''Occupy Unmasked'' is a 2012 American

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

directed by

Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist in the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump during t ...

and produced by

David Bossie David Norman Bossie (born November 1, 1965) is an American political activist. Since 2000, he has been president and chairman of conservative advocacy group Citizens United and in 2016, Bossie was the deputy campaign manager to the Donald Trump ...

, which is critical of the

Occupy movement The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and econo ...

and was produced by Citizens United Productions. The documentary was released in limited theaters on September 21, 2012, distributed by

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, and media proprietor whose net worth is an estimated $4.8 billion, according to ''Forbes'', and ranked No. 177 on the 2020 ''Forbes'' 400 list ...

Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor. It is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films. Ma ...

. Cuban stated "I don't have any politics" and that his company released the documentary solely "because we believe there is an audience for it" before the 2012 U.S. Presidential election.

Synopsis

The film takes a critical look at the

Andrew Breitbart Andrew James Breitbart (; February 1, 1969 – March 1, 2012) was an American conservative journalist, and political commentator who was the founder of ''Breitbart News'' and a co-founder of ''HuffPost''. After helping in the early stages of '' ...

and producer Stephen Bannon contend that the Occupy movement is sinister, violent, and organized with the purpose of destroying American capitalism and tarnishing the image of New York entrepreneurs. The film also discusses allegations of rape, drug use, and property destruction at the Occupy encampments.

Reception

Writing in ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

'', Michael Tracey allows that it would be possible to sensibly criticize some aspects of the Occupy Movement, but nonetheless characterizes ''Occupy Unmasked'' as "total fantasy" and "a deranged hodge-podge of bizarre memes, wild dot-connecting and unadulterated fury." Reviews from right-leaning outlets were more positive, with Perry Chiaramonte of Fox News declaring that the "explosive" documentary raises many important questions about the roots and motivations of the Occupy movement, but fails to conclusively link the protests to the Obama administration.Chiaramonte, Perry (2012).
Breitbart film bares roots of 'Occupy' movement
09 September 2012, accessed 27 November 2012

References

External links

* * {{Occupy movement 2012 films American documentary films Occupy movement in the United States Citizens United Productions films 2012 documentary films Films directed by Steve Bannon 2010s English-language films 2010s American films