The documentary has been distributed online under a Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 license since 6 April 2011, and the production said that it has no interest in any kind of commercial exploitation of the project.[1] The documentary is available in Greek and English and is subtitled in French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.[2] According to The Nation, half a million people watched the film in the first five days of its release.[3]
The film was followed by a Greek-language book with the same title.[4]
The production team coined[citation needed] the word "debtocracy" (Greek "Χρεοκρατία"), defining it as the condition by which Greece found itself trapped in its debt.[2] The term is derived from the words "χρέος" (debt) and the Greek "κράτος" (power, rule -ocracy). The title implies that the Greek government has been functioning mainly under the interests of the financial debt (at points superseding or even replacing the principles of Democracy and the Constitution of Greece), and therefore the debt has been elevated as a de facto form of government by itself.
The documentary traces the roots of the Greek debt back to the revolution of 1821 and the British loans that were issued. The documentary criticises the notion that the Greek population, since it enjoyed the country's prosperity produced by past loans, is now accountable as a whole for the debts. Debtocracy argues Greek politicians encouraged too much borrowing and corruption. The documentary praises Ecuador's decision to unilaterally default on part of its sovereign debt, on grounds of social justice. The solution suggested for the Greek crisis is the formation of a committee for the analysis of the debt in a similar way that Ecuador did. If the analysis proves all or part of the debt to be odious the people should not have to pay for it and therefore it should be erased, the film argues.
Production and participation
The production team of Debtocracy have said that the producers are all those individuals that donated money in order to finance the project.[5] Interviewees include:
The documentary has received mixed reviews, both for its use of economics and its political intention as a film, both by Greek and international media.[citation needed]
The documentary depicted scenes where Argentinian and Ecuadorian politicians had to evacuate the besieged parliaments by means of a helicopter. Iconic images and references to helicopters were adopted by the Aganaktismenoi movement who surrounded the Greek Parliament in 2011.
The film is suspected to be only a part of a marxist propaganda
False comparison of Greece with Argentina and Ecuador
The film argues that Argentina and Ecuador were right to default but the comparison has been described as incorrect.[7]
Lack of opposing point of views
Only people in favor of a Greek default were questioned
No alternative propositions
Only a cancellation of the Greek debt is invoked. Nothing about the competitiveness of the Greek economy.
Writing for the British newspaper The Guardian, Aditya Chakrabortty said the movie's criticism of the euro was "compelling" and, despite its low budget, called the documentary "the best film of Marxian economic analysis yet produced".[8]
Major Greek newspapers such as To Vima and Kathimerini have criticized the documentary as a work of political propaganda.[6][7]To Vima argues that Greece's and Ecuador's economies have little in common, as Ecuador is a major oil producer for its size and population, contrary to Greece.[6]
A similar critical review was published by Kathimerini, stating that Debtocracy is aimed at promoting political propaganda rather than objectively presenting a proposed solution to the Greek crisis.[7]Kathimerini's review also echoed that of To Vima, saying that the examples of both Ecuador and Argentina are unfortunate as they bear no resemblance to Greece and come in full contrast with the documentary's line of argument.[7]
Other Greek media that have criticized the film include Skai TV.[9]
In universities
Professor of Economics at the University of Athens wrote a letter to the producers of Debtocracy explaining the reasons for which he refused to be included in the documentary production team, and said among other things that he does not believe that Greece and Argentina have anything in common and that a default would not be an easy solution.[6]
Former Aristotle University of Thessaloniki professor Eleftheria Karnavou wrote a letter to the newspaper Agelioforos arguing that being completely against the documentary is unjustified, even though it is politically and scientifically unfounded, as it provides food for thought.[10]
Response to criticisms
When asked about the one-sidedness of the film by the Greek newspaper Eleftherotypia, the producers replied that they had made it clear from the start who was funding the project,[11] that they used abstracts from documentaries produced by reporters of the BBC,[11] and that those people that speak out against Debtocracy are the same people that find the television news broadcasts to be objective and credible.[11]
