Advertisement
Jonathan Blank
His "odyssey of Dutch democracy" story has let Jonathan Blank to do the improbable: make a commercially successful documentary.
The most liberal country in the world has the same low rate (of heroin users) as one of the most totalitarian countries in the world. That disproves the idea that you need totalitarian measures to deal with these problems."
So says Director Jonathan Blank about the utopic look he has created in his new documentary Sex, Drugs and Democracy, an examination of the Dutch vision of a free society. Remarkable in its straightforwardness, Sex, Drugs and Democracy exploits the Dutch concept of personal freedom and responsibility through interviews with politicians,law officers, academics, and others involved in a society that includes a legalized sex industry, the open sale of marijuana, equality for gays, and the distribution of clean syringes and methadone to drug addicts.
Blank, along with producer Barclay Powers, spent months accessing politicians, judges, prostitutes, law enforcement agents and scientists to gain some insight into the remarkable results of the Dutch version of democracy. What they assembled into the feature-length documentary serves to reinforce the concept of `if you tell someone they can't have something, they'll only want it more.' Yet the Dutch populace believes if you allow them to decide for themselves if something like sex or drugs has merit, chances are they won't want it any longer.
 |
| Blank: America's war on drugs is a total fiasco. |
"That's not to say what works in Holland will definitely work in America," cautioned Blank. "What it is trying to say is the ideas that we run by here (in America) might not be the only ones viable. A 30-year war on drugs we've seen hasn't worked .... I don't really understand how in a capitalist country like ours we can keep pumping so much money down the drain on a war on drugs when, in any other instance, we would say this is a huge waste of money. In a capitalist society, you're supposed to get results. If you're having a war on drugs and you're not decreasing the amount of drugs coming into the country, then your war on drugs is a total fiasco and should be exposed as such. I think in America perception is more important than reality," admitted Blank when faced with the question of why Americans typically resist 90 percent of the film's statement. "I think there's a tendency in our society to avoid looking for solutions. In some sense, creating conflicts is more expedient to people's political goals than finding a solution. It's a closed-mindedness, a feeling of wanting to blame other people rather than seeking a solution to the problem."
Blank and Powers have collaborated previously on
the pop-anthropological documentary Collecting America, a
film about the multi-million dollar baseball memorabilia business. Sex, Drugs and Democracy has started its wide theatrical
release and has been invited to the Montreal International Film
Festival this fall. It is their first full-length film and features
a driving original soundtrack.
SHARE THIS STORY |
TAGS |
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Del.icio.us
Reddit
YahooAdvertisement
COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Drug rehab on 6/11/08 at 6:43 pm
‘ve always known that Holland was one of the best countries in the world, but here’s a fascinating look at all the reasons why. This entertaining documentary shows all the fun stuff like legalized brothels and ‘coffeehouses’ (places where hashish is sold and consumed openly), as well as cool stuff like nude beaches (women are actually allowed to go topless on any beach in the country), female priests, and ‘banana bars’ (don’t ask!). But the underlying point is the tremendous amount of tolerance that people there have for other people’s rights, and for accepting the distribution of wealth in the way of high taxation for the rich. Despite the legalization of numerous ‘vices’, Holland has the lowest rates in sex-related diseases, abortion and teen pregnancy (sex education is mandatory in all schools, and all schools BTW, are free and equal in terms of quality of education).
- Comment by Online Tax Refunds on 12/25/09 at 5:10 am
in some states taces are as high as 40% with all the little taxes (fed state and local) and the governments (state and fed, even some local) keep doing things that OUTRAGE a great many of the citizens.
Online Tax Refunds- Comment by stock update on 10/27/10 at 2:59 pm
Loan modification is a word mentioned very often in recent times, also called a mortgage modification, most people have become accustomed with this word during the current economic crisis. As demand has risen to modify ones mortgage rate and terms, assistance with the mortgage modification process has increased from real estate industry professionals and lawyers who specialize in real estate law.
- Comment by seks on 2/06/11 at 10:49 am
Very nice site, thank you
This story was published in the September 1994 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
Sex, Drugs, and Capitalism / His "odyssey of Dutch democracy" story has let Jonathan Blank to do the improbable: make a commercially successful documentary.
Order this issue | Subscribe to MM
posted 05.25.12
posted 05.22.12
posted 05.15.12
SITE DELIVERY OPTIONS
