When my friend came back from Chile, he brought with him a heartbreaking movie called Machuca, a work of historical fiction that follows the lives of a group of children during the CIA-sponsored coup in which a military dictatorship overthrew the democratically-elected government of Chile and “disappeared” thousands of dissidents.
It happens that this coup took place on September 11, 1973. Our idea is that this coming September 11, in order to counteract right wing propaganda to the effect that the United States government is an innocent defender of freedom, people organize showings of this movie in their communities, accompanied by discussions of the role the US government plays in global affairs. Over sixty copies have already been distributed around the country to this purpose. Machuca hasn’t yet been released in the US, but if you’d like to organize a showing yourself, email crimethincbooking@yahoo.com for a copy.
To learn more about the military coup and subsequent dictatorship in Chile, you could start with Chile: The Other September 11 An Anthology of Reflections on the 1973 Coup (though it hardly presents an anarchist analysis). Also not to be missed is world-renowned novelist Ariel Dorfman’s How to Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney Comic, an analysis of the capitalist propaganda Disney flooded Chile with in the months leading up to the coup. Exciting coverage of last year’s 9/11 protests in Chile can be found here:
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20050910111725891
http://www.hommodolars.cl/e107/content.php?content.649 http://www.hommodolars.cl/e107/content.php?content.653
johnny said,
August 14, 2006 @ 10:01 pm
I first learned of the coup in chile not in history class(suprise) but by reading a short book on the subject. The book contained first hand accounts of the turmoil from the wife of deceased singer/peot victor jara, along with the final words of salvadore allende heard over the national radio station from the presidential palace which he defended to his death. also were speeches by allendes daughter and fidel castro, various peotry from the era, and clear factual documentation of US involvement. It was hard not to feel angry and sad when reading first hand about what Jara called “the ugly face of fascism”. I expect machuca has a similar effect and think that if we can bring awareness of these things that go on under the radar and outside of the public eye to people, the effect can only be positive. How long can people deny to themselves the truth? How long can people watch others suffer as a direct effect to actions of their own country? I think the answer to these questions hinges on what place in peoples minds justice occupies. If there is any dedication to justice in a person, they cannot possibly sit idle while these things happen. sadly for many there simply is no moral connection or importance placed in justice, so long as their comforts are intact. The mission then, as i see it, Is to ignite that spirit within people to care about right and wrong, and then show the facts of our military action abroad, and let them judge for themselves if we are truly an”innocent defender of freedom”. This is not an easy mission but it must be done. I urge anybody who hasn’t done any reading on the subject to do so and if possible get on board with the muchuca project and show it in your town.