Human Resources
A few quotes to pique your interest…
“Brilliant…Riveting…The amount of material the filmmaker covers and unifies is astounding… Human Resources diagnoses the 20th century.”
- Stephen Soldz, Professor, Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis; President, Psychologists for Social Responsibility
Terrifiying in its implications….Human Resources is a must see for those of us who still take democracy seriously.”
- Bruce E. Levine, Author Commonsense Rebellion
“A Masterpiece. Unless you weep, you may be damaged by this film. Viewer discretion, and love, advised.
- David Kerr Thomson, Professor, Language and Thinking Program at Bard College
I’m pleased to present the second film in my documentary series, Human Resources. If you missed the first, Psywar, you can view it here.
Other quotes about Human Resources are available on the acclaim page of the website, some of which sum up the film quite well. Stephen Soldz refers to a “a unifying theme of the misuses of behavioral psychology to destroy human subjectivity and reduce people to manipulable objects.”
Esentially, this film is about the rise of mechanistic philosphy and the exploitation of human beings under modern hierarhical systems.
Topics covered include behaviorism, scientific management, work-place democracy, schooling, frustration-aggression hypothesis and human experimentation.
It includes origianl interviews with Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Rebecca Lemov (“World as Laboratory”), Christopher Simpson (“The Science of Coercion”), George Ritzer (“The McDonaldization of Society”), Morris Berman (“The Reenchantment of the World”), John Taylor Gatto (“Dumbing us Down”), Alfie Kohn (“What does it mean to be well educated?”) and others.
Some of the images contained in the film have never been seen before outside of a university laboratory, or in some cases a single television broadcast, and were purchased at great expense for a blue collar joe like me. These include an NBC clip from 1974 describing some of the CIA’s MKULTRA experiments on children.
The section on fear-based conditioning will be of special interest to 911 truth activists, as the war on terror is essentailly an experiment by behaviorists writ large. Additionally, the sections on human experimentation and MKULTRA put the lie to the common opinion that the American government cannot keep secrets for any length of time, and that government officials would never attack their own citizens on a significant scale.
As indicated, this film was made on a miniscule budget, so don’t expect immaculate audio-visual quality.
Full film can be viewed here –
http://metanoia-films.org/humanresources.php
If you post the film on other websites, please include that link.
I had issues with my previous film being removed by its hosting site, so I included a mirror and will be posting a download link tomorrow.
My next film, Counter-Intelligence, will explore the rise of black propaganda and other counter-insurgency techniques during the Cold War – both at home and abroad. It should be online in about three months.
Feedback appreciated. Thanks!
- Danse's blog
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Update
Exposure Room has already deleted the film after it received 5,000 views in two days.
It is still available on Open Film; just click "Watch online" at above link. I should have a download link shortly.
Edit -- a download link has been added to the website. If you enjoy the film please download and submit to other video hosting sites. Thanks!
Will dive into this
new film as soon as I have time. Nice going Danse.
Thanks SC
Look forward to your comments.
What a film
What a film Scott. Many details, great or small, spark a sense of recognition when I see your films.
First, there is the word 'metanoia'. I'm somewhat of a lexophile (another compound word derived from Greek) so I had ran across this word before, storing it inside a file I keep of such words, which I find beautiful. In particular words derived from ancient Greek and Latin fascinate me. I had lessons in ancient Greek and Latin in high school, and while many derogatorily refer to these languages as 'dead languages', I strongly feel this is off the mark completely, because they live on inside our own. I never thought I'd come across that word on 911blogger....it's pleasurable to see it used. When a word takes significant effort to describe, in my opinion, it increases its value, because words like these 'put a finger on' abstract things that would be difficult to express if they didn't exist.
I recognized you used the music of Philip Glass... I'd been listening to him recently and that song specifically. Song is a bit meager to describe his music. It's fun to recognize these things in your films though.
You also featured Burrhus Skinner. I remember him. I used to have long conversations with a teacher in 3D modeling over a drink in our local hangout. His expertise in 3D modeling required him to understand human anatomy in great detail: the properties of a human eye and the retina, muscle groups, skin, etc. But to merely describe him as a 3D designer would be an injustice, he has a great general knowledge, especially in the field of human psychology, neurology, sociology and.. behaviorism.
Sometimes we would end up on the same train home from college, and I would sit next to him as he was designing some flapping bird in a 3D construct on the large, powerful, battery slurping laptop he had with him. We discussed all manner of topics, and behaviorism was one of them.
And so it came to pass that, one day on the train back, he urged me to read a specific passage from a book by Burrhus Skinner, and he lent me the book. I don't remember the title, but I looked up Skinner on Wikipedia and it must have been "Beyond Freedom and Dignity". Knowing we were both rather anti-authoritarian, he probably delighted in the prospect of me reading the rather disturbed collectivist thoughts of Skinner on human society. Skinner making the case for overcoming our moral inhibition regarding behavioral conditioning of the citizenry, it pushed my anger buttons of course. My 3D modeling friend is quite apt at invoking questions and critical thought instead of asserting facts and opinions with authority, so he didn't just go off on a long rant about how perfidious Skinner and his frightful utopian machinations were, rather he would discuss the pros and cons and just generally analyze the subject somewhat dispassionately.
