Groupthink Abounds

“I don’t know what we’re fighting for. Not even a clue. I just want to go home.’’

“Starting a war is very easy. But to finish it — try that.’’

“This whole war is like a stagnant gonorrhea.’’

“They said the only way back to Russia is feet-first.’’

“If I’d known this would happen, I’d be damned if I’d sign up.’’

“Let Russia and the people of the world know what’s going on.’’

The above are a few excerpts from the film Russians at War,  the subject of Canadian government efforts at suppression, as I have written about in recent posts. In today's edition of The Star, columnist Rosie DiManno writes:

There is nothing about the documentary “Russians at War’’ that glorifies, justifies or in any way spreads disinformation about the brutal conflict that President Vladimir Putin has inflicted on Ukraine for the past two-and-a-half years. And on his own citizenry.

What it does is humanize Russian soldiers. And that’s not a crime. Because it’s the young men and women who pay the price — in blood, in limbs blown off, in tens of thousands of lives lost — for the folly of one autocrat’s delusions of grandiosity.

Some of these fighters, most of them achingly young, are dead by the end of the two-hour-plus chronicle from Moscow-born, Toronto-educated filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova. From the rear to the frontline to the graveyard.

Despite the pressure exerted by Chrystia Freeland, who likely has not even seen the film, DiManno challenges the government position on it:

“Russians at War’’ is as far from propaganda — for which it stands accused — as any of the journalistic reportage and drone footage that has come out of the Ukrainian battlefield, showing devastated villages and ruined towns, the unforgivable handiwork of Putin’s unprovoked military assault.

“Russians at War’’ is a documentary that cries out to be seen. But now it won’t, not at the Toronto International Film Festival anyway, which on Thursday announced it was pulling — “pausing’’ — the Canada-France co-production, a flip-flop of its position from 24 hours previously, due to “significant threats’’ against festival operations and for public security. Is that all you have to do to bend someone, or some organization, to your will? By threatening to disrupt an event, even though neither TIFF nor cops have revealed the nature of those threats? Toronto police told the Star in a statement that TIFF organizers made the decision to send the film to Coventry “independently’’ and “not based on any recommendations from Toronto Police.’’

Indeed, there seems little basis for the official interdiction of the film: 

Freeland’s office, in response to questions I sent, said “the government’s position is not about whether (the) film should have been made or whether people should watch it. Canadian public money should not be used to support the production or screening of media that attempts to whitewash Russia’s war crimes.’’

The question not answered: Has Freeland actually seen the film? The same query put to other prominent “Russians at War’’ bashers — Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada, the consul general in Toronto, Canadian senators, MPs and MPPs. None of whom responded to my emails and phone calls by deadline.

It has been said that the first casualty of war is truth, something the film tries to combat:

It serves the purpose of every side in a war to demonize the enemy. But Trofimova has tried, valiantly, to depict the humanity of the enemy, documenting in real time the sobering realities so poignantly rendered in classic movies such as “All Quiet on the Western Front’’ — the German remake of which won four Oscars last year.

Truth is something we should all aspire to, a daunting challenge in these days of social media, misinformation, and government messaging. The alternative, groupthink, is a willing suspension of critical-thinking, hardly a good fit for a healthy, thriving democracy. 

 

 

This Is Worrisome: An Update

The other day I posted about what I saw as a worrying trend - the removal of MPP Sarah Jama from Elle's online article featuring influential women. Jama's 'sin' was to be an advocate for Palestinians during Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza. Threats were made, and she was thus edited out. Apparently, to question the narrative that Israel can do no wrong is unacceptable.

In the same post, I wrote about TVO's decision not to screen the documentary Russia at War. This followed Chrystia Freeland's denunciation of the film, even though it is highly unlikely that she has seen it. All she knows is that anything that perhaps humanizes the 'enemy' must not be allowed to be seen.

The fallout continues from Freeland's screed continues.

The Toronto International Film Festival says it’s pausing upcoming screenings of the controversial documentary “Russians at War” due to “significant threats” to festival operations and public safety.

The film about Russian soldiers’ disillusionment at the front lines of the war in Ukraine was set to have its North American premiere at TIFF on Friday, with additional screenings on Saturday and Sunday.

