An Eye Opening Film: The Fourth World War

Today I saw a truly eye opening film in "The Fourth World War." The film is directed by Ricky Rowley. There are no actors. There is no script. This is no fake. This is real and this is the real world that people live in. The film focuses on areas in the world of mass poverty and government abuse of its citizens. These countries focused on includes South Africa, Mexico, Argentina, and South Korea.

The film is a documentary but it is really well done and really shows the people and movements organized to fight for a better world for the country's people and to get rid of the mass poverty that exists within the country. Moreover, it shows you that the leaders of nation's do not make agreements in trade in the best interests of their country. As a citizen of the U.S. I had no idea the ramifications of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) until this film showed the effects of the other countries like Mexico and Argentina. The IMF loan caused privitization in South Africa which may seem like a god thing but the film shows how it make hundreds of thousands of workers unemployed. These people took to the streets in protest to get back their livlihood.

In Mexico, the way of the peasant farmers, cultivating the land and growing crops for them to eat show how the government strips farmers everyday of their land and farmers are forced to move on. In Mexico the documentary shows how a group of people called the Zapatistas came to power with the entire support of the Mexican people to get free democratic elections and oust the PRI dictatorship from power.

In Korea the film shows how a man who worked at least two decades in a sweatshop lost his job because of corporatization and privitization. He could no longer feed his family and children. In protest, he set himself on fire as a symbol for the people to rally around.

In South Africa the film shows how even though Apartheid has ended, privitization and the IMF has led to electricity and plumbing, but only for the wealthy who can afford it. The majority of people are still homeless and in poverty.

The film also shows police brutality at the protests in the streets by thousands of people and how it leads to the death of innocent protestors. The film shows how people can rally around a cause and fight for a set of beliefs. A set of values. A set of change for hope for the future of them and their children. It shows the daily struggle that ordinary people go through to fight for democracy and rights. Furthermore, the film shows how the governments of these nations make decisions that are not in the best interests of their people. In song and dance with flags, signs and shouts, people flock to the streets demanding change. Change has come slowly, but people are still fighting the Fourth World War.

I really think that everyone should see this film and think of how lucky they are that they live in the United States or other developed nations that do not have to worry about dictatorships or poverty. You should see this film to get a feel for the daily struggle that people go through, putting their lives on the line each day to get change to ocurr.