Propaganda

Over several decades, GG and I have engaged in many types of anti-capitalist struggles, including mass mobilizations, protests, occupations, strikes, etc.; radical journalism; group studies and production of various forms of in-depth analyses of the global Empire's political economy, ideology, consumerism, dogma, military and diplomatic dynamics, and economics. We often critique politics within the Left, including theory and practice of progressive, radical and revolutionary organizations and individuals.

GG: "This is presented as a North Korean production, but some of the comments suggest that it's a fake. Any thoughts?"

Petros: "You have an incredible sense of timing, as always. Events around us keep bordering on catastrophe, while brutality, misery, and ignorance induced by the global Empire are at an all time peak.

And now you send me this movie about the system's methodical and scientific mind control operations..."

GG: "One glaring inaccuracy: It depicts the British Invasion (i.e. the Beatles) as happening after the anti-Vietnam War protests, not before. Otherwise, if in fact it is a production of North Korea, it demonstrates an encouraging sophistication in terms of its understanding the mass-psychology and propaganda system of the imperialist West.

What the documentary does very well is depict the average westerner's brain as occupied territory. It reminds me of the Gospel of Mark, chapter 5, which depicts Jesus exorcising a "Legion" of devils from a man who lived among the "tombs." Legion is code for the forces of the Roman Empire and "tombs" is code for the "Scribes and Pharisees," i.e. the church and state of the Jews (see Matthew 23:27). I think it's saying that the Empire has occupied our souls with the complicity and acquiescence of the local authorities. What we need is a mass exorcism!

But this time, I don't want to see any more pigs suffer because of the shameful condition of our species."

Petros: "I kept pausing the movie in order to contain my excitement. They articulate so well, so much that I want to say! Here's a few thoughts that might serve as a foundation for a future Critical Review.

If I were to pick on ONE cultural-political item today to explain to someone what the Liberation Movement is all about I'd pick this movie.

"Propaganda" has some shortcomings and deficiencies, but they are miniscule.

For example the thing you point out about the British Invasion. It's true of course that the most massive and militant anti-Vietnam war protests began after the Beatles' British Invasion. But protests against the war had already begun in 1960 and kept growing massively. So strictly speaking, there's no anachronism in the movie.

The number of homeless they gave, "38 million homeless Americans" sounds a little steep even for my sense of reality.

Official numbers in the US are usually one tenth of that (about 3,5 million). But then according to "official" numbers Canada comes out with more homeless per capita than the US! Clearly the US is under-reporting homelessness, but I don't think the real number is more than 10 to 15 million.

Another deficiency is that "Propaganda" hints at, but has no understanding of how perverted (manipulated) sexuality sustains a culture of ignorance, commodification, and brutality. According to Wilhelm Reich, MD., author of the very best scientific analysis of Fascism on the basis of oppressed and degenerated sexuality, all these constitute "secondary drives" produced by authoritarianism. One reason that the creators have a partial blind spot on sexuality is that stalinism, which is very strong in North Korea, is itself bound up with anti-sexual politics.

Then there's the image of North Korea, itself. Most EuroAmerican Leftists are embarrassed by it. Imperialist media keep presenting North Korea in such a bad light that it's impossible to defend it, even in the eyes of "rational" people - propaganda and distortion is so vile that any rational discussion about North Korea is condemned before it even starts.

Therefore, their discomfort with the movie, influenced by the country's image peaking out through the movie introspectively, is invalid. Most Leftists in the advanced industrial world usually are unable to perceive reality in their own countries, never mind North Korea.

I found that the movie is an astounding improvement over Guy Debord's "Society of the Spectacle", which is the pinnacle of the Situationists' critique of modern society on the basis of the Spectacle, the newest form into which alienation (in the marxist sense) congeals in our era.

Alienation, the separation between products and producers, is no longer just a need driving us to market. In our era, alienation congeals into something material, experienceable: the Spectacle, more than just urging us to the market, creates our own image of ourselves within our heads, defining our reality.

And as our friend Sue S. pointed out, "Propaganda" has overtones from Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent" and from Naomi Klein's work. Still there's something unique in this movie; it has character and personality; often one can discern the hand of masters at the editing tool.

