I watched “How to become a tyrant” on Netflix. It was so good, I decided to write a review about it. I was fascinated by it because of the name and I am generally intrigued by authoritarianism. Also, been having a lot of discussions on why I don’t think the military rule is good for Nigeria. This series was basically a history lesson on the dangers of military rule and authoritarianism.
I would like to first start by stating that the narration done by Peter Dinklage was excellent. It didn’t feel like I was in history class. Felt more like I was listening to stories. The experts brought to analyze and explain each regime were so good. They really broke it down into small digestible pieces.
Basically, this docuseries gives you a step-by-step process on how to be a dictator/tyrant.
So there are 5 major themes here, the dictators’ stories are explained through these themes.
SEIZE POWER
This was a deep dive into the life of Adolf Hitler. Mainly focused on his rise to power and the tactics he used. Namely:
- Believe in yourself.
- Outrage sells.
- Be the man of the people.
- Brand your movement.
- Build your squad.
- Choose when to strike.
CRUSH YOUR RIVALS
This is the story of how the butcher of Baghdad, Saddam Hussein crushed his rivals. His methods:
- Be vigilant.
- Be everywhere.
- Buy loyalty.
- Mastermind games.
- Everyone is expendable.
REIGN THROUGH TERROR
This chronicles how Idi Amin Dada ruled for 8 years by reigning through terror. His tactics:
- Conceal your brutality
- Choose a scapegoat.
- Bring the pain.
- Start a war.
CONTROL THE TRUTH
This is the story of how Joseph Stalin became a really successful tyrant by controlling the truth. His methods:
- Rewrite history
- Destroy religion
- Corrupt science
- Eliminate trust
CREATE A NEW SOCIETY
This basically explains how for Muammar Gadaffi to become a dictator, he had to build a new society. His modus operandi:
- Be the law.
- Build your legacy.
- Indoctrinate the youth.
- Put women in place to achieve symbolic good.
- Export your revolution.
RULE FOREVER
This is an analysis of how the Kim dynasty has managed to rule forever. Their methods:
- Isolate your kingdom.
- Keep it in the family.
- Assert your divinity.
- Let people starve.
- Go Nuclear.
MY THOUGHTS ON HOW WE GET TYRANTS
TYRANTS COME FROM CHAOS
Tyrants come from a period of societal breakdown. Either economic breakdown or war, the point is that from chaos comes a dictator. There is the collapse of systems but instead of rebuilding and fortifying the systems. People gravitate towards choosing strong men that are seen as saviours.
DICTATORS NEED SCAPEGOATS
Dictators need scapegoats to point to. Either internally or externally, dictators need someone to point to. They need to make sure their people believe that the scapegoat is responsible for their troubles. As Hitler had the Jews as scapegoats, Idi Amin had Uganda Indians. While the Kims had the west and South Korea.
ISOLATION IS A SENSE OF PRIDE
Somehow tyrants make isolation, a sense of pride. They feed into the basic instinct of independence in humans and channel it into a force for tyranny. Yes, it’s good to want to be independent. Especially, a nation but let’s be serious no nation can cater for all of its needs on its own. Tyrants exploit this sense of independence to isolate their countries from the rest of the world.
Chibueze Iroakazi
July 22, 2021 at 1:48 pm
It’s interesting that you made the distinction—of Stalin being a successful tyrant— of all the ones you named. You didn’t clarify what that means (is there a successful thief, murderer, rapist, etc.) but I guess success implies that he died in office, as opposed to the fates of Amin, Hussein, Gadaffi (the jury is still out on the Kim’s), etc. A reader is left to conclude that you are a fan of dictatorship, not just because you confessed to your being intrigued by authoritarianism, but also because you left no condemnatory or disavowal view of tyranny anywhere in your personal opinion. This might come back to bite you in the future if you hold any political office holding aspirations in any democratic state.
Authoritarianism/dictatorship is repugnant to nature and must always be deplored by every progressive/libertarian elements in every society. I have not seen this movie but based on your review, it seems more of an informative tool to the audience, on the danger that is dictatorship, than an endorsement of dictatorship. One doesn’t get the same conclusion from your personal opinion.
ire
July 23, 2021 at 12:10 pm
1 This isn’t only my thoughts on the series. It’s what the show is about / my thoughts. Me, saying Stalin was a successful dictator means he stayed in power for long and he is still in some ways idolized. I wasn’t making it Stalin out to be a good person.
2 The show is a satirical endorsement and informative tool. Hence why my review is structured the way it is.
3 No where have I endorsed authoritarianism. No where have I said it should not be condemned.
4 Lastly, it’s not a movie but a docuseries.
Den
August 8, 2021 at 12:03 am
Stalin’s main success is, he wasn’t removed from power by force or vote, only by nature – his death.
Plus his other success was it took almost 2 generations or so for the Russian people to rid themselves
of the majority of his influence.
As they ended the series with the comments. Stalin took the Russian people from basically an agrarian
” State ” to the atomic age, the bomb(s).