SethianSeth
Jedi
Had the opportunity to check out this new documentary for it's first run in a theater. I watched the preview and it seemed promising, but I was particularly interested in how they would portray this phenomenon with regards to the following topics:
*Compilation of empirical information which demands that this phenomenon be taken seriously as being produced by an intelligence outside of what we consider to be current human technology.
*Analysis of symbology/geometry/general "messages" of the circles and specific application of what does one do with this information?
I also deliberately reserved research on the filmmaker (Suzanne Taylor http://TheConversation.org) and those being interviewed in the film, in an attempt to take it in as objectively as possible - just what was being presented. My girlfriend and I walked into the theater to find it was the last showing of the run, and there would be a talk back with the filmmaker and a few panelists so we would be able to get her live take as well!
I must say that, as a primer, this documentary touched on most of the basic information about crop circles that I was familiar with: the new geometry (squaring the circle), the "warning" element, the "2012 connection (to put it in a broad sense)," the hoaxers and a question of where and why they came about/who is funding them, the electrical anomalies/dowsing, the bending/twisting of grain, the balls of light that have been witnessed to often proceed the phenomenon, and the "interactive" element in which specific questions are addressed, etc. I would say that this movie would be useful to someone who was open to exploring the phenomenon, but didn't have any context for how to begin or had previously dismissed the whole thing as "haven been proven to be generated by hoaxers." Seeing these magnificent creations on the big screen was remarkable, it must be said.
But, this is where it's usefulness ended. I am in no way an expert with regards to crop circles, so many of the faces interviewed were either foreign to me or just vaguely familiar. However, a red flag went up when Daniel Pinchbeck became a prominent commentator. I had read his book 2012 as well as a few interviews and found him to be misogynistic, and completely fixated on the idea of hallucinogens as integral to this shift in consciousness humanity is embarking upon. Like Graham Hancock, he seems to want to fill the void left by Terrence McKenna without the same strong desire to bring the "unknown" or spiritual reality in alliance with the advances of science ie. rigorous testing and empirical data intended to approach objective truth. He sees the problems somewhat clearly, but is unable to escape the wishy-washy. This became the problem of the movie as a whole, which began to suffer internal inconsistencies between commentators (a sign of lack of coherent vision from the filmmaker), as well as some outright wrong information (global warming is mentioned a few times as a potential problem the crop circles may be able to help). The last 1/4th of the movie seemed intent to drive home one feel good message to unite them all: There is life out there, and it wants to help!
I do want to reiterate that this movie could be useful as a primer, so I don't want to entirely dismiss it. Someone could very easily delve deeper after having seen it. As far as dangerous mis/disinformation it seemed relatively harmless (a few bumps in the road).
However, I was very interested to hear the Ms. Taylor speak and ask her whether she deliberately downplayed the cataclysmic/"we oppose the deceiver" warning element of crop circles so that people would look deeper themselves and to keep the feature manageable, or if she had an agenda to conceal it. It became quickly clear to me that she didn't even want to confront the topic at all. I asked her why she had left that very famous image of the Grey "we oppose the deceiver" circle out, and she essentially downplayed it as being one of the crop circles that was still open to debate regarding it being a hoax. Interesting. I wanted to see what she thought we should do with the circles beyond wake up to the idea of "other" intelligent life "out there." I asked her if she had come across from her research/interviews anything that would help the viewer/seeker apply this phenomenon actively to their life, and she went on a grand speech about how there is love and unity and if we accept this as a species everything could be better and who knows where we will go! It was abundantly clear that after "25 years of research" regarding the crop circle phenomenon, she hadn't any concrete internally consistent thesis to speak of. Not to mention, one of her panelists (named Jodi Serota www.jodiserota.com) who was a "psychic and channel," took the opportunity to respond to my line of questioning with a series of ideas about how being a psychic and channel, you have to trust what comes to you and let it speak and THEN it can take you in a direction that you will later look back on as being purposeful and directed. It seemed to me that she was from the school of "channelers" that gets the "gift of communication" and decides it is her duty to parrot "higher information" without any desire to test it and analyze it. Again, I haven't done enough research into her yet to be certain of this assertion but that is what I was able to glean from her words.
On one hand, I left the movie disappointed at an opportunity lost to provide clear and focused information on a subject that should serve as a truly applicable life changing revelation for people all over the world. I had mild hopes that this movie could be that on a larger scale. It seems the movie may be gaining some steam after a favorable NYTimes review and interest from Rosie O'Donnel, and it is truly a shame that this woman will be yet another new ager spouting the "embrace love and we will become the change" line to wider audiences.
On the other hand, it was a marvelous learning experience to witness real information and nuggets of truth embedded in hypnotizing illusion at work in a live dynamic. The Q&A session was delightfully maddening in this way. I am sure a lot of you have had the opportunity to experience this yourselves, but I am very new to the "new age" scene and the way very real and important information was weaved together with bullshit was fascinating to say the least.
I wanted to share this here in case the movie does make wider distribution outside of NYC to say "don't bother unless you have a friend that is mildly interested, and needs a feel good primer to the subject." Then again, you could just point said friend to The Wave Series/Secret History of the World and help them avoid wasting a lot of time with speakers that might not have a lot to say outside of sound bites about consciousness/DNA/magnetic fields.
That all being said, here is a list of those interviewed in the film. I am unfamiliar with most of them. Maybe those of you with more expertise on the subject will have something to say about one or more of these folks and whether their work/ideas is worth further exploration. I plan to look into a few of them:
Daniel Pinchbeck
John Martineau
Michael Glickman
John Mack
Andy Thomas
Barbara Lamb
Palden Jenkins
Kerry McKenna
Janet Ossebaard
Allen Brown
And here is a link to the movie's official website: www.whatonearththemovie.com
*Compilation of empirical information which demands that this phenomenon be taken seriously as being produced by an intelligence outside of what we consider to be current human technology.
