Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Video of the Day: “The Shock Doctrine”

Acclaimed Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron produced a short film currently making the rounds at several films fests: “The Shock Doctrine.” The movie bases itself on a book by political activist Naomi Klein of the same name which suggests that corporations and governments exploit disasters in order to institute extreme economic policies.

Foreign Policy’s blog describes the film thusly:

“Given the participants, it's a bit disappointing at first to see Michael Moore-style use of period stock footage. But this film, which was actually directed by Cuarón's son Jonas, is really far slicker and subtler than anything Moore has done…Cuarón pulls off a particularly daring Kuleshov by interspersing facts about various privatization schemes with images of electrocutions and Abu Ghraib-style torture illustrations as well as scenes of devastation and violence. The facts and figures go by too fast to really process but what sticks in one's mind is the association between free market ideas, catastrophes and torture.”
Interested in watching? Below is a YouTube clip of “The Shock Doctrine” where you can judge for yourself if Klein/Cuaron is on to something or not (video link):

Sources- Wikipedia, The Daily Reel, YouTube, Foreign Policy Passport

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