Description:
The movie is in four parts. It mixes traditional documentary style interviews, visualisation, and commentary with an artistic 'story' that's split up and shown in parts throughout the film. There are also a few funny 'sketches' inserted at various places to help make a point and break up the heavy nature of the content.
Before part one there is an overly-long nine minute introduction which has the first part of the artistic 'story' and a very interesting mini-autobiography of Jacque Fresco.
Part one does a fantastic job of explaining the relevant points from the Nature Vs. Nurture debate. It uses both empirical and analytical study to explain the biological and psychological basis for many of the negative human behaviours we see today including many types of addiction, violence, distrust, lack of empathy, and greed.
Part two is a devastating analysis of the monetary market system, which very clearly shows how the current system creates the perfect environment for nurturing the negative behaviours described in part one.
Part three presents the ideal case for how humans should conduct themselves on this planet, as if we suddenly arrived here and had the option to design our society such that it provides for everyone and eliminates the causes of negative human behaviours. It contrasts these ideas with the current system showing why the negative aspects of today's society would not occur and how we could have the benefits of a modern first-world luxury lifestyle on a global scale. However, this part also goes into detail about Jacque's 'Circular City' design as if this were the only logical conclusion for how a city should be designed within this ideal society, when really it is just one idea amongst any number of potential designs.
Part four re-assesses today's society in light for the first three parts, saying what will happen if we do nothing. This part also suggests that change will only occur after things get much worse.
My opinions:
The artistic 'story' element is quite good, despite the cheesy ending. I didn't really like the first part of this as I felt it was too long but I did like how the "men behind the curtain" were portrayed as living in the past with newspapers, cigars, and an old phone while everyone else is wanting change. I also liked the spoof brand names and TV footage on the screens.
The 'funny' interjections were a bit mixed, some were relevant and amusing while others belaboured a point and weren't funny.
As for the main documentary, I feel it could have been much shorter and more concise. The content is really amazing, especially the interviews and how they are edited together. It is worth spending the time to watch it, but I sometimes found myself thinking "get on with it".
The ideal society presented in part three is obviously not achievable immediately, anyone can see that we would need to transition towards it even if the entire planet was in agreement about it. I think that the movie fails to explain this, which will leave people unwilling to believe it is possible.
I was very disappointed with the last part as it presented a despairing view about social change. My personal hopes for this movie were that it would present some possible ways we could 'move forward' and include some calls to action for TZM members and chapters to start the projects required to do so.
However, overall I can't find fault in the arguments presented except for the circular city, which is a fundamentally flawed design because it is highly efficient and not very versatile. When meeting the constantly changing needs of a human population, flexibility and adaptation should be the most important requirements of the design and efficiency should come secondary to these. Evolution has shown us this many times over.
Despite my criticisms of some parts, I still think this is a brilliant film that will help us change the world for the better and therefore a must-watch.
The movie is in four parts. It mixes traditional documentary style interviews, visualisation, and commentary with an artistic 'story' that's split up and shown in parts throughout the film. There are also a few funny 'sketches' inserted at various places to help make a point and break up the heavy nature of the content.
Before part one there is an overly-long nine minute introduction which has the first part of the artistic 'story' and a very interesting mini-autobiography of Jacque Fresco.
Part one does a fantastic job of explaining the relevant points from the Nature Vs. Nurture debate. It uses both empirical and analytical study to explain the biological and psychological basis for many of the negative human behaviours we see today including many types of addiction, violence, distrust, lack of empathy, and greed.
Part two is a devastating analysis of the monetary market system, which very clearly shows how the current system creates the perfect environment for nurturing the negative behaviours described in part one.
Part three presents the ideal case for how humans should conduct themselves on this planet, as if we suddenly arrived here and had the option to design our society such that it provides for everyone and eliminates the causes of negative human behaviours. It contrasts these ideas with the current system showing why the negative aspects of today's society would not occur and how we could have the benefits of a modern first-world luxury lifestyle on a global scale. However, this part also goes into detail about Jacque's 'Circular City' design as if this were the only logical conclusion for how a city should be designed within this ideal society, when really it is just one idea amongst any number of potential designs.
Part four re-assesses today's society in light for the first three parts, saying what will happen if we do nothing. This part also suggests that change will only occur after things get much worse.
My opinions:
The artistic 'story' element is quite good, despite the cheesy ending. I didn't really like the first part of this as I felt it was too long but I did like how the "men behind the curtain" were portrayed as living in the past with newspapers, cigars, and an old phone while everyone else is wanting change. I also liked the spoof brand names and TV footage on the screens.
The 'funny' interjections were a bit mixed, some were relevant and amusing while others belaboured a point and weren't funny.
As for the main documentary, I feel it could have been much shorter and more concise. The content is really amazing, especially the interviews and how they are edited together. It is worth spending the time to watch it, but I sometimes found myself thinking "get on with it".
The ideal society presented in part three is obviously not achievable immediately, anyone can see that we would need to transition towards it even if the entire planet was in agreement about it. I think that the movie fails to explain this, which will leave people unwilling to believe it is possible.
I was very disappointed with the last part as it presented a despairing view about social change. My personal hopes for this movie were that it would present some possible ways we could 'move forward' and include some calls to action for TZM members and chapters to start the projects required to do so.
However, overall I can't find fault in the arguments presented except for the circular city, which is a fundamentally flawed design because it is highly efficient and not very versatile. When meeting the constantly changing needs of a human population, flexibility and adaptation should be the most important requirements of the design and efficiency should come secondary to these. Evolution has shown us this many times over.
Despite my criticisms of some parts, I still think this is a brilliant film that will help us change the world for the better and therefore a must-watch.