^Ενα ντοκιμαντέρ για τη χρεοκρατία (in Greek). Ελευθεροτυπία. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
^ abcdArgyris Papastathis, Lina Psaila (17 April 2011). "Η "Χρεοκρατία" άναψε φωτιά στο Διαδίκτυο". www.tovima.gr. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
^ abcdPaschos Mandravelis (17 April 2011). . www.kathimerini.gr. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
^Aditya Chakrabortty (9 June 2011). "Debtocracy: the samizdat of Greek debt". www.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
^Thanos Dimadis (11 April 2011). "Η ειδεχθής πρόταση του "απεχθούς" χρέους". www.skai.gr. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
^Eleftheria Karnavou (21 May 2011). . www.agelioforos.gr. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
^ abcMoisis Litsis (26 April 2011). "Debtocracy: Ο κόσμος διψά για διαφορετικές προτάσεις εξόδου από την κρίση". www.enet.gr. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
debtocracy, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, cit. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Debtocracy news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The neutrality of this article is disputed Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Debtocracy Greek Xreokratia Chreokratia is a 2011 left wing documentary film by Katerina Kitidi and Aris Chatzistefanou The documentary examines the causes of the Greek debt crisis in 2010 and advocates for the default of odious debt DebtocracyDirected byKaterina KitidiAris ChatzistefanouWritten byKaterina KitidiAris ChatzistefanouProduced byKostas EfimerosEdited byLeonidas VatikiotisMusic byGiannis AggelakasRelease date6 April 2011 2011 04 06 Running time74 minutesCountryGreeceLanguageGreekThe documentary has been distributed online under a Creative Commons BY SA 3 0 license since 6 April 2011 and the production said that it has no interest in any kind of commercial exploitation of the project 1 The documentary is available in Greek and English and is subtitled in French Spanish Italian and Portuguese 2 According to The Nation half a million people watched the film in the first five days of its release 3 The film was followed by a Greek language book with the same title 4 Contents 1 Name 2 Content summary 3 Production and participation 4 Critical response 4 1 In universities 4 2 Response to criticisms 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksName EditThe production team coined citation needed the word debtocracy Greek Xreokratia defining it as the condition by which Greece found itself trapped in its debt 2 The term is derived from the words xreos debt and the Greek kratos power rule ocracy The title implies that the Greek government has been functioning mainly under the interests of the financial debt at points superseding or even replacing the principles of Democracy and the Constitution of Greece and therefore the debt has been elevated as a de facto form of government by itself Content summary Edit The PIIGS The documentary opens with the statements of Greek Prime Ministers starting with the dictator Georgios Papadopoulos and Dominique Strauss Kahn managing director of the International Monetary Fund and ending with some of the most prominent figures in Greek politics since the metapolitefsi Andreas Papandreou Konstantinos Mitsotakis Kostas Simitis Kostas Karamanlis and the then Prime Minister George Papandreou The focus then shifts to the prelude to the recent global economic crisis and its origins in the 1970s Interviews with prominent citation needed figures of the global philosophical and economic scene argue that the euro is non viable and contributed to the worsening of the finances of Greece due to a systematic loss of competitiveness in the markets by the PIGS The documentary traces the roots of the Greek debt back to the revolution of 1821 and the British loans that were issued The documentary criticises the notion that the Greek population since it enjoyed the country s prosperity produced by past loans is now accountable as a whole for the debts Debtocracy argues Greek politicians encouraged too much borrowing and corruption The documentary praises Ecuador s decision to unilaterally default on part of its sovereign debt on grounds of social justice The solution suggested for the Greek crisis is the formation of a committee for the analysis of the debt in a similar way that Ecuador did If the analysis proves all or part of the debt to be odious the people should not have to pay for it and therefore it should be erased the film argues Production and participation EditThe production team of Debtocracy have said that the producers are all those individuals that donated money in order to finance the project 5 Interviewees include David Harvey geographer and social theorist Hugo Arias president of the debt analysis committee of Ecuador Samir Amin economist Eric Toussaint political scientist and spokesperson of the Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt Gerard Dumenil Costas Lapavitsas economist Alain Badiou philosopher Manolis Glezos member of the Greek Resistance and left wing politician Avi Lewis journalist and film director Sahra WagenknechtCritical response EditThe documentary has received mixed reviews both for its use of economics and its political intention as a film both by Greek and international media citation needed The documentary depicted scenes where Argentinian and Ecuadorian politicians had to evacuate the besieged parliaments by means of a helicopter Iconic images and references to helicopters were adopted by the Aganaktismenoi movement who surrounded the Greek Parliament in 2011 Critics of the film make four main points Accusation of propaganda 6 The film is suspected to be only a part of a marxist propaganda False comparison of Greece with Argentina and Ecuador The film argues that Argentina and Ecuador were right to default but the comparison has been described as incorrect 7 Lack of opposing point of views Only people in favor of a Greek default were questioned No alternative propositions Only a cancellation of the Greek debt is invoked Nothing about the competitiveness of the Greek economy Writing for the British newspaper The Guardian Aditya Chakrabortty said the movie s criticism of the euro was compelling and despite its low budget called the documentary the best film of Marxian economic analysis yet produced 8 Major Greek newspapers such as To Vima and Kathimerini have criticized the documentary as a work of political propaganda 6 7 To Vima argues that Greece s and Ecuador s economies have little in common as Ecuador is a major oil producer for its size and population contrary to Greece 6 A similar critical review was published by Kathimerini stating that Debtocracy is aimed at promoting political propaganda rather than objectively presenting a proposed solution to the Greek crisis 7 Kathimerini s review also echoed that of To Vima saying that the examples of both Ecuador and Argentina are unfortunate as they bear no resemblance to Greece and come in full contrast with the documentary s line of argument 7 Other Greek media that have criticized the film include Skai TV 9 In universities Edit Professor of Economics at the University of Athens wrote a letter to the producers of Debtocracy explaining the reasons for which he refused to be included in the documentary production team and said among other things that he does not believe that Greece and Argentina have anything in common and that a default would not be an easy solution 6 Former Aristotle University of Thessaloniki professor Eleftheria Karnavou wrote a letter to the newspaper Agelioforos arguing that being completely against the documentary is unjustified even though it is politically and scientifically unfounded as it provides food for thought 10 Response to criticisms Edit When asked about the one sidedness of the film by the Greek newspaper Eleftherotypia the producers replied that they had made it clear from the start who was funding the project 11 that they used abstracts from documentaries produced by reporters of the BBC 11 and that those people that speak out against Debtocracy are the same people that find the television news broadcasts to be objective and credible 11 See also EditOdious debt 2010 Greek economic crisis Economy of Greece Propaganda modelReferences Edit Dianomh in Greek Archived from the original on 16 April 2011 Retrieved 11 April 2011 a b Otan h dhmokratia ypotax8hke sto xreos in Greek Archived from the original on 12 April 2011 Retrieved 11 April 2011 Debtocracy at VideoNation Vatikiōtes Katerina Kitide Ares Chatzestephanou epistemonike epimeleia Leōnidas 2011 Debtocracy chreokratia Athena Ekdotikos organismōs livane ISBN 978 960 14 2409 5 Ena ntokimanter gia th xreokratia in Greek Eley8erotypia Retrieved 15 April 2011 a b c d Argyris Papastathis Lina Psaila 17 April 2011 H Xreokratia anapse fwtia sto Diadiktyo www tovima gr Retrieved 8 September 2011 a b c d Paschos Mandravelis 17 April 2011 PSemata megala psemata kai ntokimanter www kathimerini gr Archived from the original on 9 February 2012 Retrieved 8 September 2011 Aditya Chakrabortty 9 June 2011 Debtocracy the samizdat of Greek debt www guardian co uk Retrieved 8 September 2011 Thanos Dimadis 11 April 2011 H eidex8hs protash toy apex8oys xreoys www skai gr Retrieved 8 September 2011 Eleftheria Karnavou 21 May 2011 Gia to ntokimanter Xreokratia www agelioforos gr Archived from the original on 23 March 2012 Retrieved 8 September 2011 a b c Moisis Litsis 26 April 2011 Debtocracy O kosmos dipsa gia diaforetikes protaseis e3odoy apo thn krish www enet gr Retrieved 8 September 2011 External links EditDebtocracy at IMDb An interview with Aris Hatzistefanou Owni eu May 6 2010 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Debtocracy amp oldid 1116314858, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
