2015

from Archive Website
 

"In the past, politicians promised

to create a better world.

 

They had different ways of achieving this

but their power and authority came from

the optimistic visions they offered their people.

Those dreams failed.

Today, people have lost faith in ideologies.

Increasingly politicians are seen simply as mannequins.

 

But now they have discovered

a new role that restores that power and authority.

Instead of delivering dreams...

politicians promise to protect us... for life."

The Power of Nightmares, subtitled The Rise of the Politics of Fear, is a BBC documentary film series, written and produced by Adam Curtis.

Its three one-hour parts consist mostly of a montage of archive footage with Curtis's narration. The series was first broadcast in the United Kingdom in late 2004 and has subsequently been broadcast in multiple countries and shown in several film festivals, including the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

The films compare the rise of the Neo-Conservative movement in the United States and the radical Islamist movement, making comparisons on their origins and claiming similarities between the two.

More 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 - and particularly American Neo-Conservatives - in an attempt to unite and inspire their people following the failure of earlier, more utopian ideologies.

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

11 years later this 'strategy' has escalated... and has never been more crucial to comprehend.