We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

American Empire: the Feature Film

Click here to access a review of this film by Ron Jacobs from CounterPunch.
Discussing the nature of the US Empire and how it got to where it is today with most US residents is always a challenge.  Recommending books explaining it is equally so.  This is especially true when one considers that most people who live in the United States have little or no concept of what an empire is and, when explained to them, are reluctant to believe that their nation is such a thing.  I have often thought that someone should make a film that might accomplish this educational goal.  After all, film is simultaneously informative and entertaining, especially when it is well made.  
I watched about 20 minutes of this film and I was also impressed with the professional quality of the film's first of the three part series. (All three parts last about 4 hrs.) I also watched about 13 minutes of the first segment of five (total six hrs) of another of their films entitled "Counter-Intelligence " which also highly impressed me, and which I found even more interesting because it provided some material that I had not seen before.

The good news is that these films are offered free online. The bad news (for me who would much rather view it on a bigger screen in the comfort of my living room) is that this and the other films produced by this company do not appear to be available for purchase as DVDs.