“This is an unprecedented move for TIFF,” the festival said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

“As a cultural institution, we support civil discourse about and through films, including differences of opinion, and we fully support peaceful assembly. However, we have received reports indicating potential activity in the coming days that pose significant risk; given the severity of these concerns, we cannot proceed as planned.”

One cannot help but wonder whether TIFF perceives the real threat as having come from Freeland:

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland also denounced the use of public money to help fund and screen “Russians at War,” which received $340,000 through the Canada Media Fund and was produced in association with Ontario’s public broadcaster TVO.

In the anodyne, weaselly language typical of politicians, TIFF apparently wants to have it both ways.

TIFF has said that the documentary is “in no way” Russian propaganda as it stood by its decision to include it in this year’s programming.

“We believe this film has earned a place in our festival’s lineup, and we are committed to screening it when it is safe to do so,” festival organizers said Thursday.

This is what we have come to, in a nation that purports to hold freedom of expression as one of its highest values. The caveat to that value should be obvious to us: that freedom ends when it offends someone else, or offers an alternative view to the official 'story.'

And none of us should be happy about that.

This Is Worrisome

Those of you who may regularly read this blog likely know that I have always been a big supporter of mainstream media. Despite their limitations, they have always been, to me, a source of credible information due to the heavy fact-checking that journalistic ethics demand.

Now, however, we seem to be moving beyond fact-checking to self-censorship, and that should worry us all.

The first recent incident involved the online edition of Elle, which edited out a prominent and controversial Hamilton MPP.

A Canadian fashion magazine says it removed Hamilton politician Sarah Jama from a story on influential women after the publication’s editorial team received threats.

Jama, the Hamilton Centre MPP who has established herself as an advocate for marginalized groups, was featured in the September issue of ELLE Canada alongside seven other women “paving the way for those behind them,” the article reads.

ELLE publisher Sophie Banford said in an email that they opted to to remove Jama from the article, originally published Aug. 19, after members of its editorial team “were targeted with threats.”

“The decision was not made lightly,” she said. “The safety and well-being of our journalists are our top priorities, and it is within this context that we made the decision to remove the content in question.”

A Sept. 2 disclaimer at the top of the online version indicates the original story “represents the opinions of a political personality but does not reflect the opinions of the publishers” or the magazine’s parent company.”

“Following a number of concerning messages posted online and received by our magazine, the publisher chose to edit the original version of the article in order to protect everyone’s safety,” the disclaimer reads.

I don't think you need me to tell you why this is a very dangerous move.

Along the same lines comes a TVO disavowal of a documentary currently at TIFF about Russians fighting in Ukraine. Despite the fact that it is not propaganda in any way, it has invited scorn from the federal government: 

Speaking from the Liberals’ caucus retreat, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters Tuesday that both diplomats and the Ukrainian-Canadian community have expressed “grave concerns” about the film “Russians at War” — concerns which she shares.

“We as a country have to be very, very clear that there can be no moral equivalency in our understanding of this conflict,” she said. “It’s not right for Canadian public money to be supporting the screening and production of a film like this.”

The film's director begs to differ:

In response to the backlash, the film’s Russian-Canadian director, Anastasia Trofimova, asserted in a written statement that the film is not propaganda, and that it was filmed without the permission of the Russian government.

 “I want to be clear that this Canada-France co-production is an antiwar film made at great risk to all involved, myself especially,” she said.

“I unequivocally believe that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is unjustified, illegal and acknowledge the validity of the International Criminal Court investigation of war crimes in Ukraine.”

In a move at least as cowardly as the one by Elle, TVO acted quickly to comply with Freeland's 'directive.'

“TVO’s Board of Directors has decided to respect the feedback we have received, and TVO will no longer be supporting or airing “Russians at War,” according to a press release posted to the public broadcaster’s website on Tuesday.

“TVO will be reviewing the process by which this project was funded and our brand leveraged.” 

Pierre Trudeau famously said, "There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation. Equally, it has no place in the minds, judgement and sensibilities of Canada.

P.S. I didn't write about last night's debate, but allow me to say that I was very, very satisfied with Kamala Harris's performance and went to bed content for a change.