Obsession: An interesting piece of post-9/11 American history

[Super Dude]

I usually like to watch DVDs while I work out, so I was searching our "vault" for something new and unexpected to watch when I found this:



I think it's absolutely fascinating, from a cultural-historical point of view. I reckon it says as much about us as the people we portrayed. I haven't watched the whole thing because it's kinda graphic, but just this cover itself is really interesting. There's a front-side to this as well, so I might take a photo of that and upload it here later.

Pick away, P/R! (Or move to GD if you can't find anything to chew on)

Edit: In case this adds any interesting perspective to the discussion, the trademark says this was put together in 2006, after we'd been in Iraq for 3 years and Afghanistan for around 4 or 5.

[the Catfishman]

It reminds me of the American anti-communism propaganda of the 50s.

[antigoon]

I remember when 12 year-old me didn't know any better than to believe that stuff. Man, talk about propaganda.

A quick google search revealed this:

Clarion burst onto the scene in 2006 with the movie Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West. In 2008, more than 20 million copies of the film were distributed to homes in presidential election swing states thanks to a $17 million donation, reportedly by right-wing and GOP donor Barre Seid. (Another U.S. group that aided the release later denied involvement but was found to be misleading reporters in order to cover up its role. The head of the group now sits on Clarion’s advisory board.)

https://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/01/24/410003/donors-clarion-fund-third-jihad/

Apparently the NYPD has been showing this organization's most recent film to it's officers... that would explain a lot

edit: Their website's logo:

[Super Dude]

Wow, so they're like Alex Jones documentaries for neo-cons.

[Chino]

I love seeing stuff from another angle. There was a show that started recently, didn't last too long, called American Muslim. It showed just how wrong we are on most of our assumptions when it comes to them as a people.

[Super Dude]

Well, I might just have to check that out after Religulous.

[Scheavo]

I love seeing stuff from another angle. There was a show that started recently, didn't last too long, called American Muslim. It showed just how wrong we are on most of our assumptions when it comes to them as a people.

Lol, I remember there was a "controversy" about that, becuase they didn't show Muslims being radical. Some asshole Floridian Christian was upset that this Muslim was so normal, becuase all know Muslims are fire-breathing child-eating rapists.

[Chino]

I love seeing stuff from another angle. There was a show that started recently, didn't last too long, called American Muslim. It showed just how wrong we are on most of our assumptions when it comes to them as a people.

Lol, I remember there was a "controversy" about that, becuase they didn't show Muslims being radical. Some asshole Floridian Christian was upset that this Muslim was so normal, becuase all know Muslims are fire-breathing child-eating rapists.

On one of the episodes, a muslim women got on a plane and the women next to her asked to change her seat because she was uncomfortable. The muslim lady's response was something like "I'm just about to head to a seminar to educate Americans about people like you"

[El Barto]

"The film also traces the parallels between the Nazi movement of world war II, the radicals of today, and the Western world's response to both threats."

   We're the Nazis, people!

I never as a citizen want to see our country become urged, by either fear or resentment of this group, that we ever compromise with any of our democratic principles through that fear or resentment

It's a shame that the people who spend so much time fellating his ghost care so little about understanding where he actually stood.

[Super Dude]

I wouldn't go so far as to call us Nazis, but our hostile inclinations against intellectuals and potential subversives definitely has us leaning more towards the fascistic end of political authoritarianism.

[El Barto]

I wouldn't go so far as to call us Nazis, but our hostile inclinations against intellectuals and potential subversives definitely has us leaning more towards the fascistic end of political authoritarianism.

If we're going to try and compare either us or radical Muslims to Nazis, we're the obvious choice.

[MasterShakezula]

I'd say American's fear of Muslims and typecasting normal people as being 'radicals' and 'a threat' is eerily similar to Amercan's treatment of Japanese citizens and residents during WWII.  I mean, it hasn't gone as far as that did, but it seems similar. 

I'm rather disgusted by irrational fear of Muslims. 

[Super Dude]

I wouldn't go so far as to call us Nazis, but our hostile inclinations against intellectuals and potential subversives definitely has us leaning more towards the fascistic end of political authoritarianism.

If we're going to try and compare either us or radical Muslims to Nazis, we're the obvious choice.

Why do we need to try and compare either side to the Nazis? Just because Clarion did doesn't mean we have to.

[El Barto]

I have no such need, but certainly wanted to point out that Clarion had it back-asswards.  They made the point, and I responded.

Interestingly, while sitting in a Vietnamese restaurant with my brother tonight, he made almost exactly the same statement that I did, for completely different reasons.  His point was that we're the Nazis and radical Islam is Hirohito (interesting distinction), ironically making us both the enemies of the US.   

[Super Dude]

Another interesting little tidbit: after a little snooping on Wikipedia, I noticed that although theatrical 9/11 films are pretty much all over the place, the overwhelming majority of documentaries about the events of that day tend to have a 2006 release date, same as this Clarion doc. I wasn't as politically aware then or maybe I just don't remember, but I don't recall anything too special about that year. Does anyone else?

[hefdaddy42]

5 years after

[Super Dude]

Just because it'd been five years after? I dunno, I thought there'd be something more to it than that...

[hefdaddy42]

Why? 

[Super Dude]

I mean you'd think that if a rash of documentary films about an issue like 9/11 are all coming out at once, it's because there's something political going on, like the Iraq War going south or something. I'm just thinking of these films as being in response to something direct and immediate, idk.

[bosk1]

I mean you'd think that if a rash of documentary films about an issue like 9/11 are all coming out at once, it's because there's something political going on, like the Iraq War going south or something. I'm just thinking of these films as being in response to something direct and immediate, idk.

Or...it takes a couple of years to actually sort through and compile all the information, etc. that you would want to use for a documentary, and by the time that was likely done, the first anniversary had long since passed and the next significant anniversary in many people's minds would be the fifth.  It's probably not any more complicated than that.

[GuineaPig]

I just wrote a paper on the historiography of the atomic bomb decision, and I can tell you that much of the scholarly work (articles and books) was heavily clumped around the mid-point of each decade (especially 1995, the 50th anniversary).  I think it being a nice, round, anniversary could be a big reason.