So, the sequel to 2007's 'Zeitgeist, the Movie' came out last week. It has thus been hailed by some as 'the most important documentary ever made,' similar to the acclaim shared by the original.
Acclaim that certainly isn't deserved. It's practically redundant nowadays to debunk the original, as several of the things stated in the film are either unverifiable (claims about mythology) or proveably wrong ('There is no law that requires you to pay income tax').
Of course, it didn't matter that most of the claims in 'Zeitgeist: The Movie' were debunked before the bloody thing was even made, they just put in fancy editing and some spooky music, and boom, it's the biggest thing since 'Loose Change,' to which it owed alot to.
But Zeitgeist original is somewhat irrelevent at this point, with the new 'Zeitgeist: Addendum' hitting the internet. It hasn't made quite as huge a splash as the original did, to which I suppose I should be thankful for. As for what Zeitgeist: Addendum is about, it is, like it's original, in three parts:
1. Explaining the 'Monetary Institution' (the Fed)
2. The 'Economic Hitman.' Essentially, the entire thing consists of an interview with John Perkins, author of 'Confessions of an Economic Hitman.'
3. The solution: The Venus Project. Also, a bunch of 'New Age' Philosophy.
As in the original, the main point of the film is in part 3 (Zeitgeist original suffered from people getting distracted too much by Part 1 to pay attention to the whole RFID chip malarkey). Here, it suffers little from this, so that it is able to get to the main point: A utopian society where everyone gets absolutely whatever they want, doesn't have to work, and there's no evil money to cause crimes. A 'resource-based economy,' where there are no governments, evil institutions, prisons, what have you. Basically, the movie rails against all forms of capitalism in favor of a socialist utopia.
And Peter Joseph actually argues that the resources we have here on Earth are enough to sustain such a society, if changes are made (for example, using solar energy, wind power, and Geothermal energy instead of fossil fuels). The movie ends with the methods of 'bringing about this change.'
1. Expose the Fed Cartel
2. Boycott the big banks that are part of the Cartel
3. Boycott the News Networks (use and defend the internet)
4. Boycott the Military
5. Boycott the Energy Companies
6. Go to www.thezeitgeistmoviement.com and join the Zeitgeist Movement today!
Well, that's enough bloody exposition here, let's talk crap. Let's start with the aforementioned 'Actions for Social Transformation.' Last year you were going on about how the bankers are going to put microchips in us. Now you're saying that we can just 'boycott' the problem away?
However, simplistic solutions are not the only problem. As I watched, I found several statements that literally made me laugh.
The first thing that made me laugh was it's claim about how the Federal Reserve's system automatically creates poverty, like a 'game of musical chairs.' Following Mr. Joseph's unique train of logic, you'd think that before the Fed came to be, there was little to no poverty in America. If not, then there's little point to this particular tirade, as then it would be little different from earlier economic schemes. Well, there was one extreme example that came to my mind.
Leon Franz Czolgosz. Born May 1873, to Polish immigrants. He was a factory worker throughout his life, working in steel, glass, and wire factories. He always suffered from poverty, and expressed very vocal interests in anarchy and socialism, which is of little surprise, considering his poverty-stricken life and the conditions in the factory.
One September 6, 1901, this man shot President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. He was so desperate and angry that he turned to assassination.
So the Fed manufactures poverty? There was certainly ample poverty to go around long before the 'International Bankers' even conceived the Federal Reserve.
Of course, to be fair, that wasn't the most absurd statement made in Zeitgeist: Addendum. Incongruous, perhaps, but not worth too much scrutiny. I'm simply bored. Now, for a truly laughable claim:
Seeking employment and working for money is slavery. I'm not joking.
But moving on, Joseph devotes lengthy amounts of time to re-treading old ground. He shows talks about how the government is so corrupt as to carry out 'false flag attacks,' and shows the stock footage of the WTC7 collapse, with a caption denoting it as a 'controlled demolition.' Also re-treaded are the points about 'Religions is plagiarized,' with absolutely nothing done to address criticisms to the contrary, like the 'debunkers' are simply beneath him. Considering that he later makes a long spiel about how people are afraid of changing their worldviews and how 'being proven wrong should be celebrated,' I find this to be highly hypocritical.
The film also bizarrely contradicts itself at several points.
At one point it says how machines replacing human labor, effectively unemploying people, is 'corruption' akin to WAL-MART out-doing small businesses or deliberate waste dumps in water. Then, it praises how machine-work will mean people won't have to work in the new utopia.
It lambasts capitalism, saying that 'every electronic has a shelf life of 3 months before it is rendered obsolete.' It then says that capitalism 'paralyzes technology.'
The whole point of the first movie was about how the New World Order will enslave us all. Now it's all 'we need global unity.' (Incidentally, one Youtube user called Z:A 'NWO Propaganda' because of it's anti-capitalist slant. Ironic.)
Peter Joseph has thus demonstrated that it is indeed possible to have one's cake and piss on it too.
He makes the claim that, in a 'resource-based economy,' with no money, there will be no need for prisons, as without money, 'abhorrent behavior' will be all but eliminated, because without money, there won't be any desperation or greed to cause crime. This might sound convincing at first, but think about it - there are many areas of crime that this doesn't cover. It does not cover the rapist, nor the sadist and the sociopath. It does not cover crimes of passion made in the heat of the moment. It does not cover the drunkard or the druggie who harms in intoxicated fits. It does not cover the fame-seekers who will do anything to get attention, even murder (John Hinkley Jr., who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan because of an obsession with Jodie Foster, comes to mind instantly). It does not cover the fanatic. The list goes on and on. Perhaps in this society, Leon Czolgosz wouldn't have fired the shot, but Charles Guiteau would have.
I'm sure that the first criticism of the 'work-less' society that came to mind was the 'no incentive.' They devote about twenty seconds to combatting this, and it is shallow and intellectually weak. Jacque Fresco, who is the leading mind behind the Venus Project, says that basically, with the monetary incentive removed, new incentives will arise, and he says 'hey, if you produce a painting because you love it and not because you're selling it, it will be better.'
I am unconvined. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote the score for 'The Magic Flute' because he was commissioned to do so, not because he just had all the wonderful music in his heart and wanted to share it with the world. He was broke and desperately needed to support his family. Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel because he was commissioned to do so by the Vatican. He didn't even want to do it, he was begging to go back to work on the Pope's tomb. Also, Fresco never states what these 'new incentives' are.
At the end, Peter Joseph goes into a long-winded speech with his New Age philosophy, followed by his 'Actions for Social Change.' Peter Joseph, you are a sanctimonious windbag, a hypocrite, and you have proven yourself both intellectually lazy and dishonest. Screw you, screw Zeitgeist, and screw Zeitgeist: Addendum.
>_>
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