The Untold History of the United States

director: Olivier Stone, 2012, 58m

The Untold History of the United States is a 12 part documentary series which was directed, produced and narrated by Academy Award winning writer-director Oliver Stone. The series is an uncompromising examination of the history of the United States, it provides us with a crucial counter-point to the tendency towards self-congratulation with regards to ones own historical past.

Stone shines a light on many important facts of modern history which have not necessarily been suppressed in anyway but rather conveniently forgotten in favour of more dressed up - politically correct versions of what actually happened. In layman terms, the United States were not always the "good guys" they made themselves out to be and the "bad guys" were sometimes made worse as a direct result of how they were treated.

This film may be hard for many people to watch, some will feel they have been lied to by mainstream media and others will feel outraged by Stone's audacity in challenging their patriotic vision of America. In any case it is important to keep an open mind and stick with it as the truth, uncomfortable as it can be, can teach us important things about the world and ourselves.

List of Episodes:

Prologue: Chapter A -World War I, the Russian Revolution and Woodrow Wilson

Prologue: Chapter B - 1920-1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin

Chapter 1: World War Two

Chapter 2: Roosevelt, Truman and Wallace

Chapter 3: The Bomb

Chapter 4: The Cold War 1945-1950

Chapter 5: The 50s - Eisenhower, the Bomb & the Third World

Chapter 6: JFK - To the Brink

Chapter 7: Johnson, Nixon and Vietnam: Reversal of Fortune

Chapter 8: Reagan, Gorbachev and Third World - Rise of the Right

Chapter 9: Bush and Clinton - Squandered Peace and New World Order

Chapter 10: Bush and Obama - Age of Terror