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DOCUMENTARY FILM
State of Fear: The Truth about Terrorism. Directed by Pamela Yates. New York: NewDay Films, 2009. 94 Minutes. DVD. $300.00 purchase; $75.00 rental.
The duality of this film's title conveys the essence of the armed conflict in Peru that began in 1980. The armed movement known as the Shining Path created a state of fear that reached into every home in every village, neighborhood, and region of Peru, paralyzing its adversaries and giving it freedom of action. But the title may be read another way, for the Peruvian state itself became greatly feared as it reacted to the insurgent threat. This is a complex story, in which the insurgents ultimately proved more destructive of human life than the armed forces they sought to destroy and in which the most massive human rights abuses took place under what were in other respects the...