The Power of Nightmares

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The Power of Nightmares
Title screen
Written byAdam Curtis
Directed byAdam Curtis
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producersStephen Lambert
Peter Horrocks
ProducersAdam Curtis
Lucy Kelsall
Running time180 mins (in three parts)
Production companyBBC
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
Release20 October (2004-10-20) –
3 November 2004 (2004-11-03)
Related

The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear is a

documentary series by Adam Curtis. It mainly consists of archive footage, with Curtis narrating. The series was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom in 2004.[1] It has subsequently been aired in multiple countries and shown at various film festivals, including the 2005 Cannes Film Festival
.

The film compares the rise of the

radical Islamist movement, drawing comparisons between their origins, and remarking on similarities between the two groups. More controversially, it argues that radical Islamism as a massive, sinister organisation, specifically in the form of al-Qaeda, is a myth, or noble lie, perpetrated by leaders of many countries—and particularly neoconservatives in the U.S.—in a renewed attempt to unite and inspire their people after the ultimate failure of utopian
ideas.

The Power of Nightmares was praised by film critics in Britain and the United States. Its message and content have also been the subject of various critiques and criticisms from conservatives and progressives.

Synopsis

Part 1. "Baby It's Cold Outside"

The first part of the series explains the origins of

Anwar Al-Sadat in 1981 in the hopes of starting their own revolution. However, the revolution does not materialise, and Zawahiri comes to believe that a majority of Muslims have been corrupted, not only by their western-inspired leaders, but Muslims themselves have been affected by jahiliyyah
and thus may be legitimate targets of violence if they refuse to join his cause. They continued to believe that a vanguard was necessary to rise up and overthrow the corrupt regime and replace it with a 'pure' Islamist state.

At the same time in the

President Johnson's "Great Society". They conclude that an emphasis on individual liberty was the undoing of Johnson's plans. They envisioned restructuring America by uniting the American people against a common evil, and set about creating a mythical enemy. These factions, the neoconservatives, came to power during the 1980s under the Reagan administration, with their allies Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. They alleged that the Soviet Union was not following the terms of a disarmament treaty between the two countries, and together with the outcomes of "Team B
", they built a case using dubious evidence and methods to prove it to Ronald Reagan.

Part 2. "The Phantom Victory"

In the second part, Islamist factions, rapidly falling under the more radical influence of Zawahiri and his rich Saudi acolyte Osama bin Laden, join the neoconservative-influenced Reagan administration to combat the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. When the Soviets eventually pull out of Afghanistan, and when the Eastern Bloc begins to collapse in 1989, both the Islamists and the neoconservatives believe they are the primary architects of the Soviet Union's demise. Curtis argues that the Soviet Union was on the verge of collapsing anyway. However, the Islamists see it quite differently. In their triumph, they believe they have the power to create 'pure' Islamic states in Egypt and Algeria. Attempts to create such Islamic states are blocked by force. The Islamists then try to foment revolutions in Egypt and Algeria by using terrorism to scare the people into rising up against their leaders. But the people are terrified by the violence, and the Algerian government exploits that fear as a way to hang on to power. In the end, the Islamists declare the entire populations of the countries to be thoroughly contaminated by western values. Finally, in Algeria, they begin to turn on each other, each believing that members of other terrorist groups are not true Muslims.

In America, neoconservative aspirations to use the United States' military power to further destroy evildoers are thrown off track by the election of George H. W. Bush to the presidency, followed by the election in 1992 of Bill Clinton which left them totally out of power. The neoconservatives, along with their conservative Christian allies, attempt to demonize Clinton throughout his presidency with various real and fabricated stories of corruption and immorality. To their disappointment, the American people do not turn against Clinton. Meanwhile, Islamist attempts at revolution end in massive bloodshed, leaving the Islamists without popular support. Zawahiri and bin Laden flee to the relative safety of Afghanistan and declare a new strategy. To fight Western-inspired moral decay, they must deal a blow to its source: the United States.

Part 3. "The Shadows in the Cave"

War on Terror
.

