The Untold History of the United States (2012, Documentary)
Written, Directed and Narrated by Oliver Stone
In essence life on Earth never changed. The animalistic yearn for power, blood and control never left us even though we left our nomadic ways, our parchments and dressed in 'modern attires'. This documentary, coming from a controversial filmmaker, Oliver Stone, is a must watch for history buffs who believe that history is not just a dead subject about dead people. After all, history is supposed to regularly discussed, dissected, analysed and argued with the understanding that history repeats itself. One who does not appreciate the follies of history is bound to repeat its indiscretion.
This set of documentary comprise 10 regular one-hour episodes and two prequels which cover almost a century of the rise of the United States of America after it had tamed the Wild West and its southern neighbours in the late 19th century to hail as the only remaining reigning Empire after the fall of the Russian, Hungarian-Prussian and British Empires in the 20th century. That is until now. There lurking in the horizon is the Chinese Red Army hard-headed to rule the world, so they say.
The story of the beginning of the United States of America started after it completed its local conquest. The country 'tamed' the Wild West, the 'bandits' from the South and hailed over its 'savage' neighbours. If that was not good enough, the then President in 1898, William McKinley said, "Let's make America great." If that sounds familiar, you are right. It was the battle cry of an individual aspiring Presidential candidate.
An overheated boiler aboard USS Maine sank while travelling in the Caribbeans. The Spaniards were falsely accused of gunning down the US vessel and justified the Americo-Spanish War which the Americans won. Their booty from the war was Cuba and the Philippines. The American businesses started prospering from Cuba. That must have been the beginning of relocation by American companies.
With the gunning of a British ocean liner, RMS Lusitania, in American waters carrying its citizens, by a German U-boat on the accusation that it was carrying ammunition, together with the Zimmerman telegram later, gave the US a justification to pull themselves into the World War 1. The accolades that they received after the war gave them the idea that war was indeed big business. They made it their divine calling to meddle in affairs of other countries in the name of liberty, freedom and social justice.
Napoleon Bonaparte was quoted to have said that history is a pack of lies agreed upon. This series of documentaries gives another perspective of history that was told to us. It highlights the many blunders or purposeful grave disservices done by the US government to the people of the world. The storyteller posits that the real villains of the world are not the Communist Russians but, surprise, surprise, the Americans. The Russians are portrayed as the unsung heroes. Just like how they rose to defend themselves against the advancing Napoleonic army, the Russians, with no help from the rest of the world, singlehandedly held forts in Leningrad and Stalingrad against the Nazis. In fact, they were instrumental in ending the Second World War. The Russian Army is the one who advanced to the Fuhrer-bunker. Their soldiers in the Eastern front crippled Japan, and the Japanese were asking for mercy and unconditional surrender even before Hiroshima and Nagasaki mushroom clouds! The Russians had the highest fatality of the war at 27 million. The understaffed British did not win the Blitz due to their tenacity and patriotism but because the German resources were stuck in fighting the Russians.
The author paints a very favourable view of FDR, the unprecedented 4-times US President. FDR, a visionist, with his reforms took the US out of Depression which was an after-effect of the euphoria of the Roaring Twenties to put things right again. He was also instrumental in getting Britain's foe and Communist leader Josef Stalin to the negotiation table to end WW2.
FDR's Secretary of Agriculture, Henry Wallace, his promising successor who revolutionised crop cultivation during the Post-Depression era, was bowled over at the National Conference as the Vice President. Wallace gave the aura of being a pacifist and yearning for Man to live in harmony. Of course, that was bad for business. War was good business! FDR had to give in to the 'powers that be' to endorse Harry Truman. Truman would later prove to be a thorn who would rock the world peace at large. His finger was at the trigger to launch Fat Boy and Little Man. Probably the world would have a different path if Wallace had been President. A disgruntled Wallace with his left-leaning sentiments never got much attention even after he stood as a candidate in a different party, The Progressive Party.
WW1 boosted the image of the US as a force to reckon after this 'Johnny come lately' entered fashionably late. The fantastic demigod reception that it received in the post-war celebrations convinced the politicians and businessmen that war was indeed a necessary evil. Businesses prospered. FDR with his state-funded mammoth projects scaled the country into dizzying heights with its leaps in engineering feats. Businesses of various sorts expanded briskly to other shores. American influence on other countries' political direction as well as their citizens' affluence snowballed.