That's what I like about the guy: his unrelenting intellectual curiosity. For the same reasons we discussed 9/11 many times. His open mindedness doesn't make him gullible, because he never prematurely settles on one particular interpretation.
We've had so many discussions about the human brain as well, the fight-or-flight response, savantism, fascinating cognitive defects, optical illusions (3D again). His knowledge of all these things, including the human anatomy almost rendered his own doctor speechless when he correctly diagnosed his own toe ailment to a damaged nerve, referring to it by the Latin medical name. I will send him a link to your work. I'm convinced he'll enjoy it. But I digress.
Your film covers a wide array of topics within a topic: that of mass and individual manipulation. I recognized you used imagery from Charlie Chaplin... he was an absolute genius, pinpointing the irrationality of the rational, satirizing the grandiose delusions of the powerful, and the contrast with the sober worker who is just going about his business trying to make a living. I've worked assembly lines, I know what it's like. I've also worked on phone desks, and I've seen the management techniques that can only be described as 'people farming'. This touches upon my own study of business informatics. It's got less to do with programming as much as it has to do with improving the efficiency of information flow and business processes inside a company.
It used to be that the thinly veiled slavery of industrialization in Western society mostly involved physical tribulation, nowadays the burden is psychological, especially in the service sector of the economy. In other words: drones behind desks. An example of how far this insanity has gone is the France Telecom story: no less than 34 employees of that company committed suicide between 2008 and 2010. When I saw this reported I was horrified, especially at the indifference towards this apparent mental health crisis of modern Western economy. It was reported but it didn't cause the avalanche of critique and outrage I had hoped and expected it would. Business as usual I guess. Wikipedia appears to downplay the incident by citing some statistic. Statistics be damned, what happened there is not normal.
Colin Ross' calm and patient analysis of the CIA experiments conducted after WW II was interesting. The level of apathy and hand waving among the psychiatric community towards these experiments is astonishing. I've heard of Kubark before, too, especially its use in Latin America. I remember seeing a round of 'terrorist arrests' in France, early in the morning, the suspects immediately 'black bagged' , sensory deprivement... you can tell the psychological intimidation, mental destruction tactics and torture experiments pioneered by the CIA have become completely intertwined with law enforcement.
The film ends on an emotional note and I was moved. I like the voice of the narrator, very professional and very much contributory to the film's digestibility. I may have some stylistic objections here and there to some of the editing, and the first part of the movie struggles a bit with trying to paint a cohesive picture of how all the complex facets of behavioral science tie in with and influence our day-to-day lives, but it all builds up to a heart-stirring climax. You don't really attempt to destroy the psychiatrists, psychologists, anthropologists and behaviorists or their line of work directly, you just let us watch and the story tells itself. You get the feeling of watching a runaway malignancy taking hold of the profession: the obsessed and ethically unfathomable transgressions we all know to be possible in even the most ordinary human beings, but seeing it all meticulously dissected in an investigatory piece, whether it be a news article, a book, or a documentary, it's equally revolting every time.
The reason why it's so easy to see that what these 'doctors' did is so transparently wrong is because the raison d'être of their profession is to do the exact opposite of what they did. With great power comes great responsibility. A doctor's profession is one of several where betrayal of trust is the most objectionable violation of all. The depth of moral depravity, the extent to which these sadists violated the Hippocratic Oath defies imagination. They were playing God. Malevolently. In fact, this is an integral part of this particular malicious branch of behaviorism.
In short, another great, selfless piece of art that educates and stirs any caring human being.
Insightful comments
Thanks Snowcrash.
France Télécom and your film
Danse, read this! (— For others: the boldfaced portions are themes covered literally in the film..)
In this, the spate of suicides at France Télécom is indicative of le mal français.More than 60 per cent of its workers are civil servants who joined the company when it was a state monopoly in the belief “that they would be carrying out a noble mission to serve the public,” according to Debout. But since its privatisation in 2004, they have found themselves in a competitive business driven by productivity and cutting-edge technology, with human resource programmes called — in English — “Next” and “It’s time to move”.
Fabrice Sahut, an employee since 1989, put it this way: “We have earphones on our heads all the time now. All the camaraderie is gone. All that’s left of the public service we once knew is nostalgia.”
The Sunday Times — Why are France Télécom employees committing suicide?
Uncanny!
Bitterly ironic
....yes.
"All the camaraderie is gone"
And that, course, is the goal.
The first time I clearly remember hearing the phrase "human resources" was when I was applying for a job at Children's Hospital in Vancouver. Perhaps because it was a hospital, or involved children, but I remember being (almost unconsciously, or instinctively) disturbed that someone actually came up with such a term.
Think of the contempt it shows to humanity and human dignity to refer to "human resources", let alone that every major corporation now has a department bearing that name! I feel the same way about the word. "consumer".
