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Tedius bikini-waxing philosophical, pessimismm, hypocrisy and irony.

posted 14 years ago by whimsicg
6 replies | jump to latest

*Spoilers ahead*

*Rant ahead*

First lets start off with the relatively positive aspects of this documentary. If you haven't seen other doomsday scenario / "the sky is falling" documentaries on things like peak oil, capitalism, global warming, human greed and all of those other lovely subjects you'll get many examples of it here. If you have, there's nothing new here. No new insights, no revelations. In fact, the moral of the film still eludes me. I understand the gist of what the filmmakers are trying to say but the documentary (if you can call it that) itself is incredibly dense and laced with confusing metaphors that are all over the place.

And that's about as good as it gets.

Now on to the bad stuff..

For starters, the premise of the film is one we've heard a lot in the past few years. We're destroying the planet, we're destroying animals, we're destroying ourselves and we're destroying everyone else. We are a brain-dead society of war mongering, shallow, selfish, evil, burger stuffing greedy Americans. We have lost our humanity and our souls. Oddly enough, this happens to be the stereotype of the "fat American" overseas. It's also the narrative of the radical new age leftist movement and frighteningly similar to the rhetoric of the people who flew jets into the WTC on 9/11.

The "empire" is about to implode.

The reason these documentaries become cult-films is because of the witty combination of irrefutable evidence (thanks to science of course) and the use of fear inducing propaganda, hopeless narration and sad, moody music.

It is a celebration of pessimism. Unlike a Woody Allen film (who is quoted), this film offers no insight into the human psyche or the human condition.

We don't hear a word about American achievements, ingenuity, charity, wisdom, etc. Only the bad stuff we (namely our governments and corporations) do to each other and the planet seems to matter here. Science is painted as the enemy. The film itself was shot on a Panasonic AGDVX100b and edited on a Mac G4 -- which according to the message in this film, would appear to be tools of the devil, of evil corporations and American greed.

Bennett seems to have forgotten that the world isn't black and white, and neither is America or Americans. He seems to have forgotten about the millions of lives saved and improved with the scientific advancements in medicine, agriculture, etc. Instead of focusing on solutions like alternative energy, Bennett and his team focus on the "fact" that our country and the rest of humanity will never make it through these tough times. All hope is lost.

The people interviewed here range from scientists to Derrick Jenson to neighborhood friends, students, artists and a musician. Music by the way, is referenced here as some sort of "drug addiction". Any musicians out there know that nothing could be more human, more soulful, beautiful, harmonious or perfect than music. Once again, the point of this film seems to be that the viewer should "wake up" and realize that EVERYTHING about the American way of life, about modern civilization is evil and unsustainable.

Obviously Bennett and everyone else in this film still probably live in their houses or apartments. They still shop for groceries, still shop for clothes, still have their cell phones and still want to make some money while trying to change the world. Which brings me to my final point:

If you visit the official website you'll see DVD's for sale. I guess a film of such "dire importance" can't be given to us poor doomed souls for free. Another irony is that the "Dialogue Workshop Gatherings" are hosted at a B&B which (lecture included) range from 200$ to 450$. After over two hours of finger pointing at modern civilization and doomsday scenarios I find it odd that Bennet doesn't hold these meetings -- IN NATURE. OUTSIDE. FOR FREE.

So to wrap it up, this documentary may offer tidbits of information on the oil industry and climate change if you're completely unaware of these issues. Other than that it's pessimistic, dense, preachy, boring, pretentious, confusing and poorly scripted. It's more about the story of an impotent man who seems powerless, afraid (even paranoid) and hopeless.

And the ending? Well, you have to see it to believe it. After saying there is no "happy ending" to his story he goes on and on for about 30 minutes about how, lo and behold, there IS something that resembles a solution! And guess what it is? Just do what he says!

These types of documentaries, ironically, are one of the big reasons people these days are so paranoid and afraid. It's all Alex Jonesian conspiracy theories meshed with bits of accurate history and irrefutable scientific evidence. It's confusing to not buy into it but if you do enough research you begin to see that the world is NOT as black and white as it is painted in this film.

Anyways, sorta worth a watch if this is the first "doomsday" documentary you've yet to see but other than that I can't justify giving it more than a "1".

If you're in the mood for watching something of this nature I'd recommend "Collapse" instead. It's also gloom and doom but more entertaining and informative.

[–] whimsicg 14 years ago

I just realized that I didn't point out the fact that I am not in denial of things like climate change, peak oil etc. I just believe in science, justice and the human spirit and don't think the sky is falling.

[–] badmofo6662004 14 years ago

Interesting analysis. I've recently seen "Collapse," and "What a Way To Go" better. Collapse has it's merits, namely the more personal direction it takes, and the fascinating character it examines. I think the title may actually come from the emotional/mental "collapse" of the person interviewed. But, I digress...