In the Spanish Civil War, rebels fighting a democratically elected government were armed, thanks to the Americans. Even when the Germans were busy attacking their neighbours, building their armamentarium and sending Jews to go to the gas chambers, it was business as usual. The bankers, the oil merchants and the industries continued their transactions with Germany.
To please his ailing ally, Britain, Truman painted a bleak picture of the Soviet Union as the evil dark atheistic power out for world domination. The distrust against the Communist Russian arose from their vicious opposition to Capitalism and that their thinking was considered Oriental, hence, inferior due to their geographical location.
The post-war rebuilding exercise was basically a US gesture to appease its allies. The Russian were portrayed as the Devil and an enemy to the world order. The stories of Stalin's brutal punishment of his toes just proved their point. The rebuilding of the collapsed economy of Europe was aided by US-appointed banks through World Bank and IMF whose only priority is the safeguard US' interests and ensure a constant flow of moolah back for continuity of the good life for the Americans. Marshall's plan for a devasted Europe was just that - build Europe, build businesses and US businesses and the US would prosper. The war puckered Britain had to pass the baton of world hegemony to the US, and they became their defacto lap dog.
With the help of world media and the lingua franca of the world, the Americans were painted with the consistently favourable stroke of monochromatic paintwork. The US could do no wrong, they were the good guys, they fought just wars and God was on their side!
World domination continued with the threat of nuclear war as their bargaining chip. That was until the Soviet Union and China followed suit. Before that, irreparable damage had already been done to world peace. Meddling in almost all the countries in the world became like second nature to the US. Practically no state had been immune to their interference - Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile, Panama and the rest of Latin America; Algeria, Congo, Egypt and many newly independent post-colonial African states; Iran, Iraq, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia; Spain, Portugal, Greece and many European countries as well.
The Cold War which started after the division of spoils amongst the victors of WW2 slowly evolved into an arms race and space race. The climax of the chase to arms supremacy must surely be the Cuba missile crisis in 1962 which almost sparked the third World War if not for the mindful inactivity of a Russian officer, Vasili Arkhipov. A Russian submarine carrying missile warheads was shot at by Americans. Not knowing that they were warning shots and their telecommunication services were down, the crew had to put to the vote whether to launch the nuclear bomb. The decisive vote by Arkhipov averted Armageddon!
The US continued their self-appointed 'policeman of the World' duty by meddling into other countries affairs. Whenever a popular leader passes a decree which appears detrimental to the American interest, specifically business ventures, the US would support and finance rebel groups in that country to create mayhem. When pandemonium finally ensues, the Americans would march in like saviours to save the day on their terms.
Is it coincidence or is mere divine mirth? Whenever a US leader who shows preponderance for peace and brotherly cohabitants, his tenure seem short lived. It has been too many times in the case of Henry Wallace, JFK and his brother Robert. There seem to be an 'invincible hand' that seem to steer the world to destruction. The trail of blood and misery left by the military actions of the Yankees can best be described as inhumane with the usage of herbicides, poison gases, biological agents and radiating substances. The loss of human lives is pale in comparison to the environmental degradation.
With the rise of the USA as the lone superpower of the world spells danger. The peaceful world as we knew in the 19th century is now a denuded planet with its equally restless population unable to stomach the effects of American hegemony. Presidents after Presidents have come and gone, promising new dawn which never materialised. Peace is a forgotten word. The rich become more prosperous and the poor remain impoverished. The American way of life has permeated all layers of society.
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Written, Directed and Narrated by Oliver Stone
In essence life on Earth never changed. The animalistic yearn for power, blood and control never left us even though we left our nomadic ways, our parchments and dressed in 'modern attires'. This documentary, coming from a controversial filmmaker, Oliver Stone, is a must watch for history buffs who believe that history is not just a dead subject about dead people. After all, history is supposed to regularly discussed, dissected, analysed and argued with the understanding that history repeats itself. One who does not appreciate the follies of history is bound to repeat its indiscretion.
This set of documentary comprise 10 regular one-hour episodes and two prequels which cover almost a century of the rise of the United States of America after it had tamed the Wild West and its southern neighbours in the late 19th century to hail as the only remaining reigning Empire after the fall of the Russian, Hungarian-Prussian and British Empires in the 20th century. That is until now. There lurking in the horizon is the Chinese Red Army hard-headed to rule the world, so they say.