The final part addresses the actual rise of

War on Terror
.

After the

Northern Alliance without actual investigation on the part of the United States military, and other forms of "preemption" against non-existent and unlikely threats made simply on the grounds that the parties involved had the potential to become a threat. Curtis specifically attempts to allay fears of a dirty bomb
attack, and concludes by reassuring viewers that politicians will eventually have to concede that some threats are exaggerated and others have no foundation in reality. He says, "In an age when all the grand ideas have lost credibility, fear of a phantom enemy is all the politicians have left to maintain their power."

Contributors

Content

Adam Curtis, the director of The Power of Nightmares

Adam Curtis originally intended to make a film about conflict within the

conservative movement between the ideologies of neoconservative "elitism" and the more individualist libertarian factions. During his research into the conservative movement, Curtis discovered what he saw as similarities in the origins of the neoconservative and Islamist ideologies. The topic of the planned documentary shifted to these other two ideologies, with the libertarian element eventually being phased out.[2] Curtis first pitched the idea of a documentary on conservative ideology in 2003 and spent half a year researching the film.[3][4] Final recordings were made on 10 October, 19 October and 1 November 2004.[5][6][7]

As with many of Curtis's films, The Power of Nightmares uses a montage of stock footage taken from the BBC archives which Curtis narrates.[2][3] Curtis has credited James Mossman as the inspiration for his montage technique, which he first employed for the 1992 series Pandora's Box,[8] while his use of humour has been credited to his first work with television as a talent-scout for the magazine programme That's Life![3] Curtis has also compared the entertainment aspect of his films to the Fox News channel in America, claiming that the network is successful because of "[their viewers] really enjoying what they're doing."[2]

To help drive his points, Curtis uses interviews with various political and intellectual figures. In the first two parts, former

William and Irving Kristol, Richard Pipes, Richard Perle and Michael Ledeen are invited to provide a neoconservative view of the film's subject. The history of Islamism is discussed by the Institute of Islamic Political Thought's Azzam Tamimi, political scientist Roxanne Euben, and Islamist Abdullah Anas
.

The film's soundtrack includes at least two pieces of music from the films of John Carpenter, who Curtis credited as inspiration for his soundtrack arrangement techniques,[8] as well as tracks from Brian Eno's Another Green World. There is also music by composers Charles Ives and Ennio Morricone, while Curtis has credited the industrial band Skinny Puppy for the "best" music in the films.[9]

Airings and distribution

The Power of Nightmares was first broadcast in three parts on

Kenneth Bigley led the BBC to cease publicising the final episode prior to its airing.[5][6][7][10] It was broadcast again over three days in January 2005, with the third part updated to note the Law Lords ruling from the previous December that detaining foreign terrorist suspects without trial was illegal.[11]

In May 2005, the film was screened in a 2½ hour edit at the Cannes Film Festival.[12] Pathé purchased distribution rights for this cut of the film.[4]

By 2008, the film had yet to be aired in the United States. Curtis has remarked on this failure,

Something extraordinary has happened to American TV since September 11. A head of the leading networks who had better remain nameless said to me that there was no way they could show it. He said, 'Who are you to say this?' and then he added, 'We would get slaughtered if we put this out.' When I was in New York, I took a DVD to the head of documentaries at HBO. I still haven't heard from him.[4]

Although the series has never been shown on U.S. television, its three parts were shown on 26 February 2005 as part of the True/False Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri, with a personal appearance made by Curtis.[13][14] It has also been featured at the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival and the San Francisco International Film Festival, the latter awarding Curtis their Persistence of Vision Award.[15][16][17] The film was also screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, and there was a brief theatrical run in New York City in 2005.[18][19]

The film was first aired by CBC in Canada in April 2005, and again in July 2006.[20] The Australian channel SBS had originally planned to air the series in July 2005, but it was cancelled, reportedly in light of the London bombings of 7 July.[21][22] It was ultimately aired in December, followed by Peter Taylor's The New Al-Qaeda under the billing of a counter-argument to Curtis.[23]

In April 2005, Curtis expressed interest in releasing an official DVD because of popular demand, but noted that his montage technique created serious legal problems with getting such a release approved.[24] An unofficial DVD release was made in the quarterly DVD magazine Wholphin over three issues.[25][26][27]

Reaction

Critical reaction

The Power of Nightmares received generally favourable reviews from critics.

