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 to their people.
Those dreams failed. And today, people have lost faith in ideologies. Increasingly, politicians are seen simply as managers of public life. But now, they have discovered a new role that restores their power and authority.Instead of delivering dreams, politicians now promise to protect us from nightmares. They say that they will rescue us from dreadful dangers that we cannot see and do not understand. And the greatest danger of all is international terrorism.
A powerful and sinister network, with sleeper cells in countries across the world. A threat that needs to be fought by a war on terror. But much of this threat is a fantasy, which has been exaggerated and distorted by politicians. It‘s a dark illusion that has spread unquestioned through governments around the world, the security services, and the international media.
This is a series of films about how and why that fantasy was created, and who it benefits. At the heart of the story are two groups: the American neoconservatives, and the radical Islamists. Both were idealists who were born out of the failure of the liberal dream to build a better world. And both had a very similar explanation for what caused that failure. These two groups have changed the world, but not in the way that either intended. Together, they created today‘s nightmare vision of a secret, organized evil that threatens the world. A fantasy that politicians then found restored their power and authority in a disillusioned age. And those with the darkest fears became the most powerful.
Adam Curtis, "The Power of the Nightmares"
Devo - It's a Beautiful World
It's a beautiful world we live in,
A sweet romantic place,
Beautiful people everywhere,
The way they show they care
Makes me want to say,
It's a beautiful world
It's a beautiful world
It's a beautiful world
For you
For you
For you
It's a wonderful time to be here,
It's nice to be alive,
Wonderful people everywhere,
The way they comb their hair
Makes me want to say,
It's a wonderful place
It's a wonderful place
It's a wonderful place
For you
For you
For you
Tell me what'd I say?
Hey, tell me what I say,
Boy 'n' girl with the new clothes on,
You can shake it to me all night long,
Hey, Hey!
It's a beautiful world we live in,
A sweet romantic place,
Beautiful people everywhere,
The way they show they care
Makes me want to say,
It's a beautiful world
For you.
It's not for me!
Thursday, 8 December 2011
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