"It becomes garlic against a vampire-when you see one, you're glad you have it, and when you don't, you claim it's working"
In Amy Miller's documentary, Manufacturing the Threat, we get a glimpse of the hypocritical terrorist rhetoric institutions promote to the general public, presented via the case of the Canada Day 2013 bombing attempt, perpetrated by Amanda (Ana) Korody and John (Omar) Nuttal. This crime never went through, as officers undercover had monitored and controlled the situation from the outset, but upon review of the evidence, it became clear the police who had worked undercover to monitor Korody and Nuttal weren't just bystanders-they were instigators who pushed them further and further into radical territory. This documentary does a splendid job at demonstrating how government institutions create terrorists for the sake of performance-these are not acts of terror, they are showrooms through which institutions like the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) perpetuate a fear of terrorism to justify power and spending.
Miller's experience in activism and documentary making has shown through in this piece. Even I, as someone who was unfamiliar with the original crime of the bombing attempt, gained valuable insight into the sheer absurdity of the current system. The way these cycles feed into themselves, like the garlic statement from earlier, creates a feedback loop where all outcomes support an increasingly powerful police system. Pressure upon government institutions to constantly churn out results has created a necessity to address threats, even ones that don't exist. Thus, these institutions must create the threats themselves, creating a downward cycle of fear and radicalization-disproportionately targeting vulnerable minority groups that lack the resources and influence to defend themselves-all to publicize how these threats are "solved" by them down the line. These performances reassure the public that the work they do is a necessity, and leave a seed of fear that gives them the leverage they need to pass more anti-terror laws in the senate. As more and more anti-terrorist laws are passed, these create more gaps in the law for these institutions to do almost anything to suspected criminals without consequence, thus enabling further incitement of ordinary citizens into crime.
We watch the entire downward spiral which Korody and Nuttal take, from ordinary citizens to "terrorists", trapped by the false threats of police, fearing for their lives. Their initial reasons for sticking by the undercover officer were born out of very basic human instincts-a desire for security and stability, along with the feeling of debt and gratitude. These later turn into a fear of consequences-of being abandoned by their only support system, or even killed by it. At all points, we are encouraged to empathize with the couple, to ask if we would have done any different in their situation. Placing the footage of them planning the crime in context with their present day testimonies, we see how the "self-radicalization" police reported to have happened to them simply wasn't true-all of it was just a trap of coercion which they fell into, chosen by police by the simple fact that they were Muslim.
We are encouraged to think critically about the justice system and the ways it is shaped by historical events and discriminatory beliefs. In the case of Korody and Nuttal, the backdrop of 9/11 shifted the formerly anti-communist rhetoric into Anti-Islam Interestingly, it also addresses the way diversification of law enforcement, against popular belief, has not led to more inclusive and equitable justice, but has enabled more police infiltration within these vulnerable minorities. I'm familiar with the idea of Muslims being stereotyped as terrorists, but having grown up outside of the Americas, it was never a pervasive belief I'd had ingrained in me the way it seems to be for those who grew up amongst the paranoia of the post 9/11 period, so it was interesting to see the ways this mindset remains ingrained and is still promoted by many powerful forces.
The cast chosen also had an interesting variety, between university professors, indigenous activists, and Muslim journalists-all told, I would say all of them had interesting perspectives, and I learned something from all of them.
While I found the documentary insightful there were moments where it felt almost a little too animated, exaggerated stock footage used in between cuts that were probably intended to heighten dramatic effect honestly ended up pulling me out of the experience as a whole. Nonetheless, the experience of watching it was worthwhile, so I'm still giving it a relatively high grade.
In Amy Miller's documentary, Manufacturing the Threat, we get a glimpse of the hypocritical terrorist rhetoric institutions promote to the general public, presented via the case of the Canada Day 2013 bombing attempt, perpetrated by Amanda (Ana) Korody and John (Omar) Nuttal. This crime never went through, as officers undercover had monitored and controlled the situation from the outset, but upon review of the evidence, it became clear the police who had worked undercover to monitor Korody and Nuttal weren't just bystanders-they were instigators who pushed them further and further into radical territory. This documentary does a splendid job at demonstrating how government institutions create terrorists for the sake of performance-these are not acts of terror, they are showrooms through which institutions like the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) perpetuate a fear of terrorism to justify power and spending.
Miller's experience in activism and documentary making has shown through in this piece. Even I, as someone who was unfamiliar with the original crime of the bombing attempt, gained valuable insight into the sheer absurdity of the current system. The way these cycles feed into themselves, like the garlic statement from earlier, creates a feedback loop where all outcomes support an increasingly powerful police system. Pressure upon government institutions to constantly churn out results has created a necessity to address threats, even ones that don't exist. Thus, these institutions must create the threats themselves, creating a downward cycle of fear and radicalization-disproportionately targeting vulnerable minority groups that lack the resources and influence to defend themselves-all to publicize how these threats are "solved" by them down the line. These performances reassure the public that the work they do is a necessity, and leave a seed of fear that gives them the leverage they need to pass more anti-terror laws in the senate. As more and more anti-terrorist laws are passed, these create more gaps in the law for these institutions to do almost anything to suspected criminals without consequence, thus enabling further incitement of ordinary citizens into crime.
We watch the entire downward spiral which Korody and Nuttal take, from ordinary citizens to "terrorists", trapped by the false threats of police, fearing for their lives. Their initial reasons for sticking by the undercover officer were born out of very basic human instincts-a desire for security and stability, along with the feeling of debt and gratitude. These later turn into a fear of consequences-of being abandoned by their only support system, or even killed by it. At all points, we are encouraged to empathize with the couple, to ask if we would have done any different in their situation. Placing the footage of them planning the crime in context with their present day testimonies, we see how the "self-radicalization" police reported to have happened to them simply wasn't true-all of it was just a trap of coercion which they fell into, chosen by police by the simple fact that they were Muslim.
We are encouraged to think critically about the justice system and the ways it is shaped by historical events and discriminatory beliefs. In the case of Korody and Nuttal, the backdrop of 9/11 shifted the formerly anti-communist rhetoric into Anti-Islam Interestingly, it also addresses the way diversification of law enforcement, against popular belief, has not led to more inclusive and equitable justice, but has enabled more police infiltration within these vulnerable minorities. I'm familiar with the idea of Muslims being stereotyped as terrorists, but having grown up outside of the Americas, it was never a pervasive belief I'd had ingrained in me the way it seems to be for those who grew up amongst the paranoia of the post 9/11 period, so it was interesting to see the ways this mindset remains ingrained and is still promoted by many powerful forces.
The cast chosen also had an interesting variety, between university professors, indigenous activists, and Muslim journalists-all told, I would say all of them had interesting perspectives, and I learned something from all of them.
While I found the documentary insightful there were moments where it felt almost a little too animated, exaggerated stock footage used in between cuts that were probably intended to heighten dramatic effect honestly ended up pulling me out of the experience as a whole. Nonetheless, the experience of watching it was worthwhile, so I'm still giving it a relatively high grade.
