DIRECTOR LUTZ DAMMBECK about DAS NETZ

Interview With Lutz Dammbeck

“A cabin in the woods in not an escape”

When did you decide to make a film about the Unabomber?

The idea came about during my work on research into the themes of art and technology.  About 10 or 15 years ago, terms like multimedia, virtual, etc. began appearing in a fine arts context. I had been “socialized” at the time of Expanded Cinema and multimedia so these terms were of great interest to me. As I went in search of protagonists for the film, I happened upon the American literary agent John Brockman. He is a great communicator and has connections that reach from the field of neurophysiology and Harvard, to the banking world and the art scene in New York and even had contact to the LSD scene.  I was fascinated by this man and read all the interviews with him that were available on the net. (more…)

Das Netz: WHO IS WHO

From the “Unabomber-Manifesto”:“The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. (…) We therefore advocate a revolution against the industrial system.(…)There has been a consistent tendency,(…) for technology to strengthen the system at a high cost in individual freedom… Technology advances with great rapidity and threatens freedom at many different points at the same time (crowding, rules and regulations, increasing dependence of individuals on large organizations, propaganda and other psychological techniques, genetic engineering, invasion of privacy through surveillance devices and computers, etc.)(…)It would be hopeless for revolutionaries to try to attack the system without using SOME modern technology. If nothing else they must use the communications media to spread their message. (…) Nature makes a perfect counter-ideal to technology. (…)So if [the system] is to break down it had best break down sooner rather than later. (more…)