] on all things American.
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#4
08-20-2007, 05:47 PM
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Re: The Power of Nightmares.
That may be, but if what they say is true, the bashing seems justified. In the end of part three, they basically say that sporadic terrorism from a greatly overestimated fringe group of radical Islam is not a threat to the health of any country as a whole, say the way that climate change is, and politicians are exaggerating the lesser dangers to grow and maintain power while ignoring the imminent ones. I agree with this, and it seems like amongst all the other Bush-bashing in the media, some of these startling facts are not discussed AT ALL, even though it would be the most credible avenue of dissent.
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#5
08-20-2007, 06:00 PM
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Re: The Power of Nightmares.
The biggest problem that I have with this film is its drawing of a moral equivalency between Islamists and Neo-Conservatives.
It is a very sublte assumption, but it's there. It is, in my mind, also contrived and baseless. The other part of the film that found completely laughable was the assertion that Al Queada is completely ficticious. The film-makers did make some interesting points and there is some food for thought there that is undeniable. However, they undermined their points with bad logic is many places. They frequently use subjectivism, Ad Hominem, Circular Reasoning, and Post Hoc, Ergo Proctor Hoc. Not to mention appeals to ignorance. It's been some time since I saw this film. I would love to take it apart bit by bit. However, this is a long and tedious process and would convince none of the believers in the end. So it's an exercise in futility. I put this documentary right up there with the Loose Change video.
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#6
08-20-2007, 06:42 PM
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Re: The Power of Nightmares.
[ QUOTE ]
The biggest problem that I have with this film is its drawing of a moral equivalency between Islamists and Neo-Conservatives. It is a very sublte assumption, but it's there. It is, in my mind, also contrived and baseless. [/ QUOTE ] Is it more or less "contrived and baseless", in your opinion, than the assertion of unilateral moral authority by the U.S.?
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#7
08-20-2007, 06:52 PM
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Re: The Power of Nightmares.
Ah, the moral authority of the United States in not contrived and baseless. I'll tell you why.
Here's a challenge that will illustrate. Pick a metric about quality of life or standard of living. You will find that in a little over 200 years of history, the US has produced a society which has far eclipsed any accomplishment in those areas of any other nation or civilization in the history or the world. Ever. The belief in American exceptionalism is based in results. Concrete, undeniable, irrefutable fact. To not believe in American exceptionalism is to deny history. This is how the moral authority of the US has been established. This is also why no other force in history has been able to compete with it.
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#8
08-20-2007, 07:07 PM
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Re: The Power of Nightmares.
[ QUOTE ]
The biggest problem that I have with this film is its drawing of a moral equivalency between Islamists and Neo-Conservatives. [/ QUOTE ] I really don't see that. The groups' history and rise to power are intertwined, but in the film, Islamic jihadists are portrayed as much worse than neocons because of their justification in killing their own countrymen or whoever they deem non-muslim through western corruption and materialism. Also, I don't believe the film dismisses Al-Qaeda as completely ficticious, just that their capabilities, particularly after our initial response in afghanistan, were grossly exaggerated.
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#9
08-20-2007, 07:12 PM
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Re: The Power of Nightmares.
[ QUOTE ]
Ah, the moral authority of the United States in not contrived and baseless. I'll tell you why. Here's a challenge that will illustrate. Pick a metric about quality of life or standard of living. You will find that in a little over 200 years of history, the US has produced a society which has far eclipsed any accomplishment in those areas of any other nation or civilization in the history or the world. Ever. The belief in American exceptionalism is based in results. Concrete, undeniable, irrefutable fact. To not believe in American exceptionalism is to deny history. This is how the moral authority of the US has been established. This is also why no other force in history has been able to compete with it. [/ QUOTE ] Flawed, it assumes that because people who lived in America in the past made decisions that lead to dominance that the decisions made by current, or very recent individuals follow the same potential.
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#10
08-20-2007, 07:15 PM
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Re: The Power of Nightmares.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Ah, the moral authority of the United States in not contrived and baseless. I'll tell you why. Here's a challenge that will illustrate. Pick a metric about quality of life or standard of living. You will find that in a little over 200 years of history, the US has produced a society which has far eclipsed any accomplishment in those areas of any other nation or civilization in the history or the world. Ever. The belief in American exceptionalism is based in results. Concrete, undeniable, irrefutable fact. To not believe in American exceptionalism is to deny history. This is how the moral authority of the US has been established. This is also why no other force in history has been able to compete with it. [/ QUOTE ] Flawed, it assumes that because people who lived in America in the past made decisions that lead to dominance that the decisions made by current, or very recent individuals follow the same potential. [/ QUOTE ] word.
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