DVD Reviews
Issue 209 / May 2006 More from this Issue
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Michael Parenti
Rulers of the Planet
Virus 351
Street: 03.14
In this DVD and bonus audio disc, Michael Parenti uses information taken from public records to detail the United States' 60-year foreign policy of murder and repression. Parenti, who has a Ph.D. from Yale, is one part Noam Chomsky and one part stand-up comedian. He implicates Bill Clinton as well as George Bush for acting in the interests of the rich elite instead of the people who voted them into office. He says that the gap between what most Americans think about U.S. foreign policy and what has actually been going on is one of, "the great propaganda achievements of the last century." He gives several details of how the leaders of the United States have backed and armed repressive regimes that then wipe out any populist or egalitarian movement. These American-friendly governments then open their markets to U.S. investors, "in terms that are completely favorable to the investors." The American military has either funded or been directly involved in mercenary actions against populist movements in Cuba, Angola, Nicaragua, East Timor, Egypt, Peru, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and the list goes on. Parenti gives far too many disturbing facts to describe here. There is no terrorist state, no communist or fascist regime that comes close to the United States' rap sheet. Parenti claims that the U.S. government tells the American people and media lackeys that they are arming repressive regimes in order to protect them from harm. The current fanatic fear of terrorists is just a continuation of the Communist paranoia during the Cold War. U.S. taxpayers gladly front the bill while the super-rich pad their already bloated coffers. This DVD is well worth checking out, and Parenti is able to coat these disturbing facts with wit and a sense of humor. Get informed and get pissed. Spencer Jenkins
Scarlet Moon
Warren F. Disbrow
Troma Entertainment
Street: 04.04
In the realm of B-movies, there exists a spectrum in which a film is so bad it goes beyond bad, and somehow turns out good. This is not true of Scarlet Moon, which is just the right amount of bad that if it got any worse it might not be that bad. Shot on home video and using in-camera audio, the movie looks and sounds like the stuff your little brother used to make in high school, before he lost his virginity. So what's it about? Do you really care? It's about vampires and devil worshipers searching for a red diamond that contains the ultimate power of the earth. But what really matters is that it's a movie with such a low budget that they couldn't even afford any of the usual guts and gore of other Troma movies, the ones that are at the very least entertaining. Jeff Guay
Rulers of the Planet
Virus 351
Street: 03.14
In this DVD and bonus audio disc, Michael Parenti uses information taken from public records to detail the United States' 60-year foreign policy of murder and repression. Parenti, who has a Ph.D. from Yale, is one part Noam Chomsky and one part stand-up comedian. He implicates Bill Clinton as well as George Bush for acting in the interests of the rich elite instead of the people who voted them into office. He says that the gap between what most Americans think about U.S. foreign policy and what has actually been going on is one of, "the great propaganda achievements of the last century." He gives several details of how the leaders of the United States have backed and armed repressive regimes that then wipe out any populist or egalitarian movement. These American-friendly governments then open their markets to U.S. investors, "in terms that are completely favorable to the investors." The American military has either funded or been directly involved in mercenary actions against populist movements in Cuba, Angola, Nicaragua, East Timor, Egypt, Peru, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and the list goes on. Parenti gives far too many disturbing facts to describe here. There is no terrorist state, no communist or fascist regime that comes close to the United States' rap sheet. Parenti claims that the U.S. government tells the American people and media lackeys that they are arming repressive regimes in order to protect them from harm. The current fanatic fear of terrorists is just a continuation of the Communist paranoia during the Cold War. U.S. taxpayers gladly front the bill while the super-rich pad their already bloated coffers. This DVD is well worth checking out, and Parenti is able to coat these disturbing facts with wit and a sense of humor. Get informed and get pissed. Spencer Jenkins
Scarlet Moon
Warren F. Disbrow
Troma Entertainment
Street: 04.04
In the realm of B-movies, there exists a spectrum in which a film is so bad it goes beyond bad, and somehow turns out good. This is not true of Scarlet Moon, which is just the right amount of bad that if it got any worse it might not be that bad. Shot on home video and using in-camera audio, the movie looks and sounds like the stuff your little brother used to make in high school, before he lost his virginity. So what's it about? Do you really care? It's about vampires and devil worshipers searching for a red diamond that contains the ultimate power of the earth. But what really matters is that it's a movie with such a low budget that they couldn't even afford any of the usual guts and gore of other Troma movies, the ones that are at the very least entertaining. Jeff Guay
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