4 films that will keep you up at night
Marxism 101: How Capitalism is Killing Itself by Abby Martin
The purpose of the documentary is the give viewers an understanding of how capitalism is just a possible temporary 
society that is currently ruining itself. The interviewer’s main reason to have made this documentary is to show people that capitalism is not the only economic system that works. Marxism definitely also has its benefits. This is a very important message in the US where everything that is just barely related to communism is depicted as being bad or wrong. However, times are changing. The documentary starts by stating the fact that 43% people under 30 years view socialism favourably in the US whereas only 32% view capitalism this way.
That simple fact is exactly what makes this documentary relevant.
Before watching this documentary, I already knew a bit about Marxism and how it works compared to capitalism. But, my opinions were very conflicting. On one hand, I saw capitalism as the system that brought wealth and cheap, high quality products to the people, but on the other, I also saw a society ruled by the richest top 1%. A society that encouraged greed. I really hoped, that by watching this documentary, my question about whether capitalism really is a fair and beneficial system, could be answered. In addition, I was eager to find out: is Marxism really that bad?
When I first started watching the documentary, I was hoping that the professor who was interviewed (Dr. Richard wolf) could explain clear reasons why capitalism did not work. Which he did! In fact, he was very precise about his examples and arguments. He also provided historical background information.
So as explained, the main point, is to talk about how capitalism is killing itself.
However Dr. Wolf also explains that Marxism is not as bad as many Americans think. It focuses on equality and workers’ rights, whereas in capitalism people are motivated to do everything that will earn them profit. Even though this might seem like a good system, it is in fact killing itself. Dr. Wolf gives the following example :
In capitalism a way to increase profits is by reducing cost of production. This is done by either paying your workers less, or simply moving to a country where labour is cheaper. However, what the companies fail to realise is that they are taking money away from their own costumers. Because as soon as the workers either lose their job, or get paid less, they have less money to buy the products that the companies are producing. This is the reason why there are more unsold homes than there are homeless people in the US.
In fact, this argument explains the exact position the US is in and the main problem with capitalism.
When it comes to the setting, the documentary is quite simple. It is filmed in a room with a lot of lighting on both the interviewer and the Doctor.
In conclusion, I can say that this is a great documentary. As a pupil who already knows a bit about the different economic systems, it was great to see a short 35-minute documentary that precisely sums up the problem with the current system. Moreover, the documentary is also great for anyone who wishes to be informed about the truth of our society.
Like any good documentary, it beautifully justifies its existence by informing the viewers of how there is no perfect system and the world is not as black and white as some people might think. There is no doubt that I would recommend this documentary to my friends. Because in the end, it doesn’t matter if you’re a republican or a democrat. This documentary is worth 35 mins of your time.
Jacob S. / S5 / EEB1 Uccle
Terminal f : Chasing Edward Snowden by John Goetz and Poul-Erik Heilbuth
The documentary “Terminal f: chasing Edward Snowden” was released January 13th 2015. It was created in Denmark
and directed by John Goetz and Poul-Erik Heilbuth. It was created with the intention of being released to the general public as a mean to inform it about the events that were happening when Edward Snowden leaked the NSA secrets. The main message that the documentary gets across to the audience is that the events that Edward Snowden lived were sometimes exceptional since there was a worldwide manhunt for him.
Before watching the documentary, all I knew about Edward Snowden was that he had leaked top secret documents, and that he now was in Russia, since it didn’t have an extradition contract with the United States. I expected to see the usual demonization of Mr. Snowden as it is usually the case when the American media takes the matter into their own hands. As did most people, I wondered what pushed Edward Snowden to leak these files but I was also curious about the way he managed to escape the American secret services and find his way to safety without being caught.
As expected, the documentary was about the events following the leaks and the claiming of these leaks by Edward Snowden. Since he claimed to be responsible for these leaks, Snowden contacted WikiLeaks and asked them for help as he didn’t want to end up like Private Chelsea Manning, who had previously leaked American secrets and ended up imprisoned for seven years where she suffered degrading treatments. The whole documentary revolves around the race that Snowden and the people who were part of Operation Asylum (the operation created to help Snowden) had to win to make sure he didn’t suffer the same fate as Private Manning, or even worse. There even was a time when Snowden feared for his life, despite the public’s support. Most images that aren’t interviews are archive pictures which come from news reports and other news sites.
