Zeitgeist Addendum

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Zeitgeist Addendum
Original title Zeitgeist Addendum
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2008
length 124 minutes
Rod
Director Peter Joseph
script Peter Joseph
production Peter Joseph
music Peter Joseph
camera Peter Joseph
cut Peter Joseph
chronology

←  Predecessor
Zeitgeist

Successor  →
Zeitgeist: Moving Forward

Zeitgeist: Addendum is a film produced by Peter Joseph in 2008, which uses the means of a documentary to deepen and supplement reflections on the 2007 film Zeitgeist by the same director.

The film deals with the American Federal Reserve System , the CIA , forms of government, religions and the corporate and economic situation in the world using examples from the USA. He concludes that there is corruption inherent in these institutions, which can only be harmful to humanity as a whole and should be replaced. The film describes the “ Venus Project ” as an imperfect, but nowadays possible solution. In 2011, Zeitgeist: Moving Forward was the director's third film on this subject.

According to the director Peter Joseph, the film tries to uncover the causes of the ubiquitous social corruption and at the same time offer a solution. In this conclusion, the film emphasizes that any belief system always creates a need for addiction. Concrete possibilities are presented how the current monetary system can be weakened. The film suggests various approaches that should lead to a “social transformation”: among others, boycott the big banks that make up the Federal Reserve System, hiding the mainstream mass media, boycott the military and abandon energy dependency on the big energy companies.

Publication and response

Zeitgeist: Addendum was first shown publicly at the 5th Annual Artivist Film Festival in Los Angeles, California on October 2, 2008 and was made available online for free on October 4, 2008.

YouTube views

The film received 2 million views (as of April 17, 2011) on the YouTube video portal within 419 days . According to YouTube statistics, the film is particularly popular in the USA , Brazil and Saudi Arabia .

content

Zeitgeist: The content of the addendum is divided into four parts.

Part I - The Modern Money Mechanics

Part I criticizes the behavior of American banking (fractional-reserve banking), specifically the creation of money through loans. The argumentation of the film is based on the document "Modern Money Mechanics", which was published by the criticized organization (FED) and has roughly the following content: Dollar bills are printed or money is generated electronically when the Federal Reserve Bank treasury notes and bonds buys. This money then ends up in commercial banks. When the money is deposited in a bank, it is "increased" through the application of the fractional reserve system and loaned to the customers of the bank. The film claims that this system is “absurd” because the interest that has to be paid back on a loan at some point was not also created as money at the beginning. There will always be a lack of money in the overall system. The film compares this fact with the game "Reise nach Jerusalem", in which one always has to miss out. This inevitably creates debts somewhere that can never be paid back because the interest does not exist because it was not created.

Part II - The Trap of Debt and Fear

Part II is a documentary-style interview with John Perkins , author of the bestselling book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man . In this interview, too, he describes his professional experience, which was already presented in the book, as an economic hitman: as a civilian person who was hired by the CIA and sent to various areas of the world in order to produce certain political and / or economic changes there. He admits that on several occasions he has helped the CIA and ruling political and economic elites infiltrate foreign sovereign governments when they put the interests of the people above those of the international economy. This behavior is not wanted by the CIA and leading US elites.

Part III - The solution is: "Resource-oriented instead of profit-oriented"!

Part III describes the Venus Project , a proposal drawn up by Jacque Fresco . The film portrays the Venus project as a sustainable form of leadership and possible solution for humanity today on earth. Its main goal is the creation of a “resource-based” economy through modern technology. In this, the maximum profit should not be decisive for objectives, but the sustainability of raw materials and resources in the overall ecological balance.

Part IV - Evolution calls for development into new realities!

Part IV aims to show that the things that go wrong in our society are the fundamental result of a collective ignorance of the most basic realizations of human reality. What is meant here are the constantly developing and improving nature and the symbiotic aspects of the laws of nature. The film describes the current American system as one that works against these aspects and should therefore be replaced by a more developed system, just as old systems have been replaced by better new ones countless times in the past. It is assumed that there is not much time left for this change.

The film then suggests actions that are intended to create a “social transformation”, such as B. the boycott of large banks, mainstream media, the military and large energy companies in order to generate a critical mass in the population that no longer wants to live in this "outdated" system and shows this through their way of life.

Awards

On October 2nd, 2008 the film won the "Artivist Spirit Award - Best Feature" at the Artivist Film Festival 2008. This was also its world premiere during the festival's opening night.

The co-organizer Dr. Bettina Wolff said in a speech:

“The failure of our world to solve the problems of war, poverty and corruption rest in a cruel ignorance of what guides human behavior. Zeitgeist: Addendum addresses the real source of instability in our society while offering a fundamental long-term solution. Director Peter Joseph has the ability to choose a risky subject and turn it into a visually, emotionally and intellectually engaging affair - and do it from a higher angle. "

On October 9, 2008, the film was rated among the 19 best on the Guardian's Weekly Viral Video Chart, which is based on the number of links and video links on other websites. In this case, the spot was linked in approximately 2 million blogs.

criticism

G. Edward Griffin , author of The Creature of Jekyll Island , criticized the film for promoting collectivist ideas. He said, "This film does not offer a cure, it offers a mega dose of the disease itself."

Radio presenter and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones gave the film negative feedback. In his opinion, the film has "good aspects, but offers wrong solutions." He believes the film is like "rat poison". “98% good, but the 2% will kill you.” According to Jones, Zeitgeist: Addendum states that greed is a major cause of our situation today, but in his opinion that is not the whole truth. It would also be about power and power centralization through globalization.

The journalist Christoph Cadenbach points out that interest in economics is defined as part of the return on investments made with the capital borrowed . In this way, contrary to what is claimed in the film, they can be repaid without any lack of money in the overall system.

literature

  • Simon Spiegel: The wonderful documented. Utopian designs in non-fictional film. In Stefanie Kreuzer, Uwe Durst (Ed.): The wonderful: Dimensions of a phenomenon in art and culture. Wilhelm Fink, Leiden 2018, ISBN 978-3-7705-6239-8 , pp. 115-132; here: pp. 121–132.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Zeitgeist, the Movie , IMDb.com
  2. ↑ http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/5th-annual-artivist-film-festival/story.aspx?guid=%7B0A616A0D-1997-45BC-ADE5-D9BC9FD14AEA%7D&dist=hppr (link not available)
  3. ^ Guardian.co.uk , Viral Video Chart
  4. ↑ ZEITGEIST MOVEMENT AND THE VENUS PROJECT - AN ANALYSIS ( Memento from October 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Alex Jones , Zeitgeist Addendum review
  6. ↑ Christoph Cadenbach, The Zeitgeist. A portrait of the conspiracy theorist Peter Joseph , in: Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, May 6, 2011, p. 55 f. ( online under the title Servants of Truth , accessed August 26, 2011)