He is the mastermind in the Trump White House, a prince of darkness and doomsday scenario.
He told: “I am Thomas Cromwell in the court of the Tudors.”
Welcome to Stephen Bannon’s world of horror in 2017.
Trump’s right hand man is also an enthusiastic documentary filmmaker.
We watched Generation Zero and in Steve Bannon’s world of liberal conspiracy, the people are the problem.
- Apocalyptic visions from the cult of the Alt-Right and how they impact the White House and you.
- Who are the Alt-Right movement and what do they believe?
- Did political correctness cause the housing crash?
The daily chaos and consternation resulting from President Trump’s immigration crackdown and war nostalgia has led to an important debate about the man behind the curtain, Stephen Bannon.
Chief Strategist Steve Bannon dictates much of Trump policy and sits as his right hand man and the controversial figurehead of the conservative revolution known as the Alt-Right that has supplanted traditional conservative politics across America.
To get an understanding of the core beliefs and foundations of the man dubbed “The great manipulator” and “President Bannon”, you can do no better than examining the Steve Bannon-produced and directed documentary Generation Zero, a controversial manifesto for Alt-Right thought that lays blame for the 2008 economic crash and America’s declining position in the world on the 60’s generation and political correctness.
“A problem of national character”
Gleefully predicting the end of civilization and the re-emergence of “traditional moral values” – read “old white male” values” – Generation Zero is not a subtle film.
Billing itself as “An examination of the causes of the global economic crisis which began in 2008, studying how decades of social changes have influenced financial systems and practices”, Steve Bannon’s documentary beats you into submission with barrages of talking heads, figures and quotes.
As a film-maker, Steve Bannon clearly favors icons over nuance and stock footage of statues, money and the American flag complement a soundtrack of old, wealthy white financiers and politicians who explain that “global elites” (not them though) have established an insidious crippling of the US economy and nebulous “traditional moral values”.
In Bannon’s vision of the “fourth turning” the complete collapse of social institutions plunges society into chaos, and individuals are forced to embrace a common purpose in order to rebuild society.
Generation Zero positions the 2008 financial crisis as the nation’s latest fourth turning, the byproduct and successor to the counter-culture of the 1960s and ’70s.
As Neil Howe explains, fourth turnings are a tragic but necessary stage in the consolidation of national unity and the reemergence of a vibrant, competitive society and economy.
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“This Wasn’t An Accident”
Perhaps the most jarring aspect of Steve Bannon’s Alt-Right movement is the striking characterization of liberals and pampered “sheeple” who have engaged in an insidious and corrupting destruction of America over the past 60 years.
Make no mistake, Bannon views liberalism as “unnatural” and spends much of the documentary demonizing the left and the loss of respect for authority and the world war 2 generation.
He really focuses his anger on the so-called elite, a single-minded monster that combines Wall Street, corporations, politicians, mainstream media, social change advocates and anyone who disagrees or questions him.
In the argument presented by Generation Zero, socialism and the black power politics of the 1960s weakened the institutional stability of the 1950s and washed away the cultural values that had traditionally sustained American free enterprise and capitalism, unleashing a torrent of greed that ultimately led to the 2008 financial crisis.
Ultimately many claims that Bannon makes are extremely shaky, for instance the assertion that social housing for African-Americans led to the housing crisis. Telling jabs at “black victimization” and metrosexuals litter Generation Zero and rarely stand up to examination.
The idea that political correctness caused the subprime crisis is rightly laughable but remember: this guy is charge of a president’s policy now.
“Crisis of leadership”
“Should events fail to bring about the periodic chaos, a leader will emerge who will unleash it.”
Trump, Bannon and the rest of the Trump campaign have already managed to inflict a deep wound on the old political order in defeating a slate of traditional Republican candidates and sensationally won the White House, despite losing the popular vote.
Critics of Bannon should be concerned by the religious, warlike language he employs to advocate for the changes that have already put the status of millions of Americans at doubt and inflamed passions around the world.
As Bannon announced on Breitbart Radio in 2015, “It’s war. It’s war. Every day, we put up: America at war, America’s at war. We’re at war. Note to self, beloved commander in chief: we’re at war.”
Photo credit: Flickr
