the Shock Doctrine in moving images


Alfredo Cuaron (the director of ‘Children of Men’, a.o.) made a shortfilm based on one of my favorite books of 2007, Naomi Klein’s ‘Shock Doctrine’. I’s a sort of condensed version of the book, based on well chosen found footage and featuring Klein’s voice. Consider it as an introduction to Klein’s (as well as Cuaron’s) work. Time for a rude awakening. Also check out Cuaron’s documentary ‘The Possibility of Hope’ – it’s part of the extras of some DVD versions of ‘Children of Men’ and features not only Klein but also Zizek, Sassen and others.

“When it comes to war, America means business” is the brilliant tagline of John Cusack’s (seen ‘Being John Malkovich’ or ‘High fidelity’?) feature film ‘War inc’. It’s inspired by Klein’s writings on Iraq and offers a satiric view on the burgeoning new economy that has sprung up around the war on terror, and Baghdad’s Green Zone, which Klein calls “a heavily armed Carnival Cruise ship parked in a sea of despair.” Looking forward to that one!