Zeitgeist: The Movie

For other uses, see Zeitgeist (disambiguation).

Zeitgeist, the Movie
Produced by	Peter Joseph
Distributed by	GMP LLC
Release date	2007
Running time	116 min
Language	English

Zeitgeist, the Movie is a 2007 web film, produced by Peter Joseph, that presents a number of facts related to Christianity, the attacks of 9/11, and the Federal Reserve Bank, as well as theories related to those three topics. It was released free online via Google Video in June of 2007. A remastered version was presented as a global premiere on November 10, 2007 at the 4th Annual Artivist Film Festival & Artivist Awards. The creator lists sources and an interactive transcript (which goes into more details) on his website.

Structure

Horus left and Jesus right

Part I: The Greatest Story Ever Told

Part I evaluates Christian beliefs established in the Bible and critiques the historicity of the Bible. In furtherance of the Jesus myth hypothesis, this part argues that the historical Jesus is a literary and astrological hybrid, and that the Bible is based on astrological principles documented by many ancient civilizations, especially pertaining to movement of the sun through the sky and stars. The movie specifically mentions the story links between Jesus Christ and the Egyptian Sun God Horus. According to the movie, Religion and myths in general can be used to motivate people to be good or remember important astrological occurrences, but ultimately if the majority of people believe in something that is not true, then they are in danger of being controlled (or oppressed).

Part II: All the World's a Stage

File:Zeitgest-intro.jpg

A clip from the introduction of the film

According to Part II, the United States was warned about the impending September 11, 2001 attacks, that NORAD was purposely confused through wargames to allow the planes to reach their targets, and how the World Trade Center buildings underwent a controlled demolition. Additionally, the film argues that six of the named hijackers are still alive, that Hani Hanjour could not have flown Flight 77 into the Pentagon, that the Bush Administration covered up the truth in the 9/11 Commission Report, and that the mainstream media has failed to ask important questions about the official account. The movie claims 9/11 was engineered to justify going to war with Iraq, remove civil liberties from the general public and make more money for the people in power.

Part III: Don't Mind the Men Behind the Curtain

The Federal Reserve

According to Part III, powerful bankers have been conspiring for world domination and increased power and the rich of society have been using their wealth to increase financial panic and foster a consolidation of independent competing banks. The film details the Theory of Electronic Conspiracy and claims that the Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the United States, was created in order to steal the wealth of the nation. It makes claims of war profiteering by a rich few. It describes the goal of these bankers as world power over a controllable public. This section also claims that there is a clandestine movement to usurp the American constitution and US dollar by merging the United States, Canada and Mexico into a single-currency (the Amero) North American Union, a super-state similar to the European Union, which the movie maintains, together alongside with the African Union and the proposed Asian Union, will gradually be merged into a One World government. The movie concludes that under such a government, every human being will be implanted with a RFID microchip which will be used to monitor individuals and suppress dissent. It also claims the IRS and the Federal Income Tax are unconstitutional and there are no laws which state that citizens must pay it. The movie ends, however, on an optimistic note, expressing confidence at the overthrow of oppressive forces and the ultimate triumph of revolution.

Criticism

In addition to attracting significant public interest, it has been criticized for relying too heavily on anecdotal evidence and for using unidentified, undated, and unsourced video news clips, voice-overs, quotes, and book citations without page numbers. In a piece entitled Internet idiocy: the latest pandemic, the Arizona Daily Wildcat refers to the film as "internet bullshit" saying that "witty sayings, fear tactics and a cool, assertive air all enable them to convince the unwitting public of their points" while comparing the legitimacy of the film's theories to those of creationists. In one of its few mainstream reviews the Irish Times called it "unhinged" and accused it of offering nothing but "surreal perversions of genuine issues and debates".

See also

• 9/11 conspiracy theories
• 911: In Plane Site - the movie
• Jesus Christ in comparative mythology
• Fractional reserve banking

External links

• Zeitgeistmovie.com Official website
• Zeitgeist: The Movie at IMDb
• Wikia filmguide entry
• Companion Guide to Zeitgeist by Acharya S (2007)