Marketed as a definitive statement of Chomsky's view of contemporary America, REQUIEM FOR THE American DREAM offers an eight-part deconstruction of a country where rampant capitalism and unrestricted practices have led to a society even more unequal than it has ever been in its two hundred-plus year history.
Through a series of interviews Chomsky traces this development back to the time when America was established, when the Constitution allowed for the freedom of individuals to practice anything they wished, including unrestrained capitalism. He argues that until the Seventies there were a series of checks and balances in places so as to ensure that all the people were well looked after; but things started to change, as successive presidents decided that the country had gone too far in the direction of freedom in the past decades, and needed to be reined in.
Gains obtained in the Sixties and early Seventies, such as the acquisition of civil rights, women's liberation and a relaxing of sexual mores were followed by a tightening of the political structure, a deliberate manipulation of public opinion by capitalist interests and a concession to the moneymakers to pursue whatever policies they wished. Now it is commonplace for governments to bail them out whenever they over-spend; if they didn't, then the governments would not be elected.
Chomsky paints an overwhelmingly negative picture of contemporary America, while suggesting that the only solution is for individuals to band together and create resistance movements similar to those formulated during the Sixties. Some of his historical claims are just plain bunkum: while middle-class white Americans enjoyed unrivaled prosperity in the Fifties, this was certainly not the case for most African Americans deprived of civil rights. Likewise the troops returning from World War II did have the chance to benefit from a university education, but little was done to alleviate the trauma of the previous six years. Hence America was hardly that edenic world as Chomsky claims - before the capitalists had their way.
Nonetheless, we should understand that this documentary does not pretend to be objective. It is the views of an aging leftist with a passionate concern for his country's future; on those terms REQUIEM FOR THE American DREAM is a compelling watch.
Through a series of interviews Chomsky traces this development back to the time when America was established, when the Constitution allowed for the freedom of individuals to practice anything they wished, including unrestrained capitalism. He argues that until the Seventies there were a series of checks and balances in places so as to ensure that all the people were well looked after; but things started to change, as successive presidents decided that the country had gone too far in the direction of freedom in the past decades, and needed to be reined in.
Gains obtained in the Sixties and early Seventies, such as the acquisition of civil rights, women's liberation and a relaxing of sexual mores were followed by a tightening of the political structure, a deliberate manipulation of public opinion by capitalist interests and a concession to the moneymakers to pursue whatever policies they wished. Now it is commonplace for governments to bail them out whenever they over-spend; if they didn't, then the governments would not be elected.
Chomsky paints an overwhelmingly negative picture of contemporary America, while suggesting that the only solution is for individuals to band together and create resistance movements similar to those formulated during the Sixties. Some of his historical claims are just plain bunkum: while middle-class white Americans enjoyed unrivaled prosperity in the Fifties, this was certainly not the case for most African Americans deprived of civil rights. Likewise the troops returning from World War II did have the chance to benefit from a university education, but little was done to alleviate the trauma of the previous six years. Hence America was hardly that edenic world as Chomsky claims - before the capitalists had their way.
Nonetheless, we should understand that this documentary does not pretend to be objective. It is the views of an aging leftist with a passionate concern for his country's future; on those terms REQUIEM FOR THE American DREAM is a compelling watch.