Ignorance is Bliss (David Shankbone)

Further, Americans live in a democracy and enjoy liberty. Americans worship a Christian God who is a God of love. Iranians are enslaved under a tyrannical and backward religion that is founded in violence.

Americans do good, they help police and protect the world, they liberate those who are enslaved. Iranians do evil, they sponsor terrorism and conduct secret programs to build weapons of mass destruction.

Americans live affluent lifestyles because they have worked hard to build a modern economy. They live in big houses with modern amenities. They drive luxury cars and wear fine clothes. Iranians are poor because their culture is medieval and their economy archaic.

Americans are intelligent and attractive, they are healthy and have great teeth. Iranians are simple folk. They are either old goat herders or young, indoctrinated terrorists. They dress in rags and funny headdress. They are dirty, unhealthy and have very poor teeth. And they speak a silly language and always have an AK-47 in their hands, even when they sleep.

And if I haven’t insulted your intelligence by now then I guess you watch a lot of western mainstream media. And I guess you’re wondering why I’m bothering to state the “obvious”.

For the rest of us there is grey space between the black and white. The documentary “Wake Up Call (2008)” lives in that grey space.

The film is a compilation of clips from several non-mainstream sources, spliced together by commentary or reflective messages. The format works well. The topics covered are diverse with each segment being informative enough to give an introduction to the subject. Credits to the original material are provided to allow for follow-on research.

Have a watch. Laugh at the parts you find incredible, think about the parts that ring true in the light of recent global developments. Perhaps the speakers don’t draw all the right conclusions or are a little hysterical in places but can you really say the circumstances being described are not real? Can you say those circumstances are not with us today?

It may have been possible to brush this material off very easily a decade ago, but the world has changed and is starting to look at least similar to the picture being painted in this film. Coincidence?

“Wake Up Call” is not a New World Order for Dummies guide. It’s a vehicle to encourage you to take a look at the world from a different perspective to the one being forced on you each day by the mainstream media. Watching it won’t hurt you, you don’t have to switch off at the first clip that doesn’t appeal – just wind forward. There’s something in there for everyone.

Watch through to the end to be rewarded by a great sequence taken from the animal kingdom. The clip tells us clearly that even the meek, if they cooperate, can conquer the mightiest predator. It gives us a hope that eventually, we will find our way.