Listening to Noam Chomsky speak is like eating Raisin Bran - it's not flashy and completely lacks marshmallows, but you know it's good for you.
This Sunday, Madstone Theatre will give you a chance to have a healthy breakfast for a change with a special screening and discussion of the film, "Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky In Our Times" with the Albuquerque Nation Discussion Group. The group is the Albuquerque branch of the Nation Discussion Group, an offshoot of The Nation, a popular progressive weekly political magazine.
The film is a simple documentary that consolidates excerpts from a series of speeches Chomsky made in 2002 on the post-Sept. 11 world with an intimate interview made by the producers of the movie. Directed by award-winning documentary maker John Junkerman and produced by Yam-agami Tetsujiro, the film was put together in Japan over the last year. It is humble and lacks a narrative audio track entirely.
The only preamble to Chomsky the audience receives is a short list of quotes on him from such diverse sources as the New York Times and Bono, the lead singer of U2. Presented quietly for the audience to read, the only non-Chomsky audio tracks throughout the movie are various pieces by the Japanese pop group INAWANO.
"For many months the working title of the film was "'Chomsky Talks,'" Junkerman said in a news release. "That's what he does is talks, and he is the first one to point out that's all he does, the rest is in the hands of the audience. That was how we wanted to present the film as well - no narration, simply Chomsky laying out his ideas and raising questions that will be decided in popular and political arenas."
Because of this conscious absence of editorial commentary or background, the movie presents Chomsky as unbiased as possible, the ultimate goal of a good documentary. However, the lack of commentary coupled with Chomsky's progressive, yet optimistic outlook makes the surface of the movie appear as a piece of progressive propaganda.
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It is a hard line to walk in the case of Chomsky. The title "Chomsky Speaks" would've been much more appropriate - that's all he does in the film. With invigorating insights on our world political arena and the present human condition, one cannot help but be distracted from the man by his message.
Speaking is all that Chomsky ever does. Booked years in advance for some speaking events, the 75-year-old man tirelessly tours the world with his message, his observations and his questions. Between scheduled speaking events he frequents universities accross the country to give speeches on the present state of affairs and on linguistics. Almost literally, the man is his message so the appearance of propaganda is inevitable.
With this caveat firmly in place, the makers of this film did a marvelous job of attempting to keep their documentary unbiased - as logistically impossible an undertaking as it was. Notable also was the film's brevity. As the documentary breaches the hour mark, the final 5-minute long shot begins as Chomsky escorts his wife to a car after a speech.
As straightforward as Chomsky's speeches are, the film does what it needs to and then gets out of the way.
The film will run at Madstone Theatre tomorrow through Oct. 2.