I didn't really find this film "pointing a finger" at America. As the film explained itself, "The Empire is everywhere, we are all a part of it." Also, I think the rhetoric of the people who flew planes into the WTC, was more like this.

"*beep*, my life sucks. I'm a poor bastard that could never accomplish anything. Hey, the preachers say that killing myself along with other evil people is one of the most noble things you can do. Cool, sign me up."

Also, I do think this documentary offers insights into the human psyche. That's what I thought made it unique, and why I enjoyed it so much. It's more about our culture and our "myths" than anything else.

We don't hear a word about American achievements, because this is not what this documentary is about. Again, why are you so hung up on America? This is a documentary about the Empire; the dominant culture that pretty much the entire world shares. That's one of the reasons it's so disturbing. I mean, this documentary is about the current cultural paradigm we live in today that is obviously not sustainable. And it's definitely not anti-science. The "protagonist" is the discoveries of science itself.

I think the "moral of the story" (I hate cliches. Why does everything have to have a moral?) is that a cultural paradigm shift will be required in the future, and is imminent.

Also, we have little control over scientific advancements. It's not like we can make two people have sex and produce the next Newton. And, science in no way can make the impossible, possible. We live in a universe of well-defined limits. Though we do not know what all of the limits are, we do know that species outgrowing their environment is never a good thing...

There are many scientists that believe the Earth's human carrying capacity is 1 billion; others think it is around 12 billion, and I think I read somewhere that at least one scientist believes it is around 50 billion. I personally believe it is sustainable around 1 billion, but I'm far from a biologist (I like to think of myself as a computer scientist). My point is, these are scientists saying that we are living in unsustainable societies. While you accuse the film of ignoring the good things about "Empire," you are ignoring entire branches of science yourself, and then saying that science is the solution. Every "real" scientist I've met (I don't consider "computer science" a real science) is very pessimistic about the sustainability of our society.

I'm not sure what you mean about "black and white." This movie didn't really discuss morality much, did it?

I thought this documentary was beautiful, even though you call it pretentious. But, I guess that's a matter of taste.

[–] whimsicg 14 years ago

I was thinking that too about 'Collapse'. Especially the ending which seems to be more about the man's emotional/mental collapse. He seemed extremely passionate about his work but also pretty desperate and rather lonely.

Regarding the rhetoric of the 9/11 murderers.. you're right, but that's only a part of it. Also, many of the hijackers wouldn't really fit your description seeing that most of them actually came from an educated, middle class background. Of course radical Islamic indoctrination and jihad mentality are to blame but neither would work without Big Satan (or Israel, "little Satan"). You need to be filled with hatred in order to pull something like 9/11 off. If America is painted as the most "decadent, evil, greedy, sacrilegious and harmful" country on earth that can give many psychos out there the fuel to carry out their depraved missions.

And this documentary WAS about the American way of life. The word "Empire" seems to mean capitalism in this context. There was little or no mention of Europe for example, let alone China, Japan, India, etc. This flick was based on American values and the globally accepted stigma of the American life.

The "protagonist" is Bennett, who seems to have the world figured out. The "secondary characters" (his interviewees) just articulate his point for him. This documentary is centered around what Bennett thinks and feels. It's very subjective.

Bennett's "moral" seemed to be that only he knows what needs to be done in order to save modern civilization from imploding. Classic Alex Jones type megalomania and paranoia. These people act as if they're secretly telling us these dark secrets in order to help us save ourselves but the reality is that he just wants you to agree with him and maybe pick up a DVD or attend a paid lecture while you're at it ;).

Regarding science, the beauty of it is that science isn't an absolute theory like religion or conspiracy theories. It is like a crescendo, the more we learn about ourselves and our world, the more questions we can answer and riddles we can solve. There are many examples of preconceived notions of the "impossible" that science has found the answer/solution for. But we're also only at the beginning. We've only scratched the surface of things.

Here's an example of what I mean by this film ignoring the positive aspects of science, ingenuity, etc. Yes, there is a limit to how many people can fit on this earth. BUT, what if 10 years down the road a NASA think-tank comes up with a way to successfully colonize Mars? Scientists have already discovered that there are many earth-like planets out there, so if someone invents a way of transporting people from here to there we can spread out, harvest resources, etc.

Yes some scientists are pessimistic but not all of them. Of course, Bennet wouldn't dare interview anyone who is still positive about the future of this country because that would be 110% detrimental to his documentary.

Bennett's point, which he says over and over again, is that we're doomed. It's too late and all hope is lost. What a crock. He sounds like an End-Timer, not like a rational, educated, civilized human being.

