The documentary Bitter Lake offers some of the compelling insights that get to the bottom of the mystery behind the never-ending war in the Middle East, particularly in Afghanistan. Contrary to the majority of narratives that have been in existence in elucidating the cause of constant wars in the middle east Islam countries, Bitter Lake by Adam Curtis takes a paradigm shift from the good versus evil narrative as a cause of the war. In an attempt to comprehend more about the Bitter Lake documentary, this review will premise on the central argument of the film. Secondly, it will offer an analysis of the evidence presented in the movie and declare if indeed the message is convincing to the audience. Ultimately, this review will illustrate if the film had sufficient level of evidence to underpin its claim and if there was a need to make adjustments in any way to make the movie even more convincing.
The Main Argument in Bitter Lake Documentary
The main argument postulated in the film is that the war in the Middle East is propagated by the Western Politicians narrative of fighting evil deeds in the Middle East. Leaders from the western nations have failed to delve deep into the reality of the matters that are affecting the Middle East countries, for instance, Afghanistan to find a long-lasting amicable solution to the problem.
Additionally, the film develops a very compelling history of the genesis of the war. It further shed more light on the early events that contributed to the current situation of the never-ceasing conflict in the Islamic fighting (Bitter Lake, 2015).
Similarly, the film argues that the ongoing, unending war is facilitated by the western countries (USA, Britain, etc.). Their intervention further contributes to the misunderstanding of the cultural background of the Islam countries. The complexity of the matter cannot be looked at as a war of the good versus the evil. Whereas the western nations purport to be furthering their peace agenda, they only take advantage of the situation to demonstrate that their intervention is for the goodwill of the people of the Middle East and worldwide peace at large(Graham-Harrison, 2015). The documentary seeks to claim that there are more intricate details into the relationship between the Western Countries leaders and the war-torn Islam nations that have been a significant part of the never-ending battle. The audience who might not have any idea about the source of the conflict is invited on board to fathom historical development of the war in the documentary.
The Convincing Character of the Film’s Message
Evidence, stemming from the past political deals by the previous governments, Britain, USA, and Russia with the Middle East leaders at the end of world war two is among the many factors that led to violent forces of militant Islam. The documentary reveals that after the Second World War, the United States under the reign of President Franklin D. Roosevelt was looking for a place they could suffice sources of oil. The plan the president had of expanding the US industrial space pushed him to go east and make deals with the then Saudi Arabia king Ibn Saud(Chapman, 2016). Consequently, the parties agreed for the exchange of technology to further mining of oil. However, beneath King Saudi’s agreement, the money earned from the contract went into funding some of the fundamentalists who retaliated from the soldiers from the western countries viewing them as invaders who were contaminating their faith, Wahhabism(Hitchens, 2015). Well, this piece of information presents the correlation between wealth and religion in the Middle East. The footages of the two presidents meeting make it clear that indeed their deal of exchanging oil for money and technology contributed to the valid war.
The question of faith is equally addressed in the film. Religion has been one of the problematic factors that have led to different factions. Various interpretations of the intervention of the European and American indulgence made the different groups of the Islam declare war on the soldiers and experts mining oil in their region as they deemed it as a form of European imperialism. Cultural erosion in the film makes it clear as one of the reasons the war erupted(Harris, 2016). The use of the technology dawned on the native Islamic group such as Wahhabi. The violent religious group saw their ambitions of uniting the Islam nations under one caliphate leader compromised by the European and American invitation to their land. It is clear from the documentary that they divisions made it very possible for divisions witnessed to date with various Islamic groups and clans fighting against themselves. Furthermore, it establishes the reason for violent relations with the oil miners from western countries.
Damaging counter-evidence that make the film’s message suspect
Though the film has rich information supporting its arguments, there are instances where it does not offer a clear illustration of how the war was based on religion, particularly Christianity and Islam. Afghanistan elders who walk out of a meeting chaired by the British soldiers do not make it clear whether it was because of religious reasons or not. It is, therefore, imperative to make it categorical to have every claim corroborated with succinct evidence to make it clear for the audience to understand the film narrative (Wayne,2017). Additionally, coverage on the religious differences and the radicalized groups was not well done in the documentary. There is much information that is left out in establishing the real issues contributing to the war based on differences in faith.
In conclusion, the documentary has made a remarkable contribution to understanding the reasons for the constant war in the Middle East nations. Additionally, the fact that it establishes a historical relationship between the Western countries and the Middle East nations makes it substantive part of the information that can be used to elucidate the ongoing radicalization of the violent factions in the Middle East. Similarly, the presence of the European nations and the United States in the region is well elaborated in the documentary. Of great importance in the film is its argument in deconstructing the previous narratives that have made attempts to stop the war futile. There is a need to put information from the documentary into consideration in the effort to cease fighting in the region.
References
Bitter Lake. 2015. [Film] Directed by Adam Curtis. United Kingdom: Lucy Kelsall.
Chapman, A., 2016. The siren: Bitter Lake. [Online]
Available at: https://thesirenzine.wordpress.com[Accessed 21 August 2018].
Graham-Harrison, E., 2015. Bitter Lake is a brilliant portrayal of the West's terrible arrogance in Afghanistan. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.org.uk[Accessed 21 August 2018].
Harris, B., 2016. Adam Curtis’s Essential Counterhistories. [Online] Available at: https://www.newyorker.com[Accessed 21 August 2018].
Hitchens, P., 2015. Bitter Lake', Adam Curtis's new BBC film. [Online] Available at: http://www.londonmail.com[Accessed 21 August 2018].
Wayne A.2017. The war in Afghanistan to present Curtis' Documentary.[Online] Available at: http://theinsider.org.uk[ Accessed 14 August 2018]
