viff: Terror in context
Suzie Lindgren & Matthew Schum, The Peak

Another rush line for just one more sold out show at the VIFF - it was everyone's last chance to see the "revolutionary" documentary, The Age of Terror, before it hits mass media on the Discovery Channel. The last show in the film festival was revolutionary because the film revolved around revolutionaries, specifically those who have used violent means to make political statements and force changes. Hijacking, bombs, guerilla warfare, guns, and abduction make a short list of the props and methods employed by these radical activists.

Some fought religious wars, others appealed for national justice, and some sought to overthrow colonial governments or command Western superpowers to question their methods and ideologies. Regardless of their purpose, the documentary points out that these radicals are often seen as both heroes and terrorists, depending on one's perspective.

Avoiding any real right or left wing bias, the film includes government officials, terrorists, civilians, and victims of terrorist acts, and all are displayed respectfully. The documentary does not aim to ridicule governments or portray terrorists as psychopaths, but to show how governments that fight terrorism with more tactical violence are historically bound to fail. Using violence to counter violence seems only to perpetuate the cycles of revenge and attrition seen in Northern Ireland, Israel, and elsewhere.

The narrative is striking at first. It quickly and reasonably leads its audience through an abridged history of terrorism, and a strange sensation comes over the body as the historical context of terrorism is normalised. This is the startling aspect of the series - it is journalistic and mostly objective.

This approach to terrorism sharply contrasts the conservative-led campaign now underway. To hear about terrorism as a set of facts as one learns about other wars proves to be illuminating. Speaking objectively about terrorism these days is verboten.

The documentary highlights the hypocrisy of the U.S. government (though they're not alone, they are the best example) in fighting terror as well as funding it. Naturally, some the most salient terrorist acts are those driven by radicals trained and previously funded by Western (super)powers.

The film makes it painfully obvious that the "crisis of permanent engagement" did not end with Vietnam. Meddling in the affairs of poor, underdeveloped, and less educated countries creates enemies. This is dangerous because the citizens of these nations are likely to become increasingly militant in response to violent state-sponsored attempts to control, harm, and make examples of them. Bloodshed and destruction are desperate misguided ways to fight back, and this is why the reality of terrorism now haunts Americans, as it haunts Israelis and as it once haunted Peruvians and Argentineans.

The Age of Terror documents this reality with objective and historical sensitivity. The film is visually contemporary as well as informative. Overriding theses (pro-government and anti-government) are made more credible by the extensive accounts provided by interviewees - just one indication of the amount of work involved in the finished product. The vast number of people interviewed from across the globe, all affected by terror in one way or another, demonstrates the prevalence of terrorism and the numbers that it continues to impact worldwide. Certainly, terrorism began long before last year.

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