Finding the missing “Nightmares”….
When I was in Belfast a few years ago (January 2005 to be more precise), the BBC broadcast a fascinating and very controversial 3-part documentary titled “The Power of Nightmares.” The basic theme framed neo-conservatism and the radical Jihad movements as parallel developments, each promoting visions that are at the heart of the current “war on terror.” Despite my inclination to take such strong interpretative presentations lightly, this was a coherent and impressive piece of work, and I wondered how it might play in the US.
Well, I never got the opportunity to find out, because it never did make it to the US. (I wrote on this in a May 2005 post, and mentioned it again in a July 2005 post.) In what can only be regarded as a case of censorship, it was not really possible to find the documentary anywhere — the BBC maintained its site pages on the show (but did not include access to clips) and only snippets showed up on youTube and the other usual places. Having seen the three “chapters”, it was certainly not because of any graphic depictions or gross libel. Rather, this was purely a case of outright blockage, either out of fear by US broadcasters that the presentation was just too controversial or simply outright censorship.
And so I was pleasantly surprised to stumble on the documentary in downloadable formats at archive.org (http://tinyurl.com/ahfjb). I don’t know how they managed to pull this off since, as some of the comments note, they do not seem to have any permissions posted with the film. But just in case, I’ve downloaded the three segments to store for future use and reference. (I have since revisited a site noted in my earlier posts where the show can still be streamed (http://tinyurl.com/6kya9), and the same stream is accessible via Google.) video. These essentially claim noncommerical “fair use” rights.)
The comments at the archive.com site, by the way, attest to just how controversial the show is. Those with the strongest negative opinions focus on the portrayal of the neo-cons, and accuse the producer of gross distortions of the movement and its history. But while they make special note of the editing and overall presentation of the narrative, the quality of the interviews with notable figures in (and students of) the neo-con movement is impressive. I am certain some of those interviewed had no idea how their responses would be used, and perhaps it is their influence that has kept the film off US screens for several years. I do believe, however, that this will prove to be an interesting (and cited) source of historical research on the post-9/11 era.
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