DVDs: June 2006 Archives

German documentary filmmaker Lutz Dammbeck came to the US in 2001 and 2002 to make a documentary about Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, who is serving a life sentence for murdering people with home made letter bombs.

Dammbeck interviewed book agent John Brockman (one of his authors, David Gerlentner, lost his hand opening one of Kaczynski's letter bombs), Whole Earth Review and Well creator Stewart Brand, and cyberneticist Heinz von Foerster.

Dammbeck attempts to find a connection between the techno-hippies who embraced both computers and the back-to-nature movement and the scientists who developed computers and the forerunners of the Internet under military contracts. He finds plenty of interesting connections. He also strikes up a written correspondence with Kaczynski (who is as self-absorbed and unrepentant as you might expect a murderous zealot to be).

Brockman is happy to talk about his early days with the likes of Warhol and John Cage, but when the subject of Kaczynski comes up, he only says Kaczynski was a bad writer who had to kill people to get his manifesto published (Kaczynski promised he would stop killing if the New York Times and the Washington Post would publish his 50-page manifesto, which they did). Brockman then says Kaczynski doesn't merit further discussion, and asks to change the subject.

I agree with Brockman. I have nothing but contempt for Kaczynski. I read his manifesto when it was first published and I thought it was inarticulate, poorly-thought-out junk. He's no Neil Postman.

Nevertheless, The Net is a fascinating documentary, especially the interview with 90-year-old von Foerster, who delivers an entertaining riff on the nature of reality and humans' futile but interesting attempts to explain ontological questions. $26.99 on Amazon