Like I've mentioned before, facts and truths can be quite ephemeral, just like our perception of the physical materiality (matter-reaLity <-- bahahahah! too punny!) of our very bodies can shift when we look at it from another angle. Even in a physical sense, our bodies are very mold-able, adaptable and plastic.
If you want to see the film, you can see it HERE.
Speaking of here and not THERE, here are clips of the "yummy part" that the esoterics favored and savored:
GENERAL CRITICISMS OF ZEITGEIST AND ESOTERIC AGENDA:
* factual inaccuracies regarding the birth of Christ or alignment of stars
* fear mongering
* conspiracy theorisms
* "too harsh" on government
* only has the "good stuff" at the end (Esoteric Agenda)
* is hypocritical in its use of fear
* confusing in what it's trying to say
* goes off the deep end when it connects government to spirituality and religion
* is it criticising paganism??
* it's got SPELLING MISTAKES!!!
What I found interesting is that I found a lot more criticisms of Zeitgeist from more religiously-inclined folk...aaaand "academics" - cuz, well, for reals, it just shoves stuff out there without citations or whatnot. For Esoteric Agenda, I saw a lot of criticisms from those who practice more "esoteric" spiritualities, like those who regularly converse with spirit guides or take psychic phenomenon very seriously.
Sure, it is not a perfect video because a lot of it can be misconstrued or posit ideas that can be misleading - yet what I find interesting 1st and foremost in the criticism is that the film is mostly criticised by those who feel attacked or "misrepresented."
Ahhh, so self-centered are we all! So vain! (yours truly included.)
Yet, let's look at this criticism...
IT'S FEAR-MONGERING: yes, it certainly appears that way, especially for the first hour-and-a-half. Unfortunately, that's kind of a gimmick or staple of this genre of documentary. The bombardment of images of past and present world destruction does jolt the viewer awake and does try to scare the viewer in a sense. Though... I think this is unintentional on the part of the director.
I honestly don't think the director is trying to SCARE us into believing his own agendas, but is trying to wake us up, as if to say, "DUDE. The world out there is SCARY and the people who rule it are SERIOUS."
But it's a bit awkward. Like a newbie 6'4 dancer who's trying to boogie with a 5'2 athlete. There's a lot of toe-stepping and awkward, rough re-directing that's going on.
I THINK IT'S ATTACKING ______: Again, the problem normally lieswith the insecurities of the viewer. What is the intention of the video? Is it to attack? I'm not quite so sure. And, if you think it's attacking YOU, then I think skepticism of your dismissal may be a wise choice to make, indeed!
WHERE'S THE CITATION? An academic's chief complaint. Where is he getting this information from and who's saying it and why, exactly, is he putting a rhetorical quote in the middle of all this "factual" evidence? Obviously, he's trying to convince us through rhetoric, which is dangerous because rhetoric hides fact and truth, rhetoric is propaganda, a dangerous form of hypnotism.
Neeeigh! whinnies the bobbLebot. Neeeeigh! It thinks not. At the moment.
If I am understanding it from the director's standpoint of the importance of connecting the left and right hemisphere's of the brain (PLEASE watch the Jill Bolte Taylor video~!), the quotes are more than just artistic touches or attempts to posit opinions as fact.
Sure, it ascribes to some of the staples of its genre, but it is jumbling the abstract and the emotional heart of it with "cold" facts to... well, I can't know what exactly his intention was, but I can say what it elicited from me: questions. Lots and lots of questions and discernment.
The thing is this - when people - like the New Agers/Esoterics and the religious don't get it immediately, a knee-jerk reaction is to say, "Well, it's just a conspiracy theorist talking. It's just a THEORY" and walk away without having taken it seriously. But how many theories in the humanities and sciences do we take pretty damn seriously?? How many are we REQUIRED to take pretty damn seriously?
Everything is a theory and there is no fundamental truth that is absolute 24/7. And I'm not saying that in a flippant, "ooo, I's SOOOOOO meta-meta!" kinder way.
I suppose... what IF we decided to take it seriously? What? We need a Pulitzer Prize or have it formally listed as required text in a university-level classroom for it to hold any sort of value or validity to take it seriously?
Think about it... when we do THAT, it's like an Amazon.com booklist. We are submitting to the arbiters of taste and validity. We are... "sheepLe" - as described in Esoteric Agenda. We need someone to taste our food for poison before serving it up to us to seriously digest. But we aren't really questioning who is deciding what is and isn't toxic.
