The End Of America (2008)

I am a regular traveller to the US and love it a great deal as a place to be, but one thing about it that often strikes me is how polarised and segregated it can be along racial and political lines – the UK is pretty bad in the same way but is brilliant by comparison. Reading the reviews of this film shows more of the same – reviews are either 10* or 1* reviews and the actual text reveal a similar approach. I'm not looking to criticise other amateur reviewers but this does smack of reviewers coming to the film with their minds already made up. This is a real shame but it is not to be a surprise. Primarily any film that gives a platform to Wolf is hardly going to appeal to the right, or even the right-leaning viewer. On top of that a film that seems to be about the comparison of Bush with Hitler is one that is going to quickly polarise even viewers who may only "lean" one way or the other because, when you call a world leader Hitler, there is not a lot of room for standing on the fence.Of course this is not what the film is doing but those instinctively in disagreement with it will be unable to get passed this and the film doesn't quite manage to deliver the "lessons from history" without making it sound like a direct comparison. This is a real shame because there is nothing wrong with looking towards the mistakes of the past in trying to do things differently now. Wolf delivers ten things that "closing societies" have in common and uses these ten things as discussion points to look at the impingements on personal freedom that were done during the Bush era. These ten aspects are 1) Invoke internal and external threat; 2) Secret prisons where torture takes place; 3) Develop a paramilitary force; 4) Surveillance on ordinary citizens; 5) infiltrate citizens' groups; 6) detain and release citizens; 7) target key individuals; 8) Restrict the press; 9) recast criticism as espionage and treason; 10) subvert the rule of law.On all of these Wolf presents an interesting and rather chilling look at the modern political landscape. She discusses in each step how the Bush administration have done more or less what other "closing societies" have done. Does she ever say that the US was heading towards a dictatorship with Bush on the road to becoming a modern Hitler? No, she doesn't but, to be fair, given that the suggestion is unavoidable by virtue of the structure of her presentation she could have done a bit more to stress that she is not saying that but rather just using history as a way of learning. Had she done this better perhaps the film wouldn't feel like it is only preaching to the choir.While she makes good parallels even the choir will acknowledge that some of her points are a real stretch though. For ever clear point about the utilisation of fear and threats, there is a weaker one like the targeting of key people. This point made me laugh because of the links she makes – talking about the Dixie Chicks seems trivial compared to historical "targeting". Likewise some of her other points appear to be reaching as well, the "restrict the press" point produced my favourite line where she talks about the Cheney "threat" on the editor of the NY Times – she says "what immediately comes to mind" is the trial of a Russian journalist by Stalin. Really? That "immediately" comes to mind does it!? Although Wolf doesn't always justify the links to history, her presentation still does do a good job of presenting a general erosion of civil liberties. I would say I agreed with her on all of them but all of her points are food for thought and I cannot really relate to those viewers who can watch this and simply dismiss it 100% out of hand and don't see anything worth thinking about.The End of America is overly leftist and doesn't work hard enough to take the political tension out of the discussion but it is still a very interesting film that does serve as food for thought. OK some of the historical parallels don't really work that well but the points raised about the modern situation are engaging and chilling. Not good enough to draw in a wider audience and convince those that go into the film pitched against it but still an engaging film whether you accept it all or not.

It is very rare to come across a movie that has a more profound impact than this one. It is not because you'll find here the greatest cinematography, acting, movie score and the like. No, it's because this film provides fresh water to a world of deathly dry, parched lips. We have been bombarded with lies in a manipulative atmosphere no different than what happened when the lies of the Gulf of Tonkin caused the US to go to war against Vietnam on false pretenses. Like the regimes of Hitler, Mussolini and others, the US has taken the same 10 steps to tyranny - completely annihilating the Constitution of the US which our leaders have sworn to uphold. Naomi Wolf walks us carefully through these 10 steps giving us one example after another. Benjamin Franklin once said that anyone that gives up freedom for security, deserves neither. This work here is a MUST for all Americans, and for those concerned about the direction that America has taken. This is a clear-headed, honest analysis that deserves critical, yet open thought and discussion. Could anything be more important knowing that we've been told this "War on Terror" will never end? I think certainly not! Remember, these hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq are dying, being tortured, and being raped, in the name of the USA.

With President Barack Obama's recent orders to close down Gitmo, the United States is starting the process of ending a dark chapter in it's history. In The End of America, New York Times Best Selling Author Naomi Wolf chronicles the 10 steps a country takes towards fascism. There was dialogue as recent as the presidential campaign if America was heading towards socialism. The scary part is that much worse has been going on for the last 8 years.Based on the best selling novel, this chilling documentary is more important to watch now that there is a new administration. The issues brought up in this documentary are challenges President Obama must face, from torture to privacy. This documentary is not so much a way to sway one's politics, but a reminder of how too much power can ultimately lead to the downfall of a nation. I recommend this documentary to anyone who has interest in the Patriot Act and the actions the Bush administration took in the last 8 years. Some issues are well known, but others will be sure to raise some questions about government that we as Americans are allowed to ask.

This movie is so interesting in that it was directed at the Bush administration, but the message relates to any president, including Obama. The real thing that Naomi is getting across is that we need to protect our constitutional rights. If you look at what is going on right now in the U.S., we need to watch the Obama administration too. Capital gains taxes going from 22 percent to 35 percent will kill capitalism, free trade, and the American dream. No one will be able to open a small business, and other small businesses will have to shut down, and these are our main job creators. This goes without even talking about the one trillion dollars that we are about to spend, half of which is not even intended to stimulate the economy, but to fulfill special interest democratic agendas. The redistribution of wealth will ultimately turn us to a socialist mindset, and possibly a socialist country. Additionally, when this one trillion is distributed, many economists are agreeing that people are realizing that this is a one time thing, so they will put it away and save it. When companies receive more revenue during "stimulus" time, they are realizing that "hey, it's just the stimulus" and will not hire more employees or expand their business. Here is the best part... When the economy recovers, all of this money that people are receiving and putting away will start to emerge, and then, duh duh duh, INFLATION! This is basic economics, just pick up an economics book and I bet it's in the first five chapters. I am not saying that this WILL happen, and I definitely want our country to get out of this mess and succeed. I am simply reiterating what Naomi was trying to get across, and that is that we need to protect our precious constitutional rights and watch our government as closely as possible no matter who is in office.