By "black and white" I meant that Bennett doesn't see the full picture. He only focuses on the negative stuff. There's no message of hope here, only destruction. There's a reason for this. The paranoia and demise of the "empire" is what makes this film go viral and generate lecture/DVD sales. If he reported both the good and the bad, would that really be interesting? Just pick up tomorrow's paper. Some good news, some bad news -- but life goes on.

This documentary was anything but beautiful, and I mean that on the technical, film-making aspect. It looks cheap, uninspired, rushed and was truly horribly scripted.

The final scene looks like a Viagra ad or something.

It's an epic fail and a dangerous one at that.

[–] badmofo6662004 14 years ago

I dunno, I liked the poetry (or whatever you wanna call it) of the narrator, and the music was pretty good as well.

In regards to hijackers not fitting my description; there are many educated, middle-class people that live unhappy lives. Hell, even some rich people live unhappy lives.

I still disagree about this documentary being only about America. It may be an attack on capitalism, but pretty much every country in the world is capitalist. Even China is turning more capitalist every year. We are in the age of Globalization. The "Empire" is the entire world.

Haha, I've seen a few Alex Jones documentaries too :) I don't think this documentary is comparable to the subversive documentaries that Alex Jones produces. And, if I remember correctly, this documentary didn't claim to have the only solutions. It only stated some of the issues that our society should be sincerely talking about and addressing. Though, I've lost all hope for serious public dialog a long time ago :) Also, these things are not "dark secrets." These problems (or "opportunities" if you're very optimistic) are fairly well known and public; at least in the related academic and scientific circles.

We are SO far away from colonizing Mars (we might be able to build a station there, but that's beside the point). If we can't figure out a way to live sustainable on this planet with it's abundant resources, I highly doubt we'll be able to colonize a barren, hostile planet like Mars. The prospect of interstellar space-travel is even worse, and it'll probably never happen, unless humans actually evolve into machines, but then we wouldn't be facing the same problems as we are now...

Personally, I think there is some "hope." Our population may have to be reduced, but we may be able to reduce it gradually over a century or two. Wind energy is pretty cheap, and we can use wind-energy to make hydrogen to power our vehicles. We don't have enough of the rare-metals needed to make practical battery-powered cars for everyone. We don't have enough fertile land to make enough ethanol, and even if we did, we'd put more energy into making it than we could get out of it. We could probably make some ethanol from agricultural waste, just not very much. But, right now, we're acting like an r-selected species. R-selected species outgrow their environment, destroy it, die out, then do the same thing again. For humans, that would mean constant, absolute poverty and periods of very high mortality rates.

[–] whimsicg 14 years ago

I don't mean to sound like a war monger or FOX-news watching, paranoid religious nutjob or anything, but it seems that our generation may very well see another world war. North Korea, Iran.. it's always flaming rhetoric from Ahmadinejad and Kim Jung Ill but you never know. Maybe someday they'll press that red button.

I hear what you're saying about acting like an r-selected species. I agree. I also admit to secretly liking a few of his metaphors and poetic musings ^_^.

It seems however that if we do become extinct anytime soon (within the next 50 years) it will probably be because of nuclear war. Again, not trying to come off as a pessimist or conspiracy theorist. Just consider that what we dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki pales in comparison to today's nuke warheads.

Can you imagine what would happen if a nuke was detonated on American soil, in Israel, Japan, India, China, South Korea or Europe?

An attack like that -- and its aftermath -- may very well wipe out half of the human race.

Add to that what Bennett mentioned in the film (climate change, economic collapse, destruction of the environment, lack of resources, etc) and we've got a serious problem.

He's right in the sense that we need to change. At the moment I can't really picture another way of life that would be sustainable and acceptable to people.

You've probably seen it already but Jacques Fresco's work is pretty interesting. I don't personally agree with all of it (we'll still need cops, lawyers, judges, politics, etc) but as far as the buildings, the fall of the monetary system and the distribution of resources, he may on to something...

[–] badmofo6662004 14 years ago

Hmm. No, I haven't seen anything with Jacques Fresco. I may have to check it out.

Yeah, nuclear proliferation is a threat, and a very difficult issue to solve. Countries with nuclear weapons can't really tell others that they can't have them. We can't really get rid of all nuclear weapons either, because then a rogue leader of some country might be tempted to secretly produce some and use them to obtain what they call a "cheap victory." Then, there is also the possibility of countries giving WMDs to terrorist, which nullifies deterrence theories because you can't retaliate when you don't know where the attack came from. I really hate nuclear weapons. The only purpose they serve is to kill civilians.

This is definitely an interesting time in human history. There are very many, very big new problems that we will have to deal with in a relatively short amount of time.