*Analysis of symbology/geometry/general "messages" of the circles and specific application of what does one do with this information?
I also deliberately reserved research on the filmmaker (Suzanne Taylor http://TheConversation.org) and those being interviewed in the film, in an attempt to take it in as objectively as possible - just what was being presented. My girlfriend and I walked into the theater to find it was the last showing of the run, and there would be a talk back with the filmmaker and a few panelists so we would be able to get her live take as well!
I must say that, as a primer, this documentary touched on most of the basic information about crop circles that I was familiar with: the new geometry (squaring the circle), the "warning" element, the "2012 connection (to put it in a broad sense)," the hoaxers and a question of where and why they came about/who is funding them, the electrical anomalies/dowsing, the bending/twisting of grain, the balls of light that have been witnessed to often proceed the phenomenon, and the "interactive" element in which specific questions are addressed, etc. I would say that this movie would be useful to someone who was open to exploring the phenomenon, but didn't have any context for how to begin or had previously dismissed the whole thing as "haven been proven to be generated by hoaxers." Seeing these magnificent creations on the big screen was remarkable, it must be said.
But, this is where it's usefulness ended. I am in no way an expert with regards to crop circles, so many of the faces interviewed were either foreign to me or just vaguely familiar. However, a red flag went up when Daniel Pinchbeck became a prominent commentator. I had read his book 2012 as well as a few interviews and found him to be misogynistic, and completely fixated on the idea of hallucinogens as integral to this shift in consciousness humanity is embarking upon. Like Graham Hancock, he seems to want to fill the void left by Terrence McKenna without the same strong desire to bring the "unknown" or spiritual reality in alliance with the advances of science ie. rigorous testing and empirical data intended to approach objective truth. He sees the problems somewhat clearly, but is unable to escape the wishy-washy. This became the problem of the movie as a whole, which began to suffer internal inconsistencies between commentators (a sign of lack of coherent vision from the filmmaker), as well as some outright wrong information (global warming is mentioned a few times as a potential problem the crop circles may be able to help). The last 1/4th of the movie seemed intent to drive home one feel good message to unite them all: There is life out there, and it wants to help!
I do want to reiterate that this movie could be useful as a primer, so I don't want to entirely dismiss it. Someone could very easily delve deeper after having seen it. As far as dangerous mis/disinformation it seemed relatively harmless (a few bumps in the road).
However, I was very interested to hear the Ms. Taylor speak and ask her whether she deliberately downplayed the cataclysmic/"we oppose the deceiver" warning element of crop circles so that people would look deeper themselves and to keep the feature manageable, or if she had an agenda to conceal it. It became quickly clear to me that she didn't even want to confront the topic at all. I asked her why she had left that very famous image of the Grey "we oppose the deceiver" circle out, and she essentially downplayed it as being one of the crop circles that was still open to debate regarding it being a hoax. Interesting. I wanted to see what she thought we should do with the circles beyond wake up to the idea of "other" intelligent life "out there." I asked her if she had come across from her research/interviews anything that would help the viewer/seeker apply this phenomenon actively to their life, and she went on a grand speech about how there is love and unity and if we accept this as a species everything could be better and who knows where we will go! It was abundantly clear that after "25 years of research" regarding the crop circle phenomenon, she hadn't any concrete internally consistent thesis to speak of. Not to mention, one of her panelists (named Jodi Serota www.jodiserota.com) who was a "psychic and channel," took the opportunity to respond to my line of questioning with a series of ideas about how being a psychic and channel, you have to trust what comes to you and let it speak and THEN it can take you in a direction that you will later look back on as being purposeful and directed. It seemed to me that she was from the school of "channelers" that gets the "gift of communication" and decides it is her duty to parrot "higher information" without any desire to test it and analyze it. Again, I haven't done enough research into her yet to be certain of this assertion but that is what I was able to glean from her words.
On one hand, I left the movie disappointed at an opportunity lost to provide clear and focused information on a subject that should serve as a truly applicable life changing revelation for people all over the world. I had mild hopes that this movie could be that on a larger scale. It seems the movie may be gaining some steam after a favorable NYTimes review and interest from Rosie O'Donnel, and it is truly a shame that this woman will be yet another new ager spouting the "embrace love and we will become the change" line to wider audiences.
On the other hand, it was a marvelous learning experience to witness real information and nuggets of truth embedded in hypnotizing illusion at work in a live dynamic. The Q&A session was delightfully maddening in this way. I am sure a lot of you have had the opportunity to experience this yourselves, but I am very new to the "new age" scene and the way very real and important information was weaved together with bullshit was fascinating to say the least.
I wanted to share this here in case the movie does make wider distribution outside of NYC to say "don't bother unless you have a friend that is mildly interested, and needs a feel good primer to the subject." Then again, you could just point said friend to The Wave Series/Secret History of the World and help them avoid wasting a lot of time with speakers that might not have a lot to say outside of sound bites about consciousness/DNA/magnetic fields.
That all being said, here is a list of those interviewed in the film. I am unfamiliar with most of them. Maybe those of you with more expertise on the subject will have something to say about one or more of these folks and whether their work/ideas is worth further exploration. I plan to look into a few of them:
Daniel Pinchbeck
John Martineau
Michael Glickman
John Mack
Andy Thomas
Barbara Lamb
Palden Jenkins
Kerry McKenna
Janet Ossebaard
Allen Brown
And here is a link to the movie's official website: www.whatonearththemovie.com
