Educational Media Reviews Online

This documentary uses stock footage, commercial film clips, newsreel clips, and television news excerpts (CNBC, CNN, FoxNews) and interviews with historians, citizens and activists to make a convincing argument that imperialism is an American (United States) tradition that stems from at least as early as the 19th century and continues today. Through the interviews, writer/director Velasco Shaw defines distinct parallels between the War of Philippine Independence (1898-1901), an extension of the Spanish-American War, American involvement in Vietnam, and the current hostilities in Iraq.

The quality of the video is excellent throughout. It’s unfortunate that the film editor (perhaps the writer/director herself?) is not named in information available online or with the preview copy of the video. The editing is excellent. The ability to skillfully present material from the various media sources involved deserves special mention.

This video is highly recommended in support of high school and college curricula in American studies, history and media studies. Googling “momentary enemy” provides access to excerpts from Marine Major General Smedley Butler’s 1935 pamphlet “War is a Racket,” which provides further insights into the motives of American imperialism. Together with the video, the Butler excerpts provide an excellent introduction to the study of early 20th century history and American foreign policy. These provide clear evidence of American imperialism from the strategic and economic sources for involvement, to the exploitive treatment of colonial resources, and finally the exploitation of conquered or subjugated colonial peoples. These are excellent resources for discussions of imperialism or the ethics of warfare. The Momentary Enemy also makes the argument that “… war propaganda permeates popular culture, media, everything …” through on-the-street interviews, and provides an excellent starting point for in-depth discussions of mass media.