• Latest

Max’s Views: Netflix Original Documentary, Cuba and the Cameraman: ***1/2

December 18, 2017

VSAC Shows You How: Comparing Financial Aid Offers

February 23, 2021

Eraserhead (1977) 3 Stars

February 23, 2021

Public Health Leaders Urge Vermont Legislators to Prevent the Sale of All Flavored Tobacco Products

February 23, 2021

Bernie’s Mitten Merchandise Offers A Pathway Out of Poverty

February 23, 2021

Enjoy the 2021 Maple Season, Even Without Maple Open House Weekend

February 23, 2021
Plainfield’s Community Bagged Supper Resumes on February 23rd

Plainfield’s Community Bagged Supper Resumes on February 23rd

February 16, 2021

2021 Vermont Personal Income Tax Season Now Open

February 16, 2021

Soylent Green (1973)

February 16, 2021
My Blatant Self-Promotion

My Blatant Self-Promotion

February 16, 2021

Governor Phil Scott Announces Identity Protection Services for All 2020 Unemployment Insurance Claimants

February 16, 2021

Montpelier Alive Announces Love Your Neighbor Food Pantry Fundraiser

February 9, 2021

Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce Highlights Unclaimed Property Day and Reminds Vermonters to Search for their Missing Money

February 9, 2021
  • Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
Saturday, February 27, 2021
The World Online
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
    • Weddings & Engagements
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News & Features
    • Local News
    • Letters & opinions
    • George Shuman
    • Max’s View
    • Local Sports & Outdoors
    • Births
    • Weddings & Engagements
  • Calendar
    • Art Exhibits
    • Calendar of Events
    • Ongoing Events
  • Obituaries
  • Submit
    • Submit Calendar Listing
    • Submit An Article To The World
    • Submit Letter To The Editor
    • Submit Sports News/Photo
    • Submit Birth Announcement
    • Submit Engagement Announcement
    • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Advertising
    • World Rates and Ad Sizes
    • World Distribution Map
    • World Deadlines
    • Audit and Reader Surveys
    • Advertising Inquiry
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ads
    • View Current Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
The World Online
No Result
View All Result

Max’s Views: Netflix Original Documentary, Cuba and the Cameraman: ***1/2

vt-world by vt-world
December 18, 2017
in Max's View
0

In the 20th Century, leftists around the world were rooting for Revolutionary Cuba.

Cuba was the best chance of having a classless, Socialist Utopia in the Western Hemisphere. If Cubans could succeed while thumbing their noses at the decadent Americans at the same time, all the better.

Cuba became a political Rorschach Test. Conservative critics pointed to the thousands of political prisoners who never received a trial and the overcrowded boats filled with desperate refugees. Michael Moore, on the other hand, concluded that Cuba’s free healthcare system is more efficient and humane than our own.

Well, the debate is over. In his epic documentary “Cuba and the Cameraman,” journalist Jon Alpert has proven that Cuba is terrible. How do you know he’s right? Because he was trying desperately to prove the opposite.

Alpert began sneaking into Cuba by boat every few years in the 1970s. He would always meet up with the same locals to see how their lives were affected by the Castro regime.

He befriended Luis: a Havana slum-dweller. Young Luis was a happy dude in a free apartment with running water. All was well. Jon befriended the Borrego brothers: three 60-something farmers who joyfully worked the fields all day, did extra labor for the government in the late afternoon, and sipped rum at night.

Young Jon Alpert had a good reason for only wanting to see the best in Cuba. He knew Fidel Castro.

In addition to the intimate portraits of average Cubans, Jon introduces us to El Comandante. Fidel Castro comes off as eloquent, witty, kind, and even humble. Castro is so generous with Jon that it is only natural that Jon is unable to find anything bad to say about the dictator.

But history has a way of speaking for itself.

When Jon returns to Cuba in the 1990s, he finds that Castro’s Socialist Utopia has become a 3rd World nightmare.

Jon knocks on Luis’s door. Luis’s brother reports that he was dragged off and imprisoned. No one knows why.

Luis’s brother shows Jon the dilapidated state of the apartment building. There’s no more running water. The path leading to the outhouses has collapsed so now residents have to urinate in the street.

Everyone looks fatter than before. At least Castro is feeding the people well, right? Not exactly. With no supply of meat or vegetables, citizens are stuck living on rations of sugar and rice.

Incredibly, the situation is even worse for the poor Borrego brothers. They are in their 80s now and as strong and eager to work as ever. But they can’t.

The country-wide meat shortage has taken an ugly turn. Machete-wielding bandits have been raiding the Borrego farm at night. Now all of their farm animals have been stolen and slaughtered, including their two oxen. They can’t even plow their own fields. It is a heart-wrenching scene. Even Castro-pal Jon Alpert can’t put a positive spin on it.

The conclusion is unavoidable: With a steady influx of foreign money pouring in, Cubans were able to live a tolerable 19th Century existence. Left to its own devices, Cuba became a hungry dystopian police state.

The debate about Cuba is over: President Kennedy was right. And Michael Moore is full of it.

Previous Post

Guest Opinion: Vermont Healthcare System Changing for the Better

Next Post

Christmas, Simply

Next Post

Christmas, Simply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This Week’s Ads

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
The World
403 US Route 302
Barre, VT 05641
Phone: (802) 479-2582

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

No Result
View All Result
  • Art Exhibits
  • Audit and Reader Surveys
  • Births
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Daily Horoscope
  • Fall Dining Guide
  • Food & Recipe
  • Home
  • Obituaries
  • Ongoing Events
  • Pay Your Bill Here
  • Senior Living Edition
  • Showtimes
  • Submit Birth Announcement
  • Submit Calendar Listing
  • Submit Engagement Announcement
  • Submit Listing to our Local Directory
  • Submit Sports News/Photo
  • Submit Wedding Announcement
  • Testimonials
  • The World Coupons
  • Weather Forecast
  • World Deadlines
  • World Distribution Map
  • World Rate Card
  • World Rates and Ad Sizes
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Vermont Lottery
  • Advertising Information
  • The World Staff
  • Advertising Inquiry
  • Submit Letter To The Editor
  • Local Directory
  • Poll Results
  • Local Deals
  • Classifieds
  • Submit An Article To The World
  • Events
  • The World – This Week’s Online Digital Edition
  • The World Auto & Sports

Copyright © 2019 The World Online. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CoolerAds.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In