Neoliberalism exposed: ‘The Invisible Doctrine’ at BIFF

Filmmaker Peter Hutchison
Provided
Filmmaker Peter Hutchison
On Saturday, May 31 at 4:30 p.m., “The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism” will screen at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington as part of The Berkshire International Film Festival.
Based on the book by the same title, the documentary explores the work of public intellectual and author George Monbiot (“Out of the Wreckage”, “Regenesis”), and is the latest project from award-winning documentary filmmakers Peter Hutchison and Lucas Sabean (“Requiem for the American Dream (ft. Noam Chomsky)”).
Augmented by AI generated graphics and animation, the film begins with Monbiot asking,“Neoliberalism: do you know what it is?” Largely defined by competition, neoliberalism pits people against one another in a system where financial success is encouraged and failure is shameful. But Hutchinson says it doesn’t have to be that way.
“We’re seeing neoliberalism on a very extreme level right now. With Trump, there’s chaos, deconstruction of the administrative state, flooding the zone, eroding people’s faith in institutions and democracy itself. This economic growth model is incompatible with the survival of the earth. We need to look at things in a different way.”
As a documentary filmmaker and professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Hutchinson is a skilled storyteller aware of the narratives we’ve internalized. His film suggests other models.
“There’s an experiment in Amsterdam called true cost pricing with the option to pay the standard or a slightly higher price that considers the environment, public health or labor practices. People will pay the higher price knowing what they’re buying has a direct impact,” he said.
“If we can expose a broader range of communities to all of these amazing ideas and people were able to adopt two or three of them, we could really make some fantastic movement forward,” he added.
“Human beings are the most cooperative species on the planet, and evolutionarily that has been an imperative for our survival. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here. We’re not advocating an end to capitalism as much as we are re-envisioning our relationship to capitalism. There are plenty of models within the structures of capitalism that make people happier, strengthen community and make people feel like they have agency. The more people invest in a community the more they feel like they belong to it, which is one of the most important antidotes to neoliberalism,” he said.
The screening of “The Invisible Doctrine” will be followed by a Q&A session. For tickets to this film and more during BIFF, visit: biffma.org
Habitat for Humanity assisted in the construction and sale of this house at 14 Rudd Pond Road for $392,000.
MILLERTON — Official Dutchess County property transfers for the four months ending in May are fascinating from the sale of the former Presbyterian Church on Main Street for $420,000 to the $300,000 sale of 8.3 acres of the historic Perotti farm for $300,000 where major barn restoration is now underway.
Actively listed properties at the end of July include 14 parcels of land ranging in price from $60,000 for a five-acre lot to six parcels over a million dollars. 15 single family homes are on the market including an $11,750,000 estate on Moadock Road and four village homes for under $500,000.
Residential
14 Rudd Pond Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on .64 acres sale recorded in March for $392,000 to Anthony M. Macagnone.
81 Rudd Pond Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on .45 acres recorded in April for $360,300 to Sara Whitney Laser.
926 Smithfield Road — Historic house and barns on 8.31 acres sale recorded in May for $300,000 to Colonial House & Barn LLC.
5408 Route 22 — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 5.38 acres sale recorded in May for $465,000 to Erich McEnroe.
The former Presbyterian Church on Main Street in the Village of Millerton was purchased in May for $420,000 and then pained grey.Christine Bates
Commercial
1 Smith Court, Village of Millerton — Office building sale recorded in March for $825,000 to OneJohnStreet LLC.
58 Main Street, Village of Millerton — Sale of former church recorded in May for $420,000 to 58 Main Street LLC.
5546 Route 22 — Sale of former restaurant on 2 acres recorded in May for $70,000 to Haithem Oueslati Trustee.
Land
State Line Road (#789358) — Sale recorded of 20.82 acres of vacant residential land in March for $150,000 to Elliott Squared LLC.
148 Morse Hill — Sale recorded of 30.03 acres of vacant productive farm land in 5 parcels in March for $800,000 to Thorne Water LLC.
*Town of North East and Village of Millerton property transfers from March through May not previously reported as sales in The Millerton News are sourced from Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly reports for March through May. Details on property from Dutchess Parcel Access. Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Mariah Orms and her horse Shanaclough Quality Clover tore through the water jumps.
AMENIA — Competitors and spectators endured through high heat, rain and a smoky haze for the 40th annual Millbrook Horse Trials at Coole Park.
Four hours of dressage on Thursday, July 24, opened up the competition that puts riders and their horses through a triathlon of equestrian sports. Cross country jumping began on Friday, followed by stadium jumping on Saturday.
Over the last 40 years, the Millbrook Horse Trials has built a reputation that draws athletes and visitors from great distances. Numbering among the competitors were riders at the highest level of the sport of evening, including Olympian Boyd Martin. Martin finished the weekend with a win in the advanced division after a clean run around the showjumping ring on the horse Miss LuLu Herself on Sunday.
That was during a light drizzle that hung in the air over the event grounds on Amenia-Bangall Road. The weekend started with high heat on Thursday and Friday and towering thunder clouds threatening rain for much of Friday afternoon. Partly cloudy skies made way for a smoky haze on Saturday that triggered an air quality alert for the region.
Volunteer parking monitor Alexander King didn’t let the erratic weather keep him down, and he said he didn’t see a drop in numbers either. “Yesterday we probably had, give or take, 300 to 400 people,” he said on Sunday, the final day of the competition.
King travelled from Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife to attend the event.