Review:
This video discusses hate groups of the neo-nazi / holocaust
revisionist / skinhead variety, and their use of the internet
for communications and recruiting.
Since it is a Canadian video, it looks primarily at activities
and people in Canada.
But it also describes ties to groups in Russia and the United States.
A main figure in the video is Ernst Zundel,
whose conviction on some ``criminal false news'' charges was
overturned by Canada's high court.
There are clips of Zundel talking about himself, his organization,
his ``Voice of Freedom'' video program, his meeting with
Zhirinovsky in Russia, his tour of a concentration camp in Germany,
and people in the U.S. who help him to get his program shown on
local-access cable in the U.S.
There is one clip of a revisionist arguing that historical photos of the holocaust are doctored. There are also clips of students discovering hate groups on the internet, and their reactions to what they read. There is brief mention of internet ``flame wars'' and whether they could lead to actual violence. There is brief discussion of bomb-making recipes available on the internet, with a reference to the Oklahoma City bombing. Overall, the video is good, even a little slick, in production quality. The balance of the content really seems more on the organizations and politics in Canada than on what happens on the internet, but it is overall a good video. Students in the U.S. would certainly learn that first amendment protections are not the same in all countries, and they would get a glimpse of what makes the hate groups so sickening.
This video and the one titled ``Cyber Hate or Freedom of Speech'' can be considered to be very similar in content. One of the same people is interviewed in both videos. The primary difference is that this one is considerably longer, and possibly more explicitly Canadian in flavor (though still good for U.S. audiences).
Video Format/Length:
The video was viewed in VHS format, approximately 45 minutes long.
Ordering Information:
This video was originally produced in 1995, in Canada,
by North South Productions in co-production with CBC
Newsworld. The producer/director is Janice Davis, writers
are Daniel Richler and Janice Davis, editor is Greg West,
narrator is Daniel Richler.
The list price is $129 and it is available through: