Requiem for the American Dream

In Requiem for the American Dream, Noam Chomsky, widely recognized as the most influential intellectual alive, makes plain the principles perpetuating the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a select few.

In his final long-form documentary interview, Noam Chomsky exposes with searing clarity the forces and policies behind the coordinated campaign to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a select few. Articulating ten fundamental principles that perpetuate this vicious cycle, Chomsky provides penetrating insight into the demise of democracy and erosion of opportunity that are likely to be the lasting hallmarks of our time.

Five decades ago, Noam Chomsky warned against a dangerous trend he was witnessing – the increasing consolidation of wealth and power in the United States. This trend, he cautioned – if not addressed – would expand exponentially and result in dire implications on the healthy functioning of democracy, and our sense of shared aims.

In his final long-form documentary interviews – filmed over four years – Chomsky unpacks the principles that have brought us to the crossroads of historically unprecedented inequality. Tracing a half-century of policies designed to favor the most wealthy at the expense of the majority, Chomsky lays bare the costly debris left in its wake: the evisceration of the American worker, disappearance of the living wage, collapse of the dream of home ownership, skyrocketing higher education costs placing betterment beyond reach or shackling students to suffocating debt, and a loss of solidarity that has left us divided against ourselves.

Requiem provides a clear, accessible explanation of how we got here – from of one the greatest thinkers of our time – and is a film nobody interested in the defining issue of our era can afford to ignore.

73min/USA/2015