Atlantic Monthly that's (thankfully) come to cinematic life."[32] The New York Times had a more skeptical review, unimpressed by efforts to compare attacks on Bill Clinton by American conservatives with Islamist revolutionary activities, claiming (in a review by literary and film critic A. O. Scott) that, "its understanding of politics, geo- and national, can seem curiously thin."[19] In May 2005, Adam Curtis was quoted as saying that 94% of e-mails to the BBC in response to the film were supportive.[4]

The film won a

Political reaction

Progressive observers were particularly pleased with the film.

Matrix series, a comparison Curtis appreciated.[24][36] Commentary in The Village Voice was also mostly favorable, noting, "As partisan filmmaking, it is often brilliant and sometimes hilarious – a superior version of Syriana."[37] The Nation, while offering a detailed critique on the film's content, said of the film itself "[it] is arguably the most important film about the 'war on terrorism' since the events of September 11."[38]

Among

FoxNews.com said, "We wish we didn't have to keep presenting examples of how the European media have become obsessively anti-American. But they keep pushing the barrier, now to the point of absurdity."[39] His views were shared by commentator Clive Davis, ending his commentary on the film for National Review by saying, "British producers, hooked on Chomskyite visions of 'Amerika' as the fount of all evil, are clearly not interested in even beginning to dig for the truth."[40] Other commentators have variously described the film as pushing a conspiracy theory. Davis and British commentator David Aaronovitch both explicitly labelled the film's message as a conspiracy theory, with the latter saying of Curtis "his argument is as subtle as a house-brick."[40][41] Attacks in this vein continued after the 7 July 2005 London bombings, with the Christian Broadcasting Network referencing the film as a source for claims by the "British left" that "the U.S. War on Terror was a fraud", and the Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council calling it "the loopiest, most extreme anti-war documentary series ever sponsored by the BBC."[22][42] In The Shadows in the Cave, Curtis emphasises that he does not discount the possibility of any terrorist activity taking place, but that the threat of terrorism had been greatly exaggerated. He responded to accusations of creating a conspiracy theory by saying he believes the alleged use of fear as a force in politics is not the result of a conspiracy but rather the subjects of the film "have stumbled on it."[24]

2001 invasion of Afghanistan and his ignoring warnings of a terrorist attack prior to 11 September.[43]

Additional issues have been raised over Curtis's depiction of the

American religious right than the "bookish university types" of the neoconservative movement.[44]

Allegations have been made of omissions in the history described by the film. The absence of discussion of the

suburban culture, like Qutb.[40]

Comparisons to Fahrenheit 9/11

After its release, The Power of Nightmares received multiple comparisons to

first four years of George W. Bush's presidency of the United States. The Village Voice directly named The Power of Nightmares as, "the most widely discussed docu agitprop since Fahrenheit 9/11."[37] The Nation and Variety both gave comments lauding Curtis's film as superior to Fahrenheit and other political documentaries in various fields; the former cited Curtis's work as being more "intellectually engaging" and "historically probing", while the latter cited "balance, broad-mindedness and sense of historical perspective."[31][38] Moore's work has also been used as a point of comparison by conservative critics of Curtis.[40]

Curtis has attempted to distinguish his work from Moore's film, describing Moore as "a political agitprop film-maker," arguing that, "you'd be hard pushed to tell my politics from watching [The Power of Nightmares]."[4]