Having completely objectified nature, we are now in the process of completely objectifying human beings.
I also notice the reference to competition. One of the seeming paradoxes of capitalism is that it is defined by competition. Yet study after study after study shows that cooperation is more efficient. This is explained clearly in Alfie Kohn's book "No Contest - The Case Against Competition". In fact, there is no paradox, because it's not really about efficiency, or progress, or higher living standards -- it's about control.
It was the Personnel Dept. when I was a kid
I think it was sometime in the 80's that Personnel Dept.'s became Human Resources Dept.'s.
I had the same sort of instinctive revulsion to it the first time I heard it, that you describe having yourself.
I'm in my home, 1/2 a mile
from where charlie chaplin was born (east lanes but name changed to east street)
Update II
Human Resources has been reviewed on Counterpunch via David Ker Thomson.
http://www.counterpunch.org/thomson11262010.html
Very poetic and (to me) touching review.
Excerpt -
"I advise viewing the first half of Human Resources in the educative mode, learning the ropes of that skein of modernity that has held us so resourcefully to our tasks as good worker bees and advocates of box-style public education. I advise viewing the second half of the film with the willingness to weep that is the corollary of modernist inquiry. Unless you weep, you may be damaged by this film. It answers the significant events of the last century the way a glass answers the implicit questions of a man who peers into its reflective surface—point for point. It corresponds, in short, to reality."
Sinking feeling...
When it was clear that the Bushwhacker was going to gleefully lead us into the illegal, immoral Iraq War... a sinking feeling.
Nothing learned from Vietnam, or so it seemed.
When we learned about the coordinated torture of detainees in Iraq... a sinking feeling.
Nothing learned from humanity, or so it seemed.
When it became clear that 9/11 has an "inside component"... a sinking feeling.
Nothing learned from history...or so it seems sometimes.
Cheers, mates, on with the struggle with history!
Great film.
...
I think the wide publicisation of torture was to encourage
muslim combatants to volunteer to go over to the middle east
hence providing an considerable enemy to justify the west's prolonged occupation
the 183 waterboardings of KSM are different- that's forcing a false confession
they didn't torture just for eeeevillll- it was with a specific purpose in mind
they let evil people loose but the higher-ups had a hidden purpose i reckon
Psywar
If it's any bit as good as "Psywar" was, it's sure to be great...
I'll be watching this tonight, thanks!
Watching it right now
Good stuff again, very well composed, a little more than one hour to go yet. Enjoyed your first one, this is every bit as good. I will send this to "a few more" people, this documentary should get many many views. Thanks!
Edit: how'bout this excerpt:
"Noble’s skill is at such an exalted level that the wise viewer might well hold something in reserve, a suspicion that anything this good, eliciting these sorts of responses from us, might possess its own dark behaviourist powers. Glad we might be to have such a mage as Noble on our side."
Didn't cry but
had to swallow a few times here & there. You are indeed a very talented filmmaker. It will induce some discussion from my friends and family I hope. It's one big wake up call.
Excellent...
Once again, an excellent documentary, Danse. Keep 'em comin'!!!
Excellent film...
Danse.
Thanks Jon
I do appreciate it.
Thanks for making this Danse !!
I love your style on these films.
"Human Resources" is a profound film. The last 50 minutes of the film has a lot of impact.
Films like this help to wake people up.
Thank you!
Human Resources - http://metanoia-films.org/hr_watchonline.php
Throughly Informative
Thank you for making this Danse.
Human Resources
I raved about "Psywar".
"Human Resources" is equally astounding. I've watched it twice
Danse, you have an exceptional aptitude for film making.
I sent the link to my sister
who has a degree in psychology, and she watched the trailer first, and wasn't particularly impressed by it. Said she couldn't really figure out what the film was about, based on what you'd get to see in the trailer. I just watched it myself and I think she has a point. So maybe that could be something to improve and refine a bit. It's only the trailer though, otherwise great eyeopening stuff.
Three Word Synopsis: You're Being Manipulated!
.
Another review
Jan Klimkowski wrote a great review over at the deep politics forum. Gives a fairly detailed synopsis, so worth checking out if you're uncertain whether you want to watch the film.
http://www.deeppoliticsforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5100
Important, well crafted, and deeply unsettling
Your documentary really is a masterpiece.
Everyone should see it. How do we accomplish that?
To those with ears to hear
In lieu of objective data, I intuestimate that roughly 30-40% of the US population would profit little, if any, from viewing this superb film. As expressed by some reviewers, its effect could be viewed as deeply unsettling in an unenlightening manner. As elitist as this may seem, it should serve our mission of awakening more efficiently to forward this documentary only to those with a prayer of doing something constructive with it . . .
Invaluable
Thank you Scott.
Thanks again
...to everyone who commented.
The acclaim quotes on the website are wonderful but they don't really mean anything unless so called "regular" working people (of which I am one) can connect to the film in some way. A few supportive words by one's peers means a great deal.
