390 27th St
Oakland, CA 94612
USA
BITTER LAKE, Part 1
By Adam Curtis
Bitter Lake, Adam Curtis’ aesthetically sublime and politically incisive new documentary, was commissioned for BBC’s iPlayer because it is presumably, as Russia Today writes, “too dangerous for television.” After consuming the film by way of a 21st-century samizdat, I can tell you that the propaganda arm of the Kremlin is correct on one score: Bitter Lake is politically dangerous for Western states, especially the US and UK. But it’s also an affront to Russia, and virtually every other state that has attempted to force strategic advantage in Saudia Arabia and Afghanistan. And it is, literally, too dangerous for television: Curtis was given access to years of footage of Afghanistan from the BBC archives. That includes every shot they refused to air on TV.
Film evenings begin with optional potluck refreshments & social hour at 6:30 pm,
followed by the film at 7:30 pm, followed by optional discussion after the film.