Michel Lorand

 

False pretense
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FALSE PRETENSE, the illusion of just war

FAUX-SEMBLANT, l’illusion de la guerre juste
SCHIJN BEDRIEGT, de rechtvaardige oorlog als illusie

Cinematek Brussels – 2016

VIDEO INSTALLATION – FILMS – LECTURES

At the beginning of the 21st century, what have we learnt from the armed conflicts of the past century, the one which was without doubt the most murderous of the modern period? Not very much, in view of the massacres which continue everywhere, even today, to be committed under our eyes. Is memory forgetful? Before talking about forgetting, we must ask the question: to what “memory” we are referring? “Memory alone is nothing; it is only a series of images. They must be interpreted. Memory only takes on meaning by the way in which we read recollections, the way in which we look at the past, which is never the dead past of historians,” says the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas.

How to think today of the events of the 11th of September and the war in Iraq, the bloody conflicts in Syria, those in the Gaza strip or in Ukraine? What are the historical facts we use and what is our critical perspective with regard to the information on these bellicose conflicts? When can wars be spoken about? Do all these questions oblige us to interrogate the real basis of the current armed interventions led by our democracies and the means used by states to ensure the support of their populations? What are the common interests between Power and the world of finance to engage in a politics of belligerence on the international level? How can we analyze and criticize the hawkish rhetoric diffused through the media by our leaders, and interpret the climate of security that they impose?

Films, video installations, texts, interviews, archived documents, FALSE PRETENSE approaches by different angles the manipulations of the State before certain great historical events, and the techniques of war propaganda used by the leaders of our planet.

Anne Morelli, interview: https://youtu.be/XzRM-8LYrik

David Van Reybrouck, interview: https://youtu.be/gJ44gVtkW_o

Edwy Plenel, interview: https://youtu.be/59QnguTIUIA

Ludo De Brabander, interview: https://youtu.be/fomavkOkVr8

False pretense