The documentary is very ‘classic’ in the realisation. The images have a relatively low resolution which makes the images have a low quality. The filming during the interviews is relatively well done, with the usual camera angles that are used in this type of production. I think that the interviews were well-conducted and that they added support to the facts given in this documentary. They gave interesting insight from people directly linked to the case which is always a good idea. The only special effects that come to my mind when I think of this documentary is the cuts that take place when a television segment ends.
My favourite part of this documentary was when they started talking about the time Snowden spent in Russia and the fact that they didn’t plan to stay there while seeking political asylum elsewhere. I discovered that Snowden actually applied for political asylum in most countries in Europe where all his requests where rejected. What surprised me was the interview with a representative from the NSA where a strong resentment towards Edward Snowden could be sensed. I feel like that was the greatest drawback that could be found in this documentary. I would recommend this documentary to my friends if they were curious about some interesting facts on the United States.
Clémence R. / S5 / EEB1 Uccle
The MOVE Bombing - When Police Plotted to Exterminate a Family by Abby Martin
This is a documentary made by American filmmaker Abby Martin about the infamous bombing of the MOVE, African-American revolutionist group in Philadelphia, protesting against police brutality and racism against black people in the US. The documentary is meant to educate people about the past and to raise awareness against hate crimes and police brutality. It was made in the US and published on the 2nd of March 2016.
For a European like myself (and I presume for some people in the USA), this story wasn’t quite familiar. The problems with racism in the US are very widely known, but the lengths of which this conflict can go is not exactly known. I wasn’t very sure what to expect from this documentary, hence why I think it’s aim is also to tell people about this tragic incident. Main events that Martin and the only adult survivor of the attack, Ramona Africa, talk about is the start of the black rights movements and how the situation became so tense.
They talk about the MOVE 9 trials and the events leading up to that deadly attack. The police and city leadership is also discussed, how they were racist and cruel. The movie itself from a film making and visual point of view was quite well done. The filmmakers used some effects to keep the eye on the screen. The picture was sharp and the old pictures well chosen.
They even used a few animations to better show the events. The interview was very intriguing, the interviewer was asking good questions and it wasn’t a stale, boring conversation. Ramona, the survivor was good at talking and answering the questions. She gave good answers and told the story in a way that made it interesting.
The only drawback of the documentary could be that it is only told from one perspective (although it tells a story that can hardly be viewed differently). I mean this in a general way, that every great documentary includes at least some of the viewpoints of the opposing side. In this particular case, there really is no question who was right, it still is very one- sided. I would recommend this documentary to anyone who is interested in the history of the USA. It gives a very good picture of what the situation was like in the 20th Century and also what people are still fighting today.
Balázs U. / S5 / EEB1 Uccle
Modern Day Slave Trade: The Hidden World of US/Philippines Trafficking by Abby Martin
This approximately 25 minute long documentary produced by Abby Martin, an American producer, was published in
July 2017. This documentary is about the awful way Filipino women are treated in foreign countries where they are making money to send back home. Most of it is filmed in the headquarters of an organization named »Damayan » located in the USA. This organization fights against human exploitation. In the course of this documentary, Martin has the chance to interview those who unfortunately have been exploited by American (USA) people. The fact that we see interviews with women who have lived this cruel way of life makes the documentary even more interesting. Even though the documentary is short there is a lot of information. The only downside of this documentary Is that Martin only interviews Filipino women so we don’t know what the people who exploit these women think about this.
The objective of this documentary is to raise awareness that humans are still being treated as slaves these days. The interviews with women who have led this absolutely awful way of life because of human exploitation, really touches the public and opens their eyes to the atrocity that innocent women still are suffering from human exploitation. This documentary is recommended to everyone as this issue needs to stop as it is destroying families and inhumane towards innocent people.
Bernardo / S5 / EEB1 Uccle
