New Film By Scott Noble - Plutocracy [History of Political Repression in USA]

[Peter Lemkin]

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The Future of Metanoia Films

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[TD]Hello everyone,
I have an important update on the state of Metanoia Films and a few words on Syria.
In case you missed my last email, I recently released a new entry in my Plutocracy series titled Gangsters for Capitalism. The new film can be viewed here. The full series can be viewed here.
A terrific new review of Part IV has just been published by labor organizer Tim Goulet. It ends with the sentence "the Plutocracy series highlights the most powerful weapon oppressed people have: class organization, and the power that can be leveraged through such solidarity and unity."
Thank you to everyone who has donated to my patreon and/or fundraiser. For those who requested DVD's, I'll be sending them out this weekend.
Unfortunately, though donations so far have been very generous, only about a dozen people have contributed. As it stands I've achieved less than one quarter of what I need to continue making documentaries. This has left the Metanoia project in limbo. Hopefully it won't come to a premature end.
Upon reflection I've decided to end the Plutocracy series after part V assuming I am able to fund it. Its primary area of focus has been the American labor movement, and labor militancy peaked in the US around the year 1937 (part IV ended circa 1935). Events in 1937 probably constitute the closest the US has come to a popular revolution since the uprising of 1877 (which I cover in Part I). Since then the labor movement has unfortunately been declining for reasons I intend to cover in the final entry.

Here is the link to the fundraiser.
My follow up project would be a study of the FBI's "COINTELPROs" against the New Left during the 60's and 70's (with some flash-fowards and flash-backs to other decades). It would be of interest not only to historians, activists and students of the "deep state" but really anyone interested in civil liberties and the remarkable lengths to which the American government has been willing to go in order to quell dissent.
Right now, it is unclear whether I will be able to complete Plutocracy, let alone the film on COINTELPRO. If I unable to continue this would be rather unfortunate, as I have already conducted interviews with a number of legends from the time period (including American Indian activist John Trudell, civil rights activist Staughton Lynd, Peter Dale Scott, Black Panther founding member Larry Pinkney, New Diggers founder and actor Peter Coyote and others), and I have remaining unseen footage from some people who have passed on, including Howard Zinn and John Judge.
Regardless of what happens with the fundraiser I intend to spend the next month producing a short film of approximately 20 minutes in length titled Casus Belli: A Short History of War Pretexts and False Flag Operations. Like the rest of you (I assume) I was appalled by the recent attack by the Trump administration in concert with Britain and France on Syria.
The attack, which included a strike on a cancer research facility, comes on the heels of a now-several-years-old campaign by the West, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel to fund, arm and train mercenaries and Islamist terrorists with the apparent aim of destroying that country. Just as occurred in Iraq. Just as occurred in Libya.
An estimated half a million people, most of them civilians, have so far died in what the media calls the "Syrian Civil War." The recent missile attacks were made in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Douma, a suburb outside of Damascus.
Veteran war journalist Robert Fisk (seven-time winner of the British Press Awards' Foreign Correspondent of the Year) was the first western journalist to visit Douma; he suggests there is no evidence a "chemical weapon attack" occurred at all.
Casus Belli will begin with the explosion aboard the USS Maine in 1898 and end with recent events.
I have copied and pasted some quotes about Plutocracy below in the hopes it will encourage people to give one or more entries in the series a look and perhaps contribute to the fundraiser. If the current campaign is successful I plan on holding only one or two more fundraisers, probably over the next year or two, after which I will be seeking alternate funding sources. I have grown tired of asking people for money, especially when most of you can't afford it in the first place.
Thank you,

Scott

--
"Meticulously researched…absolutely brilliant on numerous levels, Scott Noble's Plutocracy series is the story of the American working class. It is also the story of the brutal repression American workers have suffered in their courageous struggle for human rights, dignity, and in some cases revolution."
"Bringing an unapologetically pro-working-class viewpoint to his analysis, Noble vividly dramatizes entire epochs in American history, paying special attention to the ways in which workers have been divided and conquered' according to race, sex, skill and other attributes. The series also explores a number of highly inspiring episodes whereby everyday people struggled and triumphed against all odds."
"I look forward to the day when the Plutocracy series will become part of the historical education available to every new member of the labor movement, to teach the next generation of activists the lessons of our history, and to arm them for the future."

• Sharon Smith, Labor Historian, Author Subterranean Fire: A History of Working Class Radicalism in the United States
  

"Remarkable…Meticulous research, powerful visuals, and interviews with a broad range of dedicated labor historians. Truly untold stories', but stories we should know."

• Peter Rachleff, Professor of History, Macalister University
  

"Very much in keeping with the tone of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, Plutocracy depicts history from the bottom up. The saccharine and overly ideological textbook version of this era--especially the birth of the U.S.--is nowhere to be found in this series…Full of powerful images…Highly recommended, Plutocracy contributes a much-needed dose of dynamism to our understanding of how U.S. capitalism evolved."

• Ruth Hurley, Socialist Worker
  

"Brilliant…fascinating…Inspirational."

• Kim Peterson, Dissident Voice
  

"The Plutocracy series is a sobering, compelling and inspiring look at U.S. history from the bottom up, centered around the fiery struggles of the working class and the downtrodden…In the best tradition of Howard Zinn and other people's histories…Shows us that workers are capable of heroism under the seemingly worst of circumstances…Highly recommended."

• Tim Goulet, Union organizer, Teamsters Local 810
  

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