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Film Review for Rehab$
Film review: Frontier Psychiatry: Rehab$
Director: Blamethenile
First shown, 27th June 2008.
Film length: 05:36’
“Those who control the past control the future. Those who control the present control the past.” These words are from George Orwell’s 1984 and sum up the ‘raison d’être’ of Blamethenile, a film-maker that has chosen Youtube to spread his unconventional message about the history of Alcoholics Anonymous’ origins. Most people like to think that they know what this self-help group is about – Blamethenile has a very different angle to present.
In this short documentary that appeared under an educational category on Youtube, on 27th June 2008, the anonymous film-maker Blamethenile used a satirical and sparing style of documentary making on the cheap.
“This film could get banned” – the director even points to this fact during the film, as it contravenes current copyright laws, using footage without permission, a practice common to Youtube, and hotly contested by Viacom who have started to take legal action. Greeted favourably by the online community that questions the hegemony of AA, it is the short samples of advertisements interspersed with comment and footage of AA’s founder Bill Wilson that grab the viewer’s attention.
Despite the choice of a backing track which heightens a sense of discomfort – an option that Blamethenile goes for with most of his films apparently, this short film has an educational and activist theme.
Referring to the warm reception this film has been given, the director told me that he believes he has managed in 5 minutes to summarise the current addiction field, the complex nature of how to treat an ‘addict’, the ‘war on self’ and perfectionism of Bill Wilson, and the importance of conforming to a brand of state funded ‘recovery’
In the film he shows the founding member of AA saying “every AA member knows he has to conform to the principles of recovery. …no personal sacrifice is too great for the preservation of the Fellowship. He learns that the clamor of desires and ambitions within him must be silenced whenever these could damage the group. “
Recovery apparently also makes a good living- the film starts with a brief look at from “Sober Escorts” – a business that minds the addict while they get through journeys to and from treatment centres. His dignity is not spared in this film – a cyclical theme sees him present his business to camera, and then fail at the end of the film to give his phine number correctly.
The point that Blamethenile gets across is that “many argue that AA the fellowship makes no money, however addiction treatment is big business”. This is backed up with clips demonstrating the luxurious art of detoxing and getting treatment in private rehabs, followed by US Congress’ push for greater access to long-term recovery – maybe a “Sober Escort” is just the icing on the cake!
This documentary clearly shows the definite link between the recovery industry and the 12-step program which is not supposed to be existing according to AA literature.Directing this short film is an anonymous amateur filmmaker named Blamethenile. Based in the the United Kingdom, he produces, writes and directs short documentaries with an educational activist agenda that focus on the ‘recovery movement’ and other related topics in the US and the UK. This was just one of Blamethenile’s short films on the subject of Alcoholics Anonymous. To date he has made over 42 films for this channel, which has been viewed in total of 29,304 times as of 5th July 2008 [needs updating]. In the past few months he has been helped by an American activist, and assisted by Ken Ragge, a writer and researcher that is against the coercion of AA in the US.
Over 1399 comments have been left by viewers of their 42 short films on the latest Youtube site and discussions continue on various newsgroups and Internet sites. When I asked the director regarding the content of some of these comments left by what appears to be fanatical individuals, with a grudge against those who criticised their organisation, he confirmed that he has received death threats, and been the subject of verbal and written abuse. This led to him closing his website down [temporarily] and working anonymously.
Using a track by The Avalanches called “Frontier Psychiatry”, that owes its references and samples from John Waters’ film Polyester (1981) and Wayne and Schuster’s 1959 sketch that parodies psychiatry, this film raises a few laughs whilst addressing a serious subject. It is an interesting track. All films made by Blamethenile are deliberately given soundtracks to provoke a reaction which underlines the discomfort of the film. Both the main samples used by The Avalanches in this track embody the min theme of this film – that the individual is subsumed in a one-size-fits all method of understanding what it means to be human.
Importantly it drives home the dangers of quack psychobabble and the infallibility that providers of care would like us to believe in frequently regarding their theories.
“People often don’t think clearly when they leave AA, and there is always an element of risk in what you do”, was [the filmmakers] considered response to this question.
Disregarding the fact that AA is not supposed to be making $ from promoting itself, the film points out that this does not mean that there is no profit to be made from AA. An extract from an American news channel is quoted saying that there are 22 million Americans who are addicted to substances according to a US [department of] health agency and recommends the need for an online service to support them.
This short documentary gives information regarding the link between politics and ‘recovery’. According to Blamethenile, ‘recovery’ is an umbrella term used as a code for 12-step rehabilitation programmes. Pat Taylor is given as an example of a lobbying group, “Faces and Voices of Recovery” and can be viewed urging Congress to get involved in the kind of policy making that “makes it possible for even more Americans to get into long-term recovery”.
What does this have to do with the UK? If the US has over 95% of their treatment facilities providing AA driven recovery, how does this affect the UK? Don’t we have human rights legislation enshrined in European law to make sure we still have choices to avoid religion? We surely won’t have to go to the courts as they have in the US to ensure atheists don’t have to attend AA, which has irrevocably been described as having religious themes.
This film provides interest for all interested in the addiction field. Ex members of 12-step groups and enthusiasts of AA are amongst those that comment the most on Blamethenile’s films.
So is Blamethenile as it were underground and trailblazing on the UK’s behalf? He is concerned regarding MP Oliver Letwin’s promise that the UK will start mandating treatment orders in lieu of custodial sentencing…..and he has chosen a 12-step program to lend his support to, which raises some interesting questions.
The fact that this brief film opened and ended with the same interview gave some continuity and structure for the viewer. The film also enabled the viewer to access further sites for educational purposes. Blamethenile confirmed this film took 45 minutes to prepare. The transitions and getting the sound levels took the most time to complete. It would be interesting to see whether the quality of these small and crafted pieces would work on a grander scale.
Anon
J can be contacted at j@blamedenial.co.uk