The Power of Nightmares

The Power of Nightmares
Title screen
Written by	Adam Curtis
Directed by	Adam Curtis
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	3
Production
Executive producers	Stephen Lambert Peter Horrocks
Producers	Adam Curtis Lucy Kelsall
Running time	180 mins (in three parts)
Production company	BBC
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	20 October (2004-10-20) – 3 November 2004 (2004-11-03)
Related
The Century of the Self (2002) The Trap (2007)
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The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear is a BBC television documentary series by Adam Curtis. It mainly consists of archive footage, with Curtis narrating. The series was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom in 2004.^[1] It has subsequently been aired in multiple countries and shown at various film festivals, including the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

The film compares the rise of the neoconservative movement in the United States and the radical Islamist movement, drawing comparisons between their origins, and remarking on similarities between the two groups. More controversially, it argues that radical Islamism as a massive, sinister organisation, specifically in the form of al-Qaeda, is a myth, or noble lie, perpetrated by leaders of many countries—and particularly neoconservatives in the U.S.—in a renewed attempt to unite and inspire their people after the ultimate failure of utopian ideas.

The Power of Nightmares was praised by film critics in Britain and the United States. Its message and content have also been the subject of various critiques and criticisms from conservatives and progressives.