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This is a 'must see' 64 minute documentary film.
In 1997 Arundhati Roy won the Booker Prize for her novel "The God of Small Things". In 2004 she was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize.
The film examines the widely unregarded worlds of Anthropology and Geopolitics in a very dynamic manner, and is probably stylistically quite unlike any documentary that you have previously seen.
It covers the world politics of power, war, corporations, deception and exploitation. It is particularly hard hitting when it comes to the United States and western powers in general.
Its unconventional style has proven to be very successful in engaging younger viewers - many of whom find more traditional content dealing with these subjects quite dry and uninteresting. It is almost in the style of a music video, featuring contemporary music (lush, curve, love & rockets, boards of canada, nine inch nails, dead can dance, amon tobin, massive attack, totoise, telepop, placebo and faith less) overlaid with the words of Arundhati Roy, and images of humanity and the world we live in today.
Interview with the producer
In 1997 Arundhati Roy won the Booker Prize for her novel "The God of Small Things". In 2004 she was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize.
The film examines the widely unregarded worlds of Anthropology and Geopolitics in a very dynamic manner, and is probably stylistically quite unlike any documentary that you have previously seen.
It covers the world politics of power, war, corporations, deception and exploitation. It is particularly hard hitting when it comes to the United States and western powers in general.
Its unconventional style has proven to be very successful in engaging younger viewers - many of whom find more traditional content dealing with these subjects quite dry and uninteresting. It is almost in the style of a music video, featuring contemporary music (lush, curve, love & rockets, boards of canada, nine inch nails, dead can dance, amon tobin, massive attack, totoise, telepop, placebo and faith less) overlaid with the words of Arundhati Roy, and images of humanity and the world we live in today.
Interview with the producer
How did the idea for We come about? What was your inspiration?
There were several inspirations. Firstly, one of the many books I looked at was one by an anthropologist named Pinker titled 'The Blank Slate'. And while I didn't read all of it, what caught my eye and imagination was a list in an Appendix in the back of the book that was called:
Human Universals
and this was a long list of human traits and behaviors that have been observed to exist in all self or externally defined groups of people - no matter whether you consider yourself Jewish or Maaori. Or whether, as is the case with the genetic reality of a friend of mine, you consider yourself -both- Jewish and Maaori.
This list includes human processes such as caste systems, dancing, use of weapons, joy, an ability to deceive, music, collective cooperation, rape, etc. What this list showed me, was that there was greater diversity within human groups than between them - which was a brand new thought for types like me.
The biggest inspiration came from Arundhati Roy's speech. So many pennies dropped in my head, when a friend of mine first played it to me.
With her words, and her vocal chords, she brilliantly articulated so much of what was in my mind at the time, and so her Lannan Foundation speech became the skeletal structure over which the images and music were placed and arranged.
Its title, 'We' - is taken from the name of one of the recording artists that unknowingly (unnegotiated and unconsulted) contributed their creativity to the movie.
- and, for me, the word 'we' aptly sums up Arundhati's view of humanity. As opposed to the current western world war-cry of 'There is no you, there is only me'.
There were several inspirations. Firstly, one of the many books I looked at was one by an anthropologist named Pinker titled 'The Blank Slate'. And while I didn't read all of it, what caught my eye and imagination was a list in an Appendix in the back of the book that was called:
Human Universals
and this was a long list of human traits and behaviors that have been observed to exist in all self or externally defined groups of people - no matter whether you consider yourself Jewish or Maaori. Or whether, as is the case with the genetic reality of a friend of mine, you consider yourself -both- Jewish and Maaori.
This list includes human processes such as caste systems, dancing, use of weapons, joy, an ability to deceive, music, collective cooperation, rape, etc. What this list showed me, was that there was greater diversity within human groups than between them - which was a brand new thought for types like me.
The biggest inspiration came from Arundhati Roy's speech. So many pennies dropped in my head, when a friend of mine first played it to me.
With her words, and her vocal chords, she brilliantly articulated so much of what was in my mind at the time, and so her Lannan Foundation speech became the skeletal structure over which the images and music were placed and arranged.
Its title, 'We' - is taken from the name of one of the recording artists that unknowingly (unnegotiated and unconsulted) contributed their creativity to the movie.
- and, for me, the word 'we' aptly sums up Arundhati's view of humanity. As opposed to the current western world war-cry of 'There is no you, there is only me'.
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