30 Aug Clarification on "Shock Doctrine" Documentary

August 30th, 2009
By Naomi Klein

I am getting many requests to respond to an article that appeared in the Independent reporting that I “disowned” The Shock Doctrine documentary that will air on More4 in the United Kingdom on Sept 1.

A few important points of clarification. I don’t have a credit on The Shock Doctrine documentary made by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross because it is not my film. I chose not to make the documentary myself because when I finished the book I had been utterly immersed in the material for five years and I believed the project would benefit from a fresh perspective. However, I did think the material in the book was so inherently visual and emotional that it had great potential for film. So I left the project in the hands of experienced directors whose films, such as “Road to Guantanamo,” I very much admired.

It is true, as the article states, that the original idea was for me to write and narrate the film. For that to have worked out, however, there would have needed to be complete agreement between the directors and myself about the content, tone and structure of the film. As often happens in collaborations, we had different ideas about how to tell this story and build the argument.

So we all—Michael, the producers, and I—came up with a compromise: that someone other than me would narrate and that it would be clear in all materials that this was not my film but rather Michael and Mat’s adaptation of my book.

Nobody threw a fit or walked away. We ALL agreed to this compromise and the film’s credits and format reflect that. I have been as involved in this project as I can be, watching cuts and making suggestions and corrections, which the directors were free to accept or reject. I continue to be in communication with the film team and wish the film success.