The End of America (film)
Encyclopedia
The End of America is a 2008 documentary film
directed by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, who also directed The Devil Came on Horseback
and The Trials of Darryl Hunt. It is an indictment of the significant policy changes made in last eight years under the Bush Administration.
Based upon the best-selling book of the same name by Naomi Wolf
(author of The Beauty Myth
), the film makes the case that American democracy
is being threatened. Wolf investigates parallels between the state of our civil liberties
and those of dictatorships, fascist regimes, and other once-free societies. Wolf discusses a number of deeply unsettling similarities — from the use of unofficial paramilitary organizations and secret prisons to the targeted suspension of the rule of law.
The End of America details the ten steps a country takes when it slides toward fascism
. The film follows Wolf as she takes a historical look at trends in once-functioning democracies from modern history that are being repeated in America today, and puts the recent gradual loss of civil liberties in the U.S. in a historical context. “The average American might not be alarmed at AT&T
selling our private information to the Bush administration, but when this action is seen as part of a larger series of erosions and events, a pattern emerges with unfortunate consequences that become disturbingly clear.”
The film's style is similar to that of An Inconvenient Truth
in that Wolf presents a lecture, filmed with multiple cameras, to an interactive audience. Break-away segments featuring both talking-head and “fly on the wall” interviews demonstrate the historical echoes and present-day consequences of the erosion of America's Constitution. These interviews are from a diverse collection of individuals, including intelligence community top brass, who are willing to talk on camera about the uselessness of “intelligence” gained through torture. The film also features grassroots political leaders, military generals, and victims of undermined civil liberties
.
, and Stalin's Russia — have historically followed. These steps, Wolf claims, are being observed in America now.
The steps are:
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, who also directed The Devil Came on Horseback
The Devil Came on Horseback
The Devil Came on Horseback is a documentary film by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg illustrating the continuing Darfur Conflict in Sudan. Based on the book by former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle and his experiences while working for the African Union, the film version had its premiere at film...
and The Trials of Darryl Hunt. It is an indictment of the significant policy changes made in last eight years under the Bush Administration.
Based upon the best-selling book of the same name by Naomi Wolf
Naomi Wolf
Naomi Wolf is an American author and political consultant. With the publication of The Beauty Myth, she became a leading spokesperson of what was later described as the third wave of the feminist movement.-Biography:...
(author of The Beauty Myth
The Beauty Myth
The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women is a nonfiction book by Naomi Wolf, published in 1991 by William Morrow and Company...
), the film makes the case that American democracy
Constitutional republic
A constitutional republic is a state in which the head of state and other officials are representatives of the people and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over all of its citizens...
is being threatened. Wolf investigates parallels between the state of our civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
and those of dictatorships, fascist regimes, and other once-free societies. Wolf discusses a number of deeply unsettling similarities — from the use of unofficial paramilitary organizations and secret prisons to the targeted suspension of the rule of law.
The End of America details the ten steps a country takes when it slides toward fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. The film follows Wolf as she takes a historical look at trends in once-functioning democracies from modern history that are being repeated in America today, and puts the recent gradual loss of civil liberties in the U.S. in a historical context. “The average American might not be alarmed at AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
selling our private information to the Bush administration, but when this action is seen as part of a larger series of erosions and events, a pattern emerges with unfortunate consequences that become disturbingly clear.”
The film's style is similar to that of An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
in that Wolf presents a lecture, filmed with multiple cameras, to an interactive audience. Break-away segments featuring both talking-head and “fly on the wall” interviews demonstrate the historical echoes and present-day consequences of the erosion of America's Constitution. These interviews are from a diverse collection of individuals, including intelligence community top brass, who are willing to talk on camera about the uselessness of “intelligence” gained through torture. The film also features grassroots political leaders, military generals, and victims of undermined civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
.
Distribution
The End of America is pioneering a new model of film distribution that includes making the film viewable online free of charge. It has been made available in this way through IndiePix Films and Snag Films.The Ten Steps
Wolf outlines ten steps that "closing societies" — such as Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's ItalyKingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
, and Stalin's Russia — have historically followed. These steps, Wolf claims, are being observed in America now.
The steps are:
- Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy.
- Create secret prisons where tortureTortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
takes place. - Develop a thug caste or paramilitaryParamilitaryA paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
force not answerable to citizens. - Set up an internal surveillance systemMass surveillanceMass surveillance is the pervasive surveillance of an entire population, or a substantial fraction thereof.Modern governments today commonly perform mass surveillance of their citizens, explaining that they believe that it is necessary to protect them from dangerous groups such as terrorists,...
. - Harass citizens' groups.
- Engage in arbitrary detention and release.
- Target key individuals.
- Control the pressCensorshipthumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. - Treat all political dissedentsPolitical dissentPolitical dissent refers to any expression designed to convey dissatisfaction with or opposition to the policies of a governing body. Such expression may take forms from vocal disagreement to civil disobedience to the use of violence. Historically, repressive governments have sought to punish...
to be traitors. - Suspend the rule of lawRule of lawThe rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...