The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear (2004– )

A series of three documentaries about the use of fear for political gain.

Stars:

Gilles Kepel, Melvin Goodman, Stephen Holmes

3 wins.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Gilles Kepel	...	Himself - Historian of Islamist Movement (3 episodes, 2004)
Melvin Goodman	...	Himself - Head of Office of Soviet Affairs CIA 1976-87 (2 episodes, 2004)
Stephen Holmes	...	Himself - Political Philosopher (2 episodes, 2004)
William Kristol	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Michael Ledeen	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Richard Perle	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Azzam Tamimi	...	Himself - Institute of Islamic Political Thought (2 episodes, 2004)

Storyline

A series of three documentaries about the use of fear for political gain.

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Plot Keywords:

fear | reference to donald rumsfeld | republican party operative | end justifies the means | afghan war | 

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [uk]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 October 2004 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Power of Nightmares

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

157 min 180 min (3 parts) 157 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: 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 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 ...

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Connections

Referenced in The 50 Greatest Documentaries (2005)

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Soundtracks

"The Big Ship"
Written by Brian Eno
Performed by Eno

User Reviews

This documentary offers a remarkable insight into the reality of our current fear induced climate.

This documentary offers a remarkable insight into the reality of our current fear induced climate. Adam Curtis chronicles the rise of neo-conservatism and the resulting change in the world's political agenda orchestrated by those who place their trust in the philosophical ideal of the necessity of evil to unite a country. The filmmaker manages to successfully pluck apart the myth of the reality of there being a logistically organized terror network, let alone one that is managing to orchestrate terror attacks from a cave in the remote mountains of Afghanistan. His arguments are backed up by some eye opening interviews with authorities on the field of Islamic fundamentalism, members of the US government and members of the US judicial system. These insights are parred with concrete, startling facts and the result is a program that manages to shake us awake making us aware of a far more realistic terror threat namely that of psychological warfare carried out by the powers that be, accompanied by a sensationalist media frenzy. I cannot recommend this program highly enough.