Strange Culture (2007)

So much average

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Don't Believe the Hype

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I gave this documentary high marks only because of its chilling story and message and not necessarily for its production value (though it was still engaging.) In the tradition of other films in the genre like Erin Brokovich, Silkwood, Norma Rae, etc., this is another disturbing account of innocent lives destroyed by corporate greed and corrupt motives. Only in this case, art, education and the First Amendment are on trial along with the victim. Respected science teacher and artist, Steve Kurtz, wakes up one morning to find his wife, (dramatization played by the great Tilda Swinton) dead next to him in bed, with the cause of death quickly determined to be heart failure. The paramedics who arrive on the scene notice the art-show-related chemicals and science-lab paraphernalia and alert the FBI which leads to Kurtz being arrested for "bio-terrorism". It's a surreal nightmare for Kurtz who never even gets a chance to properly grieve the sudden loss of his wife. But things don't end once the "terrorist" charge is cleared due to insufficient evidence. Since his art show was conceived as an exposé to educate/inform the public about genetically-modified food, the powers that be (industry/companies) must make it go away. Helped by an ambitious prosecutor in search of career advancement and fame, the charge is swiftly changed to something that would stick: Mail fraud. Absurd? Not when powerful industry is involved and would stop at nothing to protect their interests.Tilda Swinton is wonderful here in the few dramatization scenes she's in. This is a film that was missed by many, but should be seen by all.

It was President Roosevelt that told us, "The only thing you have to fear is fear itself." The Bush administration has put the country into a constant state of fear since 9/11, and the result is that we have been complicit in the removal of the very freedoms that make us unique in the world.Benjamin Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." The Bush administration is counting on the fear and ignorance of the American people to continue to allow them to build their tyranny in the guise of safety.This is the story of how the government uses their tyranny to come down on those with whom they disagree. As stated so eloquently in the film, they no longer use the civil process, they have turned civil litigation into criminal litigation. They have also passed laws allowing them to lock up any of us at will.This is a story of how an artist, Steve Kurtz, is persecuted by the government for daring to oppose the multi-national corporations that finance these sleazy politicians; but it is really the story of what could happen to every single one of us if we continue to sit in front of the TV and watch trash and let the government do what they will.

At long last. A short,but compelling documentary that blows the lid off of two issues that have been making news of one kind or another: genetically modified foods (or GMO's),and the shoddy treatment of creative artists, in the guise of Homeland Security's usual draconian tactics. One element concerns an artist that was getting an art piece ready for an exhibition, that brought to light the concern of GMO's in our food. The artists wife suffers a heart attack & dies. When the artist phones the police for assistance,they arrive,finding the materials for the exhibit,along with some Arabic writing, and assume that the artist is some kind of a bio terrorist,and promptly arrests him. What follows is will break your heart & anger you. The screening I attended had a member of the ACLU present to answer questions that related to the incident (the court case is still pending).

Strange Culture This documentary tells the story of Steve Kurtz, an artist and professor who, during 2004, was arrested as a suspected bioterrorist. Kurtz had called the police when his wife had died of heart failure, and the police arrived to find Petri dishes of bacteria Kurtz was getting ready to use for an art installation piece. The bacteria was harmless, but the invitation to the art opening he had had Arabic on it... hence, bring out the feds. Kurtz is still up for trial, and because he was disallowed from telling his story, this film features actor re-enactments.The documentary itself is only interesting because after each actor re-enacts his part, the cameras keep going and the actors put in their own two-bits... what it's like working on a project like this, what it was like meeting some of the key players "before the ending has come", and what it is to be more personally involved in the story that is going on as we speak. I like this approach because sans actor commentary, the re-enactments felt very misleading.I disagree with the choice of music on this feature, because it is mostly of an ominous and gloomy style. I think the only way to fight "a culture of fear" is to not allow it to make you afraid as well, and this documentary worked quite hard to make its subject very potent and important by using such audio cues to keep the audience's heart-rate going. For that matter, there's a lot I disagree with this film politically, in that it seems (like so many people these day do) to underestimate the simple power of entities refusing to admit their wrong. Such underestimation is a large reason why people don't know how to deal with Bush's decisions and instead decides it must be some form of conspiracy. Sure, there is some amount of multifaceted conglomeration involved in this tragic and disturbing discourse, but it's not like Kurtz was arrested for trying to show the world the truth about the food they were eating (the conclusion this movie hints at). It more shows how inefficient and ironically arbitrary our system of justice can be when people are met with things they don't understand.I suppose it's an interesting documentary, but it's intentions are clear: it is made to make a case for Kurtz before the final decision is spoken, so that people can rally to his cause. For that, I suppose, it's a genuine article, but it also makes it quickly dated and, for another matter, easier to decry bias. Without the full effect of the narrative, what's to say what it all eventually will come to mean? Of course that's an issue many contemporary documentaries constantly contend with, but on the other hand that's why I have such a distaste for them.--PolarisDiB