BASICALLY... if you criticize anything, your criticisms don't hold water... at least, not with me - until you've taken what you've criticized seriously. Which is hard. I mean, it's something I struggle with day by day, but once you're conscious of it, it's your responsibility. Your choice. Deep down you know that your criticism doesn't hold any real weight when you haven't taken what you've criticized as a serious text or piece of "truth."
Do I think it's a piece of art? NAH. It's a bit sloppy in some areas and the production values are low. (bahahahahaha! sorry, SouthPark reference)
But I do think that there's a lot of interesting material to wade through, some of which honestly resonates with much of what I've been looking into over the summer with The Holographic Universe, certain "universal" Laws, Mayan Calendar stuff, Nibiru and Annunaki stuff, Sitchin and Maxwell with a little Tsarion and Cremo on the side. A LOT of material, and it DOES all connect, but at the same time, it's key to use DISCERNMENT when looking through a lot of this.
Basically, if you look at criticisms, take them seriously. See where they stem from. See if they challenge your own formulation of understanding something. If you dismiss something - study that as well. You may be surprised by how much we dismiss on account of a bruised ego or a side effect of identity politics.
Siiiiiiiiiiigh.
Politics.
It's just a religion by another name that functions by indoctrination of the sheeple and the deification of a material "leader." Yeah, yeah - I might come off as "oh, I'm like, soooooooo past THAT" but no - it's not coming from a place of elitist intellectualism. Where it's coming from is a place of "it is what it is" with a side of sadness.
This is how it is and how larger material structures of government function.
I catch myself from time to time making comments while watching an episode of Heroes or LOST, "There they go killing Black people again!" or "ABC hates Black people!!!" - but when I do this and crack jokes at the ridiculousness of such blatant racism or blindness of multiculturalism, it's often to elicit a laugh or an act of affirmation from someone who's watching it with me.
Like, "This PISSES ME OFF!"
"WHOOOOOOOO! Yeah, it pisses me off, TOO!!!"
"We're so AwEsome!"
::pat selves on back::
"WHOOOOOOOO! Yeah, it pisses me off, TOO!!!"
"We're so AwEsome!"
::pat selves on back::
Why do I do this? Why do so much of us do this? I suppose for me, it's an affirmation that all this struggle into coming into my identity or understanding of the world around me wasn't in vain. That my opinions are, in fact, valid, because they so easily elicit validation. They're valid because there is a group mentality that supports my statements. They are real. They hold water. They matter.
But often... though a lot of these "witty" remarks have come through processing and struggle and questioning things - by the time they come out in a social environment, they've lost some power because they've become cookie cutter statements. It doesn't mean they're not longer true, but that they're no longer "subversive" - they no longer hold any profound weight or value to me because they're things that reside on the tip of my tongue. Memorized slogans. Politics worn as fashion statements.
No processing there. Because it's already been processed. Like Kraft singles.
Mmm... Kraft singles.... ::drools::
But yeah. I get it. I still do it. It's hard feeling alone and unheard. But what I'm coming to understand is that as long as I understand and hear it myself... as long as it resonates with me and challenges me and doesn't feel pressured to conform for the sake of affirmation, then I am well on my way of becoming a more fully integrated being.
Socially, I've been plugging out a bit. And Facebook... has lost its mojo, you could say. It's still a useful tool, for sure, but I dunno... there's something about status updates (which I still utilize!!) that creeps me out. Like, WHY? Why do I feel the need to announce that I am sick? To seek sympathy? Why do others feel the need to announce that they got the iPhone or saw The Dark Knight?
To affirm that we matter? To validate our lifestyles? To assure ourselves that we're not alone?
Again - not throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
But isn't it disturbing when you catch yourself in that moment?
Why do we care that other's care? Why do we care if someone we see separate from us affirms that we're right? Why all this emphasis on the left hemispheres of our brains?
I suppose the HEART of this post is - why ESCHEW one part completely in favor of another? I don't mean it in a lazy sense that EVERYTHING HAS VALUE, but I think it's productive to seek the value in something we automatically are inclined to eschew. Like the esoterics who discounted 90% of Esoteric Agenda, only favoring the last 12 minutes that makes sense to them, that makes them feel good, that makes them feel like their viewpoint... MATTERS.
Yeah, yeah... we are allllll special.
But no, really look at that. "We are all special."
Not in a material sense. Not to be quantified in a list of accomplishments.
Seriously look at that statement. "We are all special." 4 words. Once you get past the surface...
"We are all special."
What does that mean to you?
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