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Zeitgeist: Moving Forward

Published on September 10, 2011 in Movie Reviews, Philosophy and Youtube. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

We must become the change we want to see in the world.

-Mohandas Gandhi

I believe that as a species, we have arrived at a kind of crossroads. We can continue on the path we are currently on, which will no doubt lead to our own destruction. Or, we have the opportunity to take a higher path; a path of reason and enlightenment, a path of peace, a path of freedom, a path that could mean our survival and prosperity for thousands of years into the future.

Zeitgeist: Moving Forward is the third installment of what has become one of the most popular documentaries to ever race viral across the Internet. At their core, the Zeitgeist films have been about understanding the nature of societal evolution. Unlike the previous two films, Zeitgeist and Zeitgeist: Addendum, Zeitgeist: Moving Forward puts forth some concrete solutions to the rampant societal degradation that we are now faced with.

You will have to bear with me here, because I am by no means an expert in any of these topics, but I will do my best to relay my understanding of the science based solutions that Zeitgeist has brought to my attention.

Peter Joseph, the creator of the Zeitgeist films, advocates a thing called ‘The Resource Based Economy.’ Now, at first glance, I have to admit, it seems kinds of Marxist. Basically (very basically), a Resource Based Economy asserts that all resources (i.e. everything necessary for human life and human civilization) should be deemed the collective heritage of everyone. The scientific method would be utilized to take inventory of all the available resources that we need, like: clean air, fresh water, food, raw materials for construction, and arable land for growing crops. This inventory would be used to discover the earth’s ‘carrying capacity,’ which is the number human inhabitants that the earth can comfortably accommodate. After this information is known, the RBE would make use of ‘mechanization,’ or the use of machines and technology to free human beings from repetitive/mundane labor. In this economy, money, or the system of working for money, would be unnecessary. Science would be used to create a state of efficiency so extreme that lack of any kind would become a thing of the past. In the RBE, the emphasis would be on ‘Access’ over ‘Ownership.’ Hunger, poverty, and crime would (in theory) virtually disappear. If everyone has access to everything that they need, then there would be no poverty. In the RBE you would ‘own’ nothing, but have ‘access’ to everything.

I know, I know… it sounds utopian and Marxist, and it may be. I haven’t really made my mind up yet. There is a lot of information to go through, and I am just scratching the surface. However, whether or not the RBE is a viable solution, it is apparent that the current system has set us on a collision course with doom. I don’t care how much money you print or how much wealth you think you have: once we start running out of stuff, the shit is going to hit the fan. When the oil stops flowing and the shelves run dry, a lot of people are going to starve to death. The ones that don’t will be freaking out! When the Ponzi debt scheme that the central banks have played on us collapses (and it will collapse), the welfare checks are going to stop coming. The same people who are happy now in their free housing, with their free food, and free luxury items are going to turn into desperate animals when it all goes away. The massive global debt, which really only exists on paper, cannot be repaid, for it doesn’t correspond with tangible resources. It is completely made up, just like the paper money that they are printing out faster than you can shake a stick at it. I don’t know whether or not this insanity is deliberate, but it doesn’t really matter now. If we don’t find a better system, we are indeed headed into an economic apocalypse that will make the Great Depression look like a cake walk.

Zeitgeist: Moving Forward puts forth a lot of ideas that may have tremendous merit, but I’m not sure the world is ready for them. We are a wonderful species; so full of promise, so full of beautiful dreams, but at the same time we are capable of such horrifying nightmares. This film brings to light a lot of self-knowledge about the human race. It’s very moving, especially the ending. I hope we overcome our demons some day, and are able to live in a world like Zeitgeist envisions, but without a doubt – we have a long road ahead of us.

Battle L.A. SUCKS!

Published on March 21, 2011 in Movie Reviews. 0 Comments

I am so sick and tired of the crap science fiction that Hollywood tirelessly regurgitates these days. Battle Los Angeles; what can I say about this movie, Hmm… how about, I like it better when it was called ‘Independence Day.

If you decide to go see Battle L.A. looking for good acting, you’re gonna be disappointed. If you’re looking for a well thought out plot, sorry, it has none. But, if your sole intent on spending a precious two hours of your life to see this movie is to behold a series of gratuitous explosions, and endless firefights between U.S. Marines and a nameless/faceless alien enemy, then you will most certainly get your money’s worth.

Ever since H. G. Wells published his masterpiece, War of the Worlds, no-talent hacks have tried to imitate his brilliance. By and large they have failed. One of the intrinsic qualities of vintage sci-fi is the intimate descriptive detail. The aliens in War of the Worlds had a personality. Sure, it was a cold, malevolent personality, but they had one. There were explanations to things, and the science wasn’t just hinted at. It was a intrigal part of the story.

One of the things I was expecting from a movie like this is a feeling of ominous, looming, doom. In all the great invasion movies, there was a part where mankind was defeated, and they knew they were defeated. The aliens had won, and now the stragling bands of survivors were awaiting their end, trying desperatly to survive. Battle L.A. did not deliver this at all. Yes, the aliens were powerful, but it hardley ‘felt’ like they were capable of crushing us. And the way they went down in the end… shameful.

In War of the Worlds, the Martians made a move on earth out of sheer desperation. Their planet was dying. Wells was very careful to make the reader understand that the Martians either had long since wiped out microbial life and forgot it existed, or it simpley never arose on Mars. Either way, the Martians were blindsided by their existence on earth. If this were not the case, nothing would have stopped them from making the earth their new summer home. In Battle L.A., just like Independence Day, the alien’s technology is used against them is something I unaffectionately refer to as the ‘Achilles’ Heal plot.’ ((sigh)) To think that an advanced alien species would have such an obvious and exploitable weakness defies reason. In Independance Day, Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum upload a computer virus (a computer virus!!!) to the Alien’s computer network, which was piggybacking off of our own satiliets (like they couldn’t bring their own), and thus throw a monkey wrench into their plans of conquest. Anyone who knows anything about computer code can tell you how rediculous this is. It’s hard enough for us to write programs that work cross-platform on our own technology, much less an alien technology that is supposed to be light-years more advanced. In Battle L.A., the aliens have a system of unmanned attack drones, which are comanded by a central control module (of course). And when the Marines bring it down, the hordes of attack drones all fall harmlessly to the earth. Such non-sense!

If we are ever visited by aliens, I pray to all that is holy that they are of the peaceful, enlightened variety, because if they are not we are pretty much toast. By the very fact that they could have traversed the unimaginable distances between the stars to us would mean that they would by necessity have to be astronomically more advanced than us. If such beings wanted us gone, we would be utterly defenseless. We could be annihilated from orbit, with no danger to themselves. There would be no Marines to save us, no magical computer viruses, and I seriously doubt that they would overlook the possibility of micro-organisms. We would be completely at their mercy, so lets just hope and pray to every god we have that such creatures never take notice of us or this lowly dirt-ball that we call home.