One of my goals with this series is to explore subject matter that some would consider dry, or ivory tower, or disturbing, and to do it in a way that is actually entertaining, or that at least maintains one's interest. Purists may consider this an affront to the typical documentary method, which pretends to some sort of objectivity while shunning emotive music and clever editing. At the end of the day you just have to go with your own vision.
Vesa mentioned helping to get the word out. If someone could email the link to Tom Feeley at Information Clearing House I'd appreciate it; my emails are getting bounced for some reason.
Donations (link at metanoia-films.org) are also appreciated. I almost broke even with Psywar and hope to do the same this time around.
P.S.
Did anyone watch the two video sequences after the end credits?
I did, yes...
I had to keep with the end credits...you used my favorite Sigur Ros song to heartbreaking effect. Mr. Noble I admire your work...it is truly one of a kind. I've been a fan since "The Third Stage" and, as well as informing me, I don't think I've seen anything you've made that hasn't given me the serious chills at least two or three times during my viewing. Thank you for all you have created and shared.
Thanks LA
Glad someone noticed. But please not with the Mr. nonsense.
Wikileaks, Jullian Assange, Children & the CIA
I have come to the "Children & the CIA" portion of "Human Resources" at about time index 1:30:30.
Since nobody has mentioned it here and I doubt that Scott will bring this up in the remainder of the movie, I want to point out that this is directly related to Jullian Assange of WikiLeaks:
http://nona-people.blogspot.com/2010/10/julian-assange.html
http://www.antifascistencyclopedia.com/allposts/julian-assange-spent-his...
Specifically, there is clear evidence that the Anne Hamilton-Byrne cult which gave its children, including Jullian Assange, LSD, was linked to the CIA (as perhaps one of its bizarre mind-control experiments). Likewise, there is plenty of evidence that Jullian Assange remains under the influence of the CIA and that the agency itself selectively feeds WikiLeaks reams of supposed "leaks" which seem to serve a specific agenda.
Plenty of evidence
"Likewise, there is plenty of evidence that Jullian Assange remains under the influence of the CIA"
Julian Assange
Adrian Lamo
Kevin Poulsen
Pop quiz, which of these have direct, provable links to military intelligence/the national security apparatus?
And which of these people is the subject of a CIA smear campaign?
Wiki latest
from Voltairenet
The more of this type of stuff that gets out, the better prepared the general public will be to comprehend 9/11 truth
http://www.voltairenet.org/article167409.html
Thanks for the tip
but...
Thierry Meyssan
jounaliste et écrivain, président du Réseau Voltaire
Page 3, Janvier en Irak - N°1/9
They may have so much to offer, but if Thierry Meyssan is the decider over there, I'd prefer not to run the risk of being led by the nose, wasting a huge amount of time, as I'm sure the people who bought, read and believed his book "Le Pentagate" have. Meyssan has marketed his books to great effect and is rumored to have become a millionaire off of book sales. I don't even think CIT respects him.
Jim Hoffman also mentions Meyssan on his website:
http://www.911review.com/disinfo/books.html#meyssan
Thanks for your insightful comments on the film SC. About TM...
Thierry Meysan’s first book “La Grande Imposture” about 9/11 came out already in the beginning of March 2002.
Initially, he was on television, and debating in a posed manner with some of the highest officials of French security. By April 2002, Thierry Meysan was blacklisted by all French, and almost all syndicated European media: they were not allowed to have him on, since he was considered such a dangerous “revisionist”. In this state of mass psychosis, very many main-stream journalists seemed to have be competing for a chance to ridicule M. Meysan and his "thought crimes" for fun and profit. His book Pentagate came out already in 2002 as well, and although it was not correct in every aspect, you must hand it to M. Meysan that he launched an important debate, and has paid a heavy price to defend independent journalism and the right to expression of thought. He founded Réseau Voltaire back in 1994 http://www.voltairenet.org/en to offer a forum for independent journalism and guarantee the right for the expression of thought. He carefully mapped how the extreme right was infiltrated into European society, and he was one of the first to cry wolf on the official explanation of the events of September 11th.
The US State Department declared him early a “Persona Non Grata”, and he was told he needed protection to continue living in Paris. He was informed that this protection would cease under Sarkozy, so he had to flee France, and is a Western journalist refugee in Beirut, from where he continues to exercise his profession of an investigative journalist. His writings are well informed, and as you could read from the article above: http://www.voltairenet.org/article167409.html , he already had access to contents of the “leaked” Iraq log of allied warfront communications back in 2004. In fact, he translated it to French on a day by day basis for the whole month of January 2005, and published it as a side column on his site. Western journalists, via contacts like independent journalists of Reseau Voltaire, had access to this at the time, but this nitty gritty reality was not fit to print in our Western media, until Wikileaks released 400.000 “secret” military warlogs on Oct 22, 2010, more than half a decade later. The trouble is that Western journalists who cite articles from Reseau Voltaire find themselves stricken off the list of people who can be invited to any official gathering of western journalists: they are censured, until journalists from Der Spiegel and The New York times are allowed to pick up on the information 5 years later.
It is my sincere hope that 911Blogger remains a venue where independent journalism and analysis is not censored or ridiculed, but debated on its merit.
