| The End of America | |
| Director: | Ricki Stern Anne Sundberg |
| Producer: | Avram Ludwig, Michelle Ngo, Laura Dawn, Michael Mailer, John Buffalo Mailer |
| Starring: | Naomi Wolf |
| Music: | Daron Murphy |
| Cinematography: | Michael Barro |
| Editing: | Patricia Sunshine |
| Distributor: | IndiePix Films and Snag Films |
| Runtime: | 73 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
The End of America is a 2008 documentary film directed by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, adapted from Naomi Wolf's 2007 book, . The film scrutinizes policy changes implemented during the Bush Administration and argues the case that these alterations pose a threat to American democracy.
The End of America details the ten steps a country takes when it slides toward fascism. The film takes a historical look at trends in once-functioning democracies from modern history, based on Wolf's 2007 book . The films asserts such trends are being repeated in America today, and puts the recent gradual loss of civil liberties in the U.S. in a historical context. "The average American might not be alarmed at AT&T selling our private information to the Bush administration, but when this action is seen as part of a larger series of erosions and events, a pattern emerges with unfortunate consequences that become disturbingly clear."[1]
The film's style is similar to that of An Inconvenient Truth in that Wolf presents a lecture, filmed with multiple cameras, to an interactive audience. Break-away segments featuring both talking-head and "fly on the wall" interviews demonstrate the historical echoes and present-day consequences of the erosion of America's Constitution. These interviews are from a diverse collection of individuals, including intelligence community top brass, who are willing to talk on camera about the uselessness of "intelligence" gained through torture. The film also features grassroots political leaders, military generals, and victims of undermined civil liberties.
Wolf outlines ten steps that "closing societies" – such as Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, and Stalin's Russia – have historically followed. These steps, Wolf claims, are being observed in America now.
The steps are:
The End of America is viewable online free of charge. It has been made available in this way through IndiePix Films and Snag Films.