‘Snowden’ Director Oliver Stone On Making History With History

Oliver Stone has a keen eye, and that’s important for a director, but the Snowden filmmaker also has a fascination for tackling the tough subjects, those stories that are enveloped in controversy and intrigue. Among Stone’s long list of directing and producing credits are films like JFK (1991) and Platoon (1996). Now, Oliver presents the world with two new projects, and each one is sure to stir strong emotions among audiences for the politically-charged topics Stone sought to tackle.

Oliver Stone Exposes The Untold History Of The United States

For Stone, The Untold History of the United States came about as he learned that high schools weren’t teaching the entire history of our country and that even upper level college courses neglected to educate students about the true history of the United States. Mr. Stone says he made these discoveries as a result of trying to examine the history of the United States within his own lifetime and coming to find that some events were either under-reported or had been glossed over to paint a rosy picture.

“But what I found is this whole strain of history, this whole school has been denied by the media. It’s not like I’m nuts. You might think I have a crackpot history. No. What Peter and I did is very much accepted by progressive historians,” reveals Oliver Stone. “But you don’t get any mention of it in the establishment media—which, to me, is the right-wing media. It is a bizarre blindness, because we are such an intelligent country. It’s bizarre that we can’t get our own history straight.”

Mr. Stone emphasizes the imperialistic nature of American government, insisting that “the world be made safe for democracy,” which has been present as far back as World War II. The Untold History of the United States filmmaker reveals a political agenda to utilize war and the threat of conflict to control the actions of other world leaders.

Snowden Provides A Deeper Look Into The Imperialistic Nature Of The United States

Snowden gives an in-depth look into the actions of the country’s most famous whistle blower, Edward Snowden (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), but, more than that, director Oliver Stone says it exposes a predilection for war-mongering that transcends party lines. Snowden looks at the spying activities engaged by the United States government, which is employed to keep a short leash on the country’s citizens, but Snowden also looks at the way in which the United States interacts with the global community.

“The NSA is really tracking every cell phone in the world…There’s something going on inside the government that’s really wrong and I can’t ignore it,” says Edward Snowden in the newly released trailer.

In speaking of Snowden, Oliver Stone points to Hillary Clinton’s overall actions as symptoms of these bigger problems, pointing to the way in which Hillary has supported every war and conflict in recent memory.

“She was happy when Libya fell, which was a mess. You know, these were secular regimes in Syria and in Libya, where the excesses were nothing compared to what’s happened to that region since her policies were implemented,” says Mr. Stone. “She was happy when Gaddafi was buggered and killed. She was happy and joking about it.”

Stone says this ties into Snowden and the events Edward Snowden was trying to expose because cyber warfare is the future, the way the world’s governments are currently headed. Oliver reveals that the United States has already created a new branch of the military, specifically geared toward waging an online war.

“Cyber Command,” says the Snowden director, revealing the name of this new military branch. “And, of course, the next war will be electronic.”

Snowden is scheduled to hit theaters on September 16.

[Image by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images]