Best regards from Brussels,
Eric
An example of recent journalism covering a False Flag event:
In an article published TODAY (both in French and English) Thierry Meysan puts to shame the investigation into Rafik Hariri's assasination done by first commissioner in charge of the UN probe, Detlev Mehlis.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article167553.html#article167553
"Revelations on Rafik Hariri’s assassination"
Thierry Meysan is not against international investigations done by independent prosecuters working for the UN or the Crime Against Humanity tribunal in La Hague : He is one of the first to build public opinion for a UN investigation of September 11th 2001 already in the weeks and months after those proven false flag acts of terror.
He does insist, though, that the investigating commissioners do their work professionally, and that their independence and former track-record be beyond reproach. This was unfortunatly not at all the case with former German prosecuter M. Detlev Mehlis, who is notoriously linked to the German and U.S. secret services, and has apparently put the UN-probe once again to shame in the completly discredited investigation of Rafik Hariri's assasination.
M. Meysan's article is a good read on this, an an example of badly needed independent investigative journalism that is lacking in the journals who are not allowed to print anything written by M. Thierry Meysan.
I take everything with a pinch of salt since waking up!
So i'm aware there are inconsistencies with meyssans pentagon stuff- my opinion much alligned with you on the pentagon snowcrash
I do see a lot of useful info on voltairenet.
Like rummaging through muck to find brass.
I appreciate your apprehension though!
MySun
Interesting commentary at
http://www.mysun.co.uk/go/thread/view/88618/26338597/human-resources-a-d...
Thread on DU
Pretty satisfying in that I was banned from this website almost ten years ago.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&add...
Less satisfying is the comment --
"That has to be among the blackest two hours I've spent"
"Highly recommended viewing, but you may need a handful of Prozac to finish it"
What can I say? It was difficult to find the silver lining with this subject matter...
Thank-you!
Both Psy-War and Human Resources are excellent films and a real gift to all of us trying to educate the public about the methods, techniques, technologies that generations of people here and abroad have been subjected to, by those seeking control over their minds/lives/as well as their lands and other resources. It is frightfully sobering. I almost missed the clips tacked onto the very end...
I did find it very depressing, however. I have been struggling over the past couple of weeks with dealing with the internal conflicts of our local group, as well as thinking about strategy for the larger truth movement, given what we are up against, and the resources that we have available to us. Psychology, self understanding, and the understanding of society seems to be a big part of the puzzle, and how we can influence positive social transformation when humanity seems to be under assault on almost every level.
I've been somewhat ill, and reading many books, reviewing films, and I spent a good chunk of Wednesday with a filmmaker working on a new 9/11 truth documentary called twoplustwomakesfour. (see http://www.2plus2makes4.com/ ) and shared my experience with him about how hard it is to gauge how people will react to films- whether films will paralyze or inspire them. One film on 9/11 the local theater owner couldn't even watch (let alone screen) because he found it so depressing...
I know you are working on a third film, and I hope that it will offer some glimmer of hope.
I did receive a book entitled "Don't Be So Defensive!" about improving our communications skills- so that we can peacefully resolve conflict, promote understanding, cooperation, be more conscious in our interactions. I also received an invitation from a local group to meet the author of The Art and Practice of Loving (A pdf is available at- http://www.heartfeltyes.com/) which also strikes me as a useful tool, antidote to the dehumanizing, fracturing, fear mongering culture that we are so immersed in.
I'm very glad that so many films are coming out exposing the depth and nature of the problems we face (Including Deceptions http://www.deceptionsusa.com/ by Chris Pratt, and Renaissance 2.0 and Debunking Money by Damon Vrabel at http://www.csper.org/)... but I think if possible we need to include clues on positive personal, social and global transformation, such as the work of Bill Moyer (His last lecture is posted at http://blip.tv/file/312056).
I am sorry that your aunt never recovered from her internment with Cameron Ewing. I know that I feel somewhat helpless when "Targeted Individuals" come to me for help. I wish there were some simple things one could do to heal oneself, and others, and I will probably keep trying to figure that out. I do hope that you will make at least one film which includes the possibility of healing...
...
Carol, the question you ask here deserves a blog post of its own, IMO.
For some reason, a few people are able to look at the clear evidence for a very dark side to national life here. But judging by our experience many or even most are not.
And even if we do get an audience, and convince folks that this dark side exerts the comprehensive control that we see... what next? What alternative can we imagine or present? Isn't there a bright side at least latent in the situation?
I ask this without a clear idea of an answer. But I suspect others reading your question, or better yet a blog post on the topic, may offer useful answers -- or at least a general direction to suggest.
I've found these articles helpful..
Are Americans a Broken People? Why We've Stopped Fighting Back Against the Forces of Oppression.
http://www.alternet.org/story/144529/are_americans_a_broken_people_why_w...
Are Americans Too Broken to Resist? We need to take a look at what forces in American society are preventing people from being able to resist tyranny and dehumanization.
http://www.alternet.org/media/146128/are_americans_too_broken_by_corpora...