See also

References

  1. BBC Genome
    . BBC. 14 October 2004. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Koehler, Robert. "Neo-Fantasies and Ancient Myths: Adam Curtis on The Power of Nightmares". Cinema Scope. Archived from the original on 11 August 2005.
  3. ^ a b c Adams, Tim (24 October 2004). "The Exorcist". The Observer. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e Jeffries, Stuart (12 May 2005). "The film US TV networks dare not show". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  5. ^ a b "The Power of Nightmares: Baby it's Cold Outside". BBC Programme Catalogue. BBC. Retrieved 18 July 2007.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ a b "The Power of Nightmares: The Phantom Victory". BBC Programme Catalogue. BBC. Retrieved 18 July 2007.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ a b "The Power of Nightmares: The Shadows in the Cave". BBC Programme Catalogue. BBC. Retrieved 18 July 2007.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ a b Eaves, Hannah; Marlow, Jonathan (29 May 2005). "Adam Curtis: "I'm a modern journalist."". GreenCine Daily. GreenCine. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
  9. ^ Curtis, Adam (24 January 2005). "Power of Nightmares music". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 18 June 2007.
  10. ^ Beckett, Andy (15 October 2004). "The making of the terror myth". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  11. ^ "The Power of Nightmares: The Shadows in the Cave". BBC News. BBC. 14 January 2005. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  12. ^ "Feature Films Out of Competition". Cannes Film Festival. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  13. ^ "Films". True/False Film Festival. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  14. ^ Bland, Pete (1 March 2005). "So True". Columbia Daily Tribune. GateHouse Media. Archived from the original on 9 April 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  15. ^ "Films/The Power of Nightmares; The Rise of the Politics of Fear". Seattle International Film Festival. Cinema Seattle. Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 18 June 2007.
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  18. on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  19. ^ a b c Scott, A. O. (9 December 2005). "Deconstructing the Realities of Politics and Terrorism". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2007.
  20. ^ "The Power of Nightmares". The Passionate Eye. CBC. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  21. ^ "Documentary Series: The Power of Nightmares". TV What's On. Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on 13 June 2006. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  22. ^ a b Fleischer, Tzvi (1 August 2005). "Scribblings: Conspiracy Theories". AIJAC. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  23. ^ "Cutting Edge Terrorism Special". TV What's On. Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
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  25. ^ "Issue 2: Spring 2006". Wholphin. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  26. ^ "Issue 3: Fall 2006". Wholphin. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  27. ^ "Issue 4: Spring 2007". Wholphin. Archived from the original on 7 June 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  28. ^ a b "The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  29. ^ "The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. 20 October 2004. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  30. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (14 December 2005). "The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear". Entertainment Weekly. Time. Retrieved 18 July 2007.
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  32. ^ LaSalle, Mick; Stein, Ruthe; McMurtrie, John; Curiel, Jonathan (10 June 2005). "Film Clips". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. Retrieved 19 July 2007.
  33. ^ "Bafta TV Awards 2005: The winners". BBC News. BBC. 17 April 2005. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  34. ^ "Top UK directors award for Kinsey". BBC News. BBC. 20 March 2005. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  35. ^ "Programme Award Winners 2004". Royal Television Society. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
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  37. ^ a b c Hoberman, J. (6 December 2005). "The Phantom Menace". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 29 March 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  38. ^ a b Bergen, Peter (2 June 2005). "Beware the Holy War". The Nation. p. 1. Archived from the original on 30 September 2005. Retrieved 18 July 2007.
  39. ^ Asman, David (20 October 2004). "Anti-American Europeans". Fox News. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
  40. ^ a b c d e Davis, Clive (21 October 2004). "The Power of Bad Television". National Review. Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  41. ^ Aaronovitch, David (19 October 2004). "Al-Qaida is no dark illusion". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  42. on 18 June 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2007.
  43. ^ a b c Bergen, Peter (2 June 2005). "Beware the Holy War". The Nation. pp. 2–5. Archived from the original on 29 September 2005. Retrieved 29 June 2007.
  44. ^ Barsanti, Chris (2005). "The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear". FilmCritic.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2007.
  45. ^ Pipes, Daniel (15 October 2004). "The BBC Announces: There Is No Terrorist Threat". Daniel Pipes: Middle East Forum. Retrieved 22 July 2008.

External links