[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: Once upon a Zeitgeist

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
Once upon a Zeitgeist
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1150478140.shtml


   Last night a few members of our Liberal Hawks group went to see the
   world premier of the film [1]"American Zeitgeist: Crisis & Conscience
   in an Age of Terror".

   The content of American Zeitgeist was ripped from the pages of
   antiwar.com, Newsweek, CNN and the New York Times. We've seen and
   heard this all before. Many, many, many times.

   Was Zeitgeist boring? Do Ayatollahs wear funny hats?

   Zeitgeist tells the now-standard fairy tale of romantic/militant
   insurgent/mujahideen, [2]Blowback, the evils of American imperialism,
   and the perils of America under the shadow of dark Lord Bush.

   You know how it goes: Once upon a time, in faraway land called
   Afghanistan, the forthright, pious young prince bin Laden joined with
   the oily American hegemonic empire to to fight Red Atheist Devil
   Communism. Young prince bin Laden won the battle and saved us from
   communism! After this victory, his merry band of mujahideen became
   outlaws, had some bold adventures and battled their new archenemy,
   evil hegemonic America, led by dark Lord George Bush. The decadent
   Americans, drunk on IPOs and rock music, were blind to the inevitable
   results of their sins. The 9/11 attacks were the wages of imperialism.
   America demanded revenge and now the battle rages on, from the pixie
   dust Afghani pipeline to the dusty souks of occupied Iraq. This war
   will never stop until America admits the error of it's
   oily-imperialist-colonialist ways and buys the hearts and minds of
   noble, oppressed Europeans, Arabs, pious non-decadent folk around the
   world. Only then shall the world know peace.

   Like most oft repeated fairy tales, the film made me sleepy. Most of
   the audience members were fidgety towards the end, except for one
   elder lady who enthusiastically clapped when [3]jihadi/pundit Eric
   Margolis and bin Laden dissed Bush.

   Zeitgeist was based on the writings of [4]Blowback's ever-whacked
   [5]Chomskyite Chalmers Johnson, who once said of Ward Churchill's
   "Little Eichmanns'" statement:

     "The bond traders and other professionals, you could argue, were
     part of the military-industrial complex George Washington and
     Dwight Eisenhower both warned about, but to say their deaths were
     warranted is a bit of a stretch."

   The military-industrial complex George Washington warned us about??
   Told you he was whacked.

   Chomsky made a short appearance, but he was drowned out by a chorus of
   loud cheers and hissing.

   Johnson's authority and [6]Tariq Ali's rage dominate the film,
   shadowed only by the overwhelmingly sympathetic portrayal of bin
   Laden. A few right-of-center folks were allowed to speak, but only for
   a short time and mostly when they agreed with Johnson or Ali.

   During one scene, as the tragedy of Osama's life is relayed to the
   audience, he gazes at us with eyes that could have been drawn by
   [7]Margaret Keane.

   The audience suffered greatly, but not in the way the filmmakers
   intended. Oh the humanity.

References

   1. http://www.americanzeitgeist.com/
   2. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805075593/103-2206307-1895856?v=glance&n=283155
   3. http://www.pakistan-facts.com/staticpages/index.php?page=20030822135359177
   4. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805075593/103-2206307-1895856?v=glance&n=283155
   5. http://www.chomsky.info/debates/20011012.htm
   6. http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Ali.html
   7. http://bigeyedmasters.tripod.com/margaretKEANE.html