Also I was shocked to find mention of the Truth about September 11 in the movie! A taboo that came up so naturally...

I definitely agree with you about the need to (re)exorcise that demon named "Legion" who plagues our society; I'm with you! The movie gets a zero in making a differentiation between authoritarian religion (enforced bondage to church), and a freely chosen Spirituality embodying Liberation Theology, a moral force of the revolution. Also, they fail to see that the Bible contains some spiritual, scientific and historical Truth of great value along with all the dogma, hatred, falsifications, distortions and mind-numbing irrelevancies.

Still, with all of its weak elements or deficiencies I'd gladly promote "Propaganda", and perhaps a critique such as this might empower its message.

The perfect commentary on consumerism in West. No, it is not a genuine North Korean propaganda film. Yes, what it discusses is so damning, it could very well have been.

No thick story plot, or undertones to unearth, this piece of film tells it straight. You do not need to be intellectual to get this. Whether what it discusses is 100% factual, or not - me thinks the proof is in the pudding. It intends to build discussion, is the one thing I am sure of.

A perfect piece of propaganda, itself, it forces the audience to see themselves from the view of an unbiased third party. To look at the structure of our society, from the top to the bottom - something most of us are accustomed to knowing only in reverse(being the bottom-feeders that most of us are).

Engaging viewing that will no doubt provide for equally engaging discussion for years to come.

I'm a well travelled, well educated person. But it wasn't until I saw Propaganda that I realized how, I like others, have had the blinkers on. Seeing this movie and then sitting back and thinking, before watching it again, was my first experience of being unplugged from the Matrix. This movie will make you realize that marketing, media and manufacturers ie - big business, work to distract us from the political truth, with consumer goods and wafer thin 'celebrities'. And we suck it up like pigs at the trough, never questioning why we stare goggle eyed at the telly lapping up every word people like Kim Kardashian utter. I want to say thanks to the producers of this film and recommend, even the die hard American supporters (and anyone from the West) to at least be open minded enough to watch and wonder. This is to documentaries what Aldous Huxley's Brave New World was to books, when are we going to sit up and listen?

Wait a minute, a mockumentary pretending to be a real propaganda movie to deconstruct the mechanisms of propaganda by the means of propaganda? An undercover release via YouTube as a calculated part of the viral campaign for a guerrilla film that is sailing the seas of consciousness under a false black flag? A made-up but nonetheless disturbingly accurate and hard-hitting critique of western society and civilization, allegedly through the eyes of a north korean Professor of Psychology, which deliberately contains some glaring factual inaccuracies but also many bitter truths?

Uh, err... wow, let me stomach this first.

What one really has to admire is the messed-up genius behind director Slavko Martinov's first work, which he reportedly assembled literally without any budget, over the course of eight years. Not only because the movie is beautifully crafted in its mixture of fact, fiction and... yes, propaganda, but also because this has to be the most intelligent viral campaign that I've seen so far. How successful and relevant it is can be easily measured by the fact that while I write this, there are still discussions taking place where this movie is viewed and argued as "authentic" from both sides, despite the fact that its true nature has been revealed many months ago and there are even IMDb and Facebook entries for it. But anyway, I'd predict that people unaware of its true origin will continue to do so for years to come, because this reflects exactly the kind of "research" many people do before stating their opinions - none.

By the way, when asked for the inherent message of his film, this is what Marinov had to say: "Question everything; everything you read, see, or hear. It's a simple thing and everyone is capable of doing it."

I can only subscribe to that.

10/10

Israel, the USA, 9/11, democracy, religion, capitalism, advertising, TV, cinema, celebrities, computer gaming... they all sit firmly in the cross hairs of this brutally insulting critique of the West from a North Korean perspective. The scathing insults are dished out so heavily, yet supported so convincingly by actual footage backing their standpoint, it is compelling viewing. The calm and reasonable tones of the host and translator are soothingly believable, making this film either a shocking indictment of our era or one the most brilliant pieces of Propaganda in a generation. Either way, this film is compelling viewing.