Thursday, 6 November 2008

SYNOPSIS

Amerika is about life in the United States 10 years after a bloodless takeover by the Soviet Union, leading to slave-labor camps for some, collaboration for others and rebellion for yet others.

Amerika criticized American society in the 1980s, implying that apathy and an unwillingness to defend freedom on the part of many citizens made the Soviet takeover rather easy. At one point, a key Soviet official observes that their plans for conquering the United States succeeded far beyond their wildest dreams, because once the nation had been defeated, Americans turned inward, not caring about national issues, seeking only to retain a piece of the prosperity that had once been theirs. "It (the Soviet coup) worked because you lost your country before we ever got here," says the Soviet leader. "You had political freedom, but you lost your passion ... How could we not win?"

At the time it was telecast, Amerika was the most controversial television event ever broadcast by ABC. The network received more mail and phone calls about Amerika before it was on the air than the total pre- and post-broadcast viewer reaction of any other program in the history of ABC, including the end of the world story, The Day After.

The critics of Amerika came from all sides of the political spectrum. The liberals feared the program would antagonize the Kremlin, jeopardize arms control and détente. The right thought the miniseries inadequately portrayed the brutality of the U.S.S.R. The United Nations thought the movie would erode its image.

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