Is everyone susceptible to ideologies of hate and if so, does that mean people should give in to them? Watch the documentary film The Anatomy of Hate: A Dialogue for Hope and join the filmmaker, Michael Ramsdell, in a post-film discussion.
Screening of The Anatomy of Hate, winner of Best Political Documentary at the 2009 Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, and the discussion will take place Tuesday, Oct. 4, from 6:30 to 9pm, in the Price Family Cinema, 102 Accolade East, Keele campus. It is part of the Standing Committee for Campus Dialogue community dialogues and the Centre for Human Rights’ initiative: Share Ideas. Respect Differences.
Ramsdell, of Under the Hood Productions, will lead a discussion about the sociological, psychological, emotional and biological mechanisms that make each of us susceptible to acts and ideologies of hate. He will also examine how we can prevail over these inherent human traits through hope. Ramsdell considers his film a catalyst for dialogue.
Winner of the audience choice award at the Atlanta Docufest, Anatomy of Hate is a 90-minute documentary about the shared narratives of individual and collective expressions of hate and how humans can overcome them.
In making the film, Ramsdell worked for six years with unprecedented access to some of the most venomous ideologies and violent conflicts of the times. He includes scenes involving the white supremacist movement, Christian fundamentalism as an anti-gay platform, Muslim extremism, the Palestinian intifada, Israeli settlers and soldiers, and US forces in Iraq.
“What I found was, for me, life changing. There was no bogeyman, no devil, nor any persons of evil at the centre of all this violence, wa, and hate. Instead I found a planet full of creatures doing their best to fill the void of existence with limited psychological tools, and emotional shortcomings – myself included,” said Ramsdell in his director’s statement. “However, in this ‘human’ process, I also found hope. Hope that if man creates hate, he can also un-create it.”
He juxtaposes this verite footage with interviews from leading sociological, psychological and neurological experts, and intersperses stories of redemption told by former combatants.
To register for the film screening and discussion, click here.