MovieChat Forums > The War on Democracy (2007) Discussion > Old F arts

Old F arts

posted 17 years ago by VivaMongo
6 replies | jump to latest

This excellent movie only has one flaw, and I didn't notice it until the house lights went up and people started applauding.

As I looked around the cinema, which was fairly full, I could only see a bunch of old f arts like myself clapping their hands.

Being concerned about the state of the world and protesting used to be a young persons thing to do. It's pretty sad state if protest is a dying thing these days and ignored by the younger generation.

That said - it's good to see such a passionate and stirring film - the bunch I saw it with walked out like a bunch of feisty radicals...(hopping all the way to our zimmer frames!)

Really hope this gets seen by some younger radicals. And that someone takes on the job of giving Duane a good kicking. What an evil as s whole he was.

[–] robasselman 17 years ago

My girlfriend and I went and saw this thought provoking film last night. We are both 24 so we were flying the 'young person' flag although I do have to agree that the majority of people who attended the screening were definitely in the 'grey brigade'.

[–] nasal_hair_on_fire 17 years ago

I just saw this film and I am 26.

The audience in the cinema session were of all ages, as far as I could tell.

[–] VivaMongo 17 years ago

Very good to know some younger peeps are getting to see this great and important film - it really disturbed me that there seemed to be mostly oldies like myself at the screening I went to. Hopefully that was just a random thing then.

[–] ix-viii-ix 16 years ago

Pilger is just one of a cadre of "old reds" who are passing into the senior levels of the media and political establishment. I can name but a few, Galloway being extreme, Ken Livingstone, Tony Benn, Jon Snow etc etc. I really can't see how the principles of socialism apply any more in this country. If you ask me we have too many welfare and social measures in place, and far too much bureaucracy. IMHO whats needed in Friedman-esque scaling back of the powers and responsibilities of government, not ever greater expansion. Thats why I disagree with Chavez, and to be honest I dont know a single person my age (21) who cares enough about Chavez or Venezuala to either love him or hate him. It has very little meaning to a generation which relies on the media to feed them (in)accurate information rather than reading several points of view. Politics isnt "sexy" like it supposedly was in the 1960's.

[–] batea 16 years ago

I don't want to condescend but I think when you've lived another 21 years you may see things differently. Yes I agree we are fed in/accurate info in this techno-crazed world. So it's up to us to inform ourselves and sift information responsibly. You don't have to accept, believe or agree with Livingstone, Benn, Pilger... Thatcher, Bush... but they deserve a hearing. Even idiots talk sense sometimes and if you accept only 1% of what Pilger exposes then that's reason for concern, isn't it?

Don't knock the welfare/social measures in UK - they're there to provide a cushion to those who need it. And any country comprises the good, bad and ugly: those who can contribute, those who can't and those who won't. The problem is the system abuse and the abusers who get away with it - not the system per se.

In a society of 60+ million you have to have government and with that comes bureaucracy - how else would things get done? You'd not get consensus amongst 10 people in a pub or in a university tutorial, let alone a country. That's why transparency and worthiness of intent for a government is more important than whether or not it is "socialist" "communist" "capitalist". Corruption and bias comes in many forms. Government powers are only undesirable when they favour a given sector of society and undermine the wellbeing of the majority.

A government should regard the responsibility of government and accountability to its people as paramount, above all else: globally governments generally dont, because politicians somewhere along the line are taken over by ego and power. Governments should also in an ideal world not interfer with other governments unless it's through a "neutral" body along the lines of the UN. Who wanted USA to invade Afghanistan, Granada, Iraq... Who voted for USA as "leader of the [so called] free world".

I'm a 49yr old UK citizen, lived in USA, France, Germany and now Oz. I'm a secondary school teacher - it's sadly ironic just how much global politics are just a parallel of what I see in the school playground. All "Old Fart" Pilger is trying to do is unmask the bully. How you respond is up to you. Don't discount what he's saying because he's my age. He's seen a lot and a lot of what he says [irrespective of your politics] is worth consideration.

[–] fuzzy_wunz 16 years ago

I'm 30 and most of the young people I encounter are well jaded and dispassionate about things like injustice and the undermining of democracy. I'm starting to feel that in America, democracy really just means a steady stream of cheap consumer goods and lots of escapist distractions. And the younger you are, the more truth that statement holds; if only because there's just more and more stuff to distract us.