Why Propaganda Trumps Truth - Paul Craig Roberts
Is Anyone Telling us the Truth - Paul Craig Roberts
And this interview: http://www.wfhb.org/news/interchange-truth-about-911-graeme-macqueen-and...
Thanks for the suggestions!
I found the first two articles to be the more "useful"... the author points out that "the truth" about lies/oppression can make the victims feel "shame" and be more paralyzing and dehabilitating and that empowering, inspiring stories/narratives- such as Zinn's "The People's History of the United States" can be more helpful.
Laurie and Graeme's interview was also helpful, especially by pointing out by example that truth tellers make it easier for others to acknowledge the truth and create the powerful nucleus for a movement for truth and justice, as well as pointing out that it is healthy to acknowledge fear, rather than be driven or misdirected by fear. (Thanks, too for the link which I added to my website- Laurie was supposed to be on my radio show, but a thunderstorm/blackout prevented her from doing the show- and I am glad that I finally had the opportunity to hear it- and add the link to my archives.)
I guess that my initial response to 9/11 - starting a Listening Project (the most non-violent thing I could think of) was a good thing, and one of the nucleus's for the truth movement in the Bay Area, and that our presence at anti-war rallies, the events we organized were greatly appreciated by the public and made it infinitely easier to "start conversations or have genuine dialogue about 9/11." I know that we still encounter a huge amount of psychological resistance, and that it is really important for us to understand ourselves, small group dynamics, as well as our culture on a larger scale, to figure out how to heal ourselves and the psychological wounds inflicted by the dominant culture.
I think Bruce E. Levine, Graeme, Laurie, do touch upon key points- including the importance of connection, internally and with like minded souls. The more enlightened the "Movement" is, the more likely it is to be a beacon for the change that we do hope to see. So, I guess as part of my work, I'll continue to seek those processes, solutions, which are healing, empowering and sharing them. That's why I started publishing the Conception and (http://www.communitycurrency.org/perception.html ) Perception Dollars.
Worked first time
Excellent docu- I watched all of it
Good work Danse; well done and thanks!
Poignant link to 9/11 at the end- perfect.
Problem With The Download, Please Help
Hi all, I was finally able to download the movie early this morning, but it won't play on my Mac (Mac OS 10.5.8) It is an .avi. which usually don't work on my machine.
PSYWAR, if I recall correctly, came as a Torrent, and is a .mp4. That one plays fine.
I would like to make normal DVDs of both these titles to spread around in my activism. DVDs that work on any player. That don't require a computer, either.
Can someone please help make this possible, because until that happens we're just "preaching to the choir"...
Again, I need a DVD "Image file" that could be used in "Toast" or "Popcorn."
Creating a DVD
Creating a DVD is called DVD authoring and it isn't easy.
Meanwhile, you should download VLC media player.
no probs on my macbook when i used this
http://911blogger.com/news/2010-11-26/human-resources#comment-242304
You mean
watching it.. or ripping the stream and authoring a DVD from there?
Here's an mp4
Looks pretty "healthy" too: 75 seeders and 6 leechers at the moment.
http://tracker.concen.org/torrents-details.php?id=21513
It would probably be better
It would probably be better if this torrent was uploaded to the regular torrent sites (isohunt, piratebay, etc.)
The ConCen site site hosting it makes you register to use the site, and once in I found the site to be chock full of crazy. Like all the crazies that aren't welcome here seem to be the majority in that dark armpit of the internet.
Creating a DVD
I've "authored" dozens of DVDs. The main steps are these:
1. Convert video file to "dvd type" video and audio files.
2. Set up some kind of menu system (what the user will "click" on to play, notes, pictures, etc.). Kind of like making a Power Point document. The software that does this will then compile the menus, films, etc., into files ready to burn to the physical DVD.
3. Burn the DVD. You need to have a DVD drive that will support writing to a DVD disk. As long as you have that, you shouldn't have trouble having the software to burn the dvd -- some kind almost certainly came with the dvd drive or there are many free programs available.
The good news is that there are lots of programs that will do steps 1 and 2 almost automatically. I only use PCs and am ignorant about Macs. But I found something that might do the trick and is free. Check out "Small DVD" at http://www.smallsoftware.co.uk/smalldvd/ Click on "Small DVD Guide" down near the bottom of the page to get an idea of what the process is. It'll take you a few hours, perhaps, to get your first DVD made, but then your're in! Tip: start with a real short video first to learn the ropes, because you won't have to wait long for results.
Have fun.
Creating a DVD
I've "authored" doz...
Sorry. Double-posted by mistake.
Outstanding film
I was blown away Danse. Great job, here here, bravo, 3 cheers!!
Definitely making copies to share. Outstanding work.
dtg
Finally got to see "Human Resources".
This is another amazing and important film. You deserve to be very proud of this work.
I will recommend it to all my friends and family.
I am sorry to read that your aunt was a victim of CIA mind control research.
It is touching and altogether fitting to see that you dedicated this remarkable work to her honor.
Thank you Danse!
