Adam Curtis's The Power of Nightmares

Some nice folks have been uploading the work of British documentarian Adam Curtis to Google Video. This is thoughtful television of a kind you're not likely to see in the US (even on PBS).

Curtis's work ambitiously strings together history and ideas (with help from the BBC archives) and tries to make sense of contemporary events. The documentary I'm putting in this post, The Power of Nightmares, takes on terrorism and the Neoconservatives. If you've read books such as Ron Suskind's The One Percent Doctrine, or George Packer's, Assassin's Gate, you'll recognize some of the themes and subject matter.

It's long, and part 2 drags a bit. But parts 1 and 3 are worth putting in the time, especially if you're not totally familiar with the subject matter (which wouldn't be surprising if you've been watching mainstream US media).

Part 1, Baby It's Cold Outside:




Part 2, The Phantom Victory:



Part 3, The Shadows in the Cave: