Winner at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival 2009 for Best Political Documentary, The Anatomy of Hate: A Dialogue for Hope by filmmaker Michael Ramsdell of Under the Hood Productions, will screen at 7:00 pm on Thursday, March 22, 2012 at Brescia University’s Taylor Lecture Hall. This event is free and open to the public.
This ninety-minute film reveals the shared narratives found in individual and collective ideologies of hate, and how humans as a species can overcome them. A brief discussion on the issues presented in the film will follow the screening, facilitated by Brescia University President, Fr. Larry Hostetter.
“It’s a film that challenges, informs, and inspires. An invaluable tool for anyone who believes that the path to peace is through a deeper understanding of our common humanity,” said Michael Bochenek, Amnesty International, Director of Policy.
The creation of The Anatomy of Hate represents one determined man’s quest for answers to an age-old question: Why do we hate? The film examines some of the most venomous ideologies and violent conflicts of the modern age, including the White supremacist movement, Muslim extremism, Palestinian Intifada, Israeli settlers and soldiers and U.S. forces in Iraq.
“What I found was, for me, life changing,” stated Ramsdell. “There was no boogieman, no devil, nor any single person or group of evil at the center of all this violence, war, and hate. Instead I found a planet full of creatures doing their best to fill the void of existence with limited psychological tools, and emotional shortcomings – myself included. And instead of embracing these shortcomings and using them as empathetic links to our fellow men, I discovered that our psyche turns them into mythological monsters that we can project onto others, declaring those ‘others’ as inferior, evil, or deserving of death.”
Gritty, often harsh first-hand footage is interspersed throughout the film with thought provoking interviews with leading sociological, psychological, and neurological experts; along with tales of redemption told by former ‘haters’ to show both the emotional and biological mechanisms which make all people susceptible to acts and ideologies of hate.
However, the film also demonstrates how these very deep human traits make us equally capable of overcoming them, and that’s where hope is revealed.
Sponsors for this event include Brescia University Student Activities Office and the Student Activities Program Board.
For more information about the film, Mike Ramsdell, and persons featured in the film, visit: http://anatomyofhate.com/about
About Under The Hood Productions
A production company launched in January 2003 in Atlanta, GA by filmmaker Michael Ramsdell to develop and produce thought provoking, independent narrative and documentary films, like “Montclair” and “The Anatomy of Hate.” A native of Flint, Michigan, Ramsdell currently resides in Brighton, Michigan with his wife and children.