Brexit: The Uncivil War

Firstly this entire "docu-drama" completely ignores that both sides used social media big data exploiters. It ignorers the fact that lots of influential institutions with a direct self interest in remain (including for example BBC itself which content analysis studies have shown used "experts" opposed to Brexit at an 3:1 ratio) also positions themselves as neutral despite strong anti-brexit self interests and messages.

It also implies that people voted based on facebook or twitter, when while liberal voters tend to want to be with the "pack," this is not the case for independent or conservative voters who are much less likely to vote based on perceptions and psychological need to be within groupthink norms.

Lastly the producers of the film themselves have a direct self interest in remain. The fact is a majority of people in the UK do not have such a self interest. But the elite today are no different than the feudal lords. Feudal lords were the expert class of their day. They after all were the educated and literate. Does that mean their decisions were in everyone's interest? hardly. They had a self interest in preserving their class over their nation and all its classes, just as the makers of this propaganda film do.

Oh Brexit was a product of propaganda? Well what is this film if not propaganda from the other side??

This tells the story of an almost unknown man who changed the lives of a nation forever. Lives of generations to come are reduced to just words and marketing campaigns. It makes me very sad.

I'm also an ad guy who's spent his share of time in offices beating up strategy on white boards, so I was sucked right in and saw a bit of myself. The lead character Dominic was like most of the folks in media industries that serve some great big unseen master. We put our noses to the grindstone, put our hearts on the paper for the elusive "win", yet we overlook the damage we potentially could be causing to the world. And what damage they have done. I found out things I hadn't known before, like the role of the Mercers being behind both big data companies, thus guaranteeing their influence on the referendum. And that is where I started to pull on my guts. That they had not only done it to England but had done it to America; manipulated politics, empowering an element of society that we should be leaving in the dark cellar of the 20th century. The fear of the other on an ever shrinking world controlled by ever more powerful and terrible titans is a regression. But the story is still being told and we will know the conclusion... maybe. I highly recommend this film and leave one thought: In this ever more loud and volatile world, we must listen more than we talk.

The sinister to which I am referring is not the machinations of the Brexit campaign but this little piece itself. A detailed critique of propaganda which is, itself, an intricate piece of propaganda. Take it for what it is and there's no problem, fail to do so and your as much as a puppet as the puppets this movie purports that every leaver was.

In the run-up to the 2016 referendum, nobody in the UK - or elsewhere, for that matter - genuinely believed that Vote Leave would win (similarly to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election result). It seemed more or less incomprehensible that Remain would be defeated. This is arguably evidenced by the fact that there were no rules set out for the referendum and the meaning of its outcome (e.g. that it should require more than a measly 2% majority to invoke such major Constitutional upheaval) and that David Cameron resigned almost immediately thereafter.

This energetic and witty film explores just how the rug was swept out from under us all, and highlights how dangerous social media can be when used as a weapon. Unsurprisingly, Benedict Cumberbatch gives yet another engrossing performance, with an impressive and entertaining ensemble as well.

Whether you were politically-engaged in relation to the referendum or completely overwhelmed by all the jargon (and utter lies), this is an insightful drama well worth a watch. Although, don't expect it to outline what is certain to happen next in the Brexit saga: that'll be down to the fool at the helm of the ship, and her band of dim-witted and utterly divided crew.