Men's Madness (1991)

A provocative critique of man’s technological progress.

In hindsight, Men’s Madness, (described by the Guardian in 1991 as ‘an outlandish essay in technophobia') seems remarkably perceptive as the relentless assault on the natural world continues. Assertions in the film about the drives of those who force the techno-machine forwards made it controversial at the time – but not anymore.

Made almost 30 years ago Men’s Madness used documentary footage from TV, mixed with location footage from the London Underground. The underground journeys are seen as a metaphor for progress as the film journeys through various ‘worlds’ constructed from TV documentaries. Industrial production, the miltary, genetics, space technology, religion, artificial intelligence and robotics are the isolated worlds which are linked to show the pattern of obsession and irrationality responsible for the systematic dismantling of the natural world.

The film was commissioned and broadcast by Channel Four in 1991. It was made before we had access to computers. Consequentially, it took five years to record the documentaries from TV, assemble and edit each world and re-film from monitors in the studio using back projections when needed. The underground footage used to transport the viewer to each world was shot in several stations and was then edited and manipulated over another 6 months.

Described also as a 'poetical polemic' Men’s Madness was pick of the day and pick of the week in all the newspapers.

www.christinehalsall.co.uk
Animal Rights   Environment   War & Peace
Rate this video 
Environment
Top Films to Share with City Commissioners
Videos by Second Thought
Trending Videos
OMG: Trump HUMILIATED at His OWN Military Parade | Brian Tyler Cohen
9 min - For more from Brian Tyler Cohen: https://www.youtube.com/@briantylercohennews
Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980)
780 min - Astronomer Carl Sagan's landmark 13-part science series takes you on an awe-inspiring cosmic journey to the edge of the Universe and back aboard the spaceship of the imagination.The series was...
Israelism (2023)
84 min - When two young American Jews raised to unconditionally love Israel witness the brutal way Israel treats Palestinians, their lives take sharp left turns. They join a movement of young American Jews...
"The Beginning of Fascism": How Trump's Immigrant Crackdown Is Crushing Democracy
13 min - As immigrant rights protests spread to Chicago, we speak with Democratic Congressmember Delia Ramirez, who is the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants and married to a DACA recipient and recently...
Angela Davis on Veganism as Part of a Revolutionary Perspective
4 min - In this discussion with Grace Lee Boggs, Angela Davis talks about being vegan and what she believes being responsible towards other sentient beings entails in regards to our food choices.
Establishing a Food Forest the Permaculture Way (2008)
82 min - Join Geoff Lawton on a Permaculture adventure as he demonstrates how to grow a food forest from start to finish. Over 90 minutes of quality information to get you on the right track in creating...
The Settlers (2016)
111 min - An intimate look at life inside the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Following Israel's decisive victory in 1967s Six-Day War, hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens have settled the...
Trending Articles
Worker Democracy
Wondering What to Watch? Try These First
Subscribe for $5/mo to Watch over 50 Patron-Exclusive Films
Subscribe $5/mo View All Patron Films

 

Your support keeps us ad-free and financially independent

Our 10,000+ video & article library is 99% free, ad-free, and entirely community-funded thanks to our patron subscribers!


Want to double your impact? You can subscribe for $10/mo or more as an extra show of support.