I have a DVD copy of PSYWARS for you Rob
and if Jim will make a DVD "master" of Human Resources,
I will do that one too.
Thanks Joe!
Thanks. Joe.
thank you
Thanks for the excellent film, Scott. Insightful, moving, and (for me) rage-inducing. It's dark, there's no question about that. But the compassion underneath it comes through powerfully.
Some have raised the question: will people turn their heads away from this? I think the answer is: most will. I had trouble thinking of friends I could send this to. Most would say it is too pessimistic or disturbing, etc. I don't think this is a criticism of the film, which brings all the elements of a good film together powerfully. But I think it's an important question for us as activists: what do we do with this information to bring about change?
Hope
Thank you Graeme and to the others who replied above.
I have surfed the comments online and found three dominant reactions.
1. This is one of the darkest and most disturbing movies I’ve ever seen.
2. Deeply unsettling but powerful and insightful – highly recommended
3. What is libertarian socialism? It’s an oxymoron! Participatory democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner!
In no case have I found someone who said – “I had to turn it off. I couldn’t bear the imagery”.
Conversely, two of the dominant reactions to films like Food Inc. or Earthlings (still essential viewing, imo), is that:
1. I could never watch a film like this. I can’t stand seeing cruelty to animals.
2. I had to stop it after ten minutes.
I don’t bedrudge these filmmakers for showing images that have to be seen to support their theses, and without which their films would be incomplete if not trite, but in my film the truly awful subjects are only a part (or if you like, ultimate expression) of the thesis. I didn’t set out to send people into a spiraling pit of demoralization and despair, though a few posters have indicated that this was their dominant reaction.
I had to sit through hours upon hours of behaviorist experiments on animals, captured on video, to come up with the images that I did. For an animal lover like me it was a horrific ordeal. Yet I intentionally excluded the most disturbing footage – precisely because it would turn people off.
I also tried to intertwine the segments in such a way that there were glimmers of hope and even humor between the darkest portions – especially the sections on workplace democracy and education. Same with the music. Wherever possible I opted for bitter-sweet or ironic or neutral/slightly sinister ambient rather than moody and depressing.
However, when it came to issues like Eugenics and human experimentation there was really no other choice but to take the bull by the horns and plunge into the abyss.
Perhaps because of time considerations, or perhaps because of my own familial connections with the MKULTRA experiments, it just didn’t seen right to end the film with expressions of hope and positivity.
It is becoming increasingly fashionable to reject hope entirely. Chris Hedges and Derrick Jensen (who said of Human Resources… “It scared the shit of me” -- my favorite acclaim quote, actually) are two notable intellectuals who think hope is for children. I disagree. False hope is for children. Hope itself is what gets us out of bed in the morning.
I ended Psywar on a hopeful note and intend to do same with my other films. But it just didn’t seem appropriate here.
One possible way of bypassing the reluctant viewer would be to point him/or her to a particular section of the film, eg timecode X to timecode Y. So if someone is interested in the subject of education or schooling, they may benefit from just watching that segment. Same with the section on workplace democracy, for instance. I think someone’s already broken up the film on Youtube, so that might help.
Ultimately I feel that if the sole or primary response to the film is one of depression and demoralization – then I have failed. However if the primary response contains elements of depression and demoralization – but also enlightenment – then I have succeeded.
yes
I appreciate a film that tells things to me straight--I liked that and wouldn't have had it any other way. I'm really just puzzling over our dilemma, the same one we face daily (or at least I do; I've been debating some university profs for the last few days) on the issue of 9/11. People form a defensive shell. In the short term it protects them from horrific stuff; in the long term it betrays them because avoidance of this stuff leaves the perpertrators free to continue what they're doing. . I'm no different from most people. Certain subjects, such as the mass extinctions of other species that we're causing, are so disturbing to me I can only look at abstract figures; if I get into details and images I am overwhelmed. (Interesting that you mentioned the images of animals that you had to sift through, and that you chose less disturbing ones than you might have. I could sense that, but even so I had to turn my head away several times.) So I'm really saying it's not just a dilemma for you as a film-maker. It's a dilemma for all of us. Respecting the defensive shell a person has built , while trying to reach that person...
Defense mechanisms
Yes you're exactly right, and I've never thought of it that way. There is a indeed a direct parallel.
Why do many people find images of cruelty to animals and children more disturbing than images of cruelty to adult human beings? I think it's 'cause we're hardwired that way -- to feel empathy. When a defenseless animal or child is tortured we are rightly outraged. When the same thing happens to an adult we often justify it according to our current worldview -- ie cultural factors. He was a Muslim. Or an Arab. Or a militant.
Alfie Kohn, whom I interviewed in the film, has written several books on all of these subjects. "The Brighter Side of Human Nature", my particular favorite, shows that children begin to feel empathy almost from the time they're born.
When it comes to subjects like 911 or war, I think behavioral conditioning is paramount. If you took a pygmy from the Ituri rain forest and added him to the Milgram experiment, the result would have been completely different. Why? Because according to Anthropologists, this tribe "dislikes personal authority".