The story of the beginning of the United States of America started after it completed its local conquest. The country 'tamed' the Wild West, the 'bandits' from the South and hailed over its 'savage' neighbours. If that was not good enough, the then President in 1898, William McKinley said, "Let's make America great." If that sounds familiar, you are right. It was the battle cry of an individual aspiring Presidential candidate.
An overheated boiler aboard USS Maine sank while travelling in the Caribbeans. The Spaniards were falsely accused of gunning down the US vessel and justified the Americo-Spanish War which the Americans won. Their booty from the war was Cuba and the Philippines. The American businesses started prospering from Cuba. That must have been the beginning of relocation by American companies.
With the gunning of a British ocean liner, RMS Lusitania, in American waters carrying its citizens, by a German U-boat on the accusation that it was carrying ammunition, together with the Zimmerman telegram later, gave the US a justification to pull themselves into the World War 1. The accolades that they received after the war gave them the idea that war was indeed big business. They made it their divine calling to meddle in affairs of other countries in the name of liberty, freedom and social justice.
 |
| Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin |
The author paints a very favourable view of FDR, the unprecedented 4-times US President. FDR, a visionist, with his reforms took the US out of Depression which was an after-effect of the euphoria of the Roaring Twenties to put things right again. He was also instrumental in getting Britain's foe and Communist leader Josef Stalin to the negotiation table to end WW2.
 |
| Henry Wallace |
WW1 boosted the image of the US as a force to reckon after this 'Johnny come lately' entered fashionably late. The fantastic demigod reception that it received in the post-war celebrations convinced the politicians and businessmen that war was indeed a necessary evil. Businesses prospered. FDR with his state-funded mammoth projects scaled the country into dizzying heights with its leaps in engineering feats. Businesses of various sorts expanded briskly to other shores. American influence on other countries' political direction as well as their citizens' affluence snowballed.
In the Spanish Civil War, rebels fighting a democratically elected government were armed, thanks to the Americans. Even when the Germans were busy attacking their neighbours, building their armamentarium and sending Jews to go to the gas chambers, it was business as usual. The bankers, the oil merchants and the industries continued their transactions with Germany.
To please his ailing ally, Britain, Truman painted a bleak picture of the Soviet Union as the evil dark atheistic power out for world domination. The distrust against the Communist Russian arose from their vicious opposition to Capitalism and that their thinking was considered Oriental, hence, inferior due to their geographical location.
The post-war rebuilding exercise was basically a US gesture to appease its allies. The Russian were portrayed as the Devil and an enemy to the world order. The stories of Stalin's brutal punishment of his toes just proved their point. The rebuilding of the collapsed economy of Europe was aided by US-appointed banks through World Bank and IMF whose only priority is the safeguard US' interests and ensure a constant flow of moolah back for continuity of the good life for the Americans. Marshall's plan for a devasted Europe was just that - build Europe, build businesses and US businesses and the US would prosper. The war puckered Britain had to pass the baton of world hegemony to the US, and they became their defacto lap dog.
With the help of world media and the lingua franca of the world, the Americans were painted with the consistently favourable stroke of monochromatic paintwork. The US could do no wrong, they were the good guys, they fought just wars and God was on their side!
 |
| Vasili Arkhipov |
The Cold War which started after the division of spoils amongst the victors of WW2 slowly evolved into an arms race and space race. The climax of the chase to arms supremacy must surely be the Cuba missile crisis in 1962 which almost sparked the third World War if not for the mindful inactivity of a Russian officer, Vasili Arkhipov. A Russian submarine carrying missile warheads was shot at by Americans. Not knowing that they were warning shots and their telecommunication services were down, the crew had to put to the vote whether to launch the nuclear bomb. The decisive vote by Arkhipov averted Armageddon!
The US continued their self-appointed 'policeman of the World' duty by meddling into other countries affairs. Whenever a popular leader passes a decree which appears detrimental to the American interest, specifically business ventures, the US would support and finance rebel groups in that country to create mayhem. When pandemonium finally ensues, the Americans would march in like saviours to save the day on their terms.
Is it coincidence or is mere divine mirth? Whenever a US leader who shows preponderance for peace and brotherly cohabitants, his tenure seem short lived. It has been too many times in the case of Henry Wallace, JFK and his brother Robert. There seem to be an 'invincible hand' that seem to steer the world to destruction. The trail of blood and misery left by the military actions of the Yankees can best be described as inhumane with the usage of herbicides, poison gases, biological agents and radiating substances. The loss of human lives is pale in comparison to the environmental degradation.
 |
| Oliver Stone |
https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson
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