{"id":1051,"date":"2017-05-06T07:28:02","date_gmt":"2017-05-06T07:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/2017\/05\/06\/httptheblurb-com-aureviewsthe-coming-war-on-china-movie-review\/"},"modified":"2017-05-06T07:28:02","modified_gmt":"2017-05-06T07:28:02","slug":"httptheblurb-com-aureviewsthe-coming-war-on-china-movie-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/httptheblurb-com-aureviewsthe-coming-war-on-china-movie-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Coming War on China – movie review"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was Napoleon who, two hundred years ago, called China a sleeping giant and warned of the consequences when she awoke. Since the fall of communism after the death of Chairman Mao, China has emerged as an economic superpower and its influence and wealth is somehow seen by America as both a challenge and a threat. There has been an aggressive build-up of US military strength in the Pacific, and a lot of its nuclear arsenal is aimed at China.<\/p>\n

\"\"Veteran journalist and seasoned filmmaker John Pilger (Utopia<\/i>) looks at the history of the US\u2019s aggressive stance towards China and its attempts to put economic, political and military pressure on the country. Pilger is something of a crusading journalist, and a bit of a cynical one too, who pursues inconvenient truths and injustices. Unlike documentary filmmakers such as Michael Moore, Louis Theroux and Morgan Spurlock, Pilger doesn\u2019t go in for cheap theatricalities and clever stunts to get his points across \u2013 his style is straightforward and hard hitting and provocative. Pilger traces this aggressive military build-up from the end of WWII, with US nuclear tests in the Pacific, centred around the Marshall Islands. Its inhabitants were largely guinea pigs for US nuclear testing in the late 40s and 50s. Sixty-seven nuclear tests were conducted. As a result of these tests in Bikini Atoll, most of the population of the island suffer from radiation poisoning and much of the food and water supplies are contaminated. Bikini Island itself is still uninhabitable.<\/p>\n

But at times the film seems a little unbalanced as Pilger spends a great deal of time exploring the shameful history of US involvement in the Marshall Islands and the Pacific, and not enough time on exploring the coming war with China. It also seems fairly one-sided, with Pilger pointing out the failings of America\u2019s policies in the Asia\/Pacific area, depicting China almost as the victim of aggressive bullying. He does mention China\u2019s appalling history of human rights abuses, but only fleetingly. He also tries to show the social inequality of China as a result of its massive economic reforms and growth. Pilger also visits Japan where resistance is growing to the presence of US bases.<\/p>\n

Pilger spent two years working on the film and it is meticulously researched. The film unfolds in four chapters as Pilger tries to identify the potential flashpoints for this coming war. There is a wealth of archival footage here, carefully assembled by Pilger\u2019s regular editor Joe Frost into a coherent account. Pilger is an articulate and impassioned narrator who makes his points clearly and persuasively.<\/p>\n