We not only "like" personal authority as a culture, we live it every second of our lives. We have a landlord, a union boss, a rich friend, a corporation, a bank, a military leader, a president or prime minister, a religion. So the Milgram experiment is not surprising at all. In fact the only surprising thing about it, to me, was that everyone didn't venture to kill the subject when instructed. If I'm not mistaken, some blue collar construction worker was the first to opt out.
Anyway, the long and short of this is that I believe CULTURE (including modern child-rearing techniques, "education", workplace experience, over-all governance etc.) explain the problems you pose.
How to solve them right now?
- Life-changing experience
- Education
Education is much more difficult because in this culture people tend to interpret new information according to previous biases. So "The human mind treats a new idea the same way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it. P. B. Medawar
However, if we did away with television and all met face to face in our communities week to week, I think a lot of these biases would disappear fairly quickly.
Since we won't be doing away with television any time soon (though one can dream), we're left with education.
The biggest stumbling block to a sane society is the mass media. I truly believe that. People aren't stupid, but they can be misled.
So I've chosen this path. To use their tools against them.
Anyway, you're the one who should be offering your insights. Not to mention you have Laurie Manwell at your side ;)
AGREED
"The biggest stumbling block to a sane society is the mass media. I truly believe that. People aren't stupid, but they can be misled."
How about? People are programmed to be ignorant.
The brainwashed person is the last to know.
I focus on 9/11 Truth Activism because the evidence is so undeniable (in my mind) that all a person has to do is look.
Then the blinders come off and the fraud and deception in every arena is exposed.
Joe wrote -
"I focus on 9/11 Truth Activism because the evidence is so undeniable (in my mind) that all a person has to do is look.
Then the blinders come off and the fraud and deception in every arena is exposed."
Couldn't agree more. And that's why I'm here.
Metanoia
Scott, simply naming your film company Metanoia and posting this-
Metanoia
F r o m t h e G r e e k - to p e r c e i v e , t o t h i n k , t h e r e s u l t o f p e r c e i v i n g o r o b s e r v i n g - m e t a n o i a m e a n s " a c h a n g e o f m i n d " .
In Theology, metanoia is used to refer to the change of
mind which is brought about in repentance.
The prefix "meta-" carries with it other variants that are
consistent with the Eastern Greek philosophical mindset,
"Meta-" is additionally used to imply "beyond" and "outside of."
E.g., metamorphosis as a beyond-change; and, metaphysics as
outside the limits of physics.
The Greek term for repentance, metanoia, denotes a change of mind, a
reorientation, a fundamental transformation of outlook, of an individual's vision of the
world and of her/himself, and a new way of loving others and the Universe. In the words of a
second-century text, The Shepherd of Hermas, it implies "great understanding," discernment.
In Carl Jung's psychology, metanoia indicates a spontaneous attempt of the psyche to heal itself of
unbearable conflict by melting down and then being reborn in a more adaptive form.
-reveals your heart and what you are trying to do. I do greatly appreciate your work. I simply wrote my gut/immediate reaction to the film, and when I told my husband about your documentary he made me "shut up." (I did get him to see Inside Job, but he still won't watch Richard Gage or the 9/11 Truth films). So, I am faced with the psychological barriers every day of my life, and I actually rely on emotional/moral support from my fellow activists, in order to carry on with the work. The family would prefer that I bake pies and play with them...
A friend of mine, who is an anthropologist told me that the most hopeful study that he ever found was one that showed how children, no matter how abused nor neglected, could be transformed by the attention/intervention/connection of one other person- perhaps a relative, teacher, friend... I don't think he meant that "that person" had to be there all the time, but that if one person, who is "respected, loved, admired" by the injured person is offered respect,love, encouragement, this could transform someone's life completely. This is a tremendous power that we all have and need to exercise more that we are generally unconscious of, and it can often be as little as a word of acknowledgement, appreciation and encouragement in a generally hostile world.
Loved the film.
Hard to watch, but necessary and great to have in the library of awakening/educating films. I could tell throughout most of it that you were a caring guide and worth following through the tough and often scary information. I appreciated that.
It reminded me of the 2009 film titled "The Shock Doctrine" based off the book by Naomi Klein which was shown recently on The Sundance Channel. That would be a good companion movie.
It is hard to watch and as far as educating others goes, As 911SATYA brought up, we need to figure out where the other person is and what they can handle by listening to them. Do they know we lied our way into war? Then maybe push on with false flag terrorism and see where they are with that. If they know 9/11 was an inside job then maybe introduce them to this film "Human Resources". You know progress in some way that the information is suitable to the other persons current state or whatever you think will work best. This documentary is definitely a good piece to have in that regard.
Interestingly this news story came out the same day I watched the film, today:
CIA implanted electrodes in the brains of unsuspecting soldiers, lawsuit alleges
Another link for The Shock Doctrine about Naomi Klein's bestselling book:
http://www.megavideo.com/?d=04IYOO5Q
Well worth the time it takes to watch
Very interesting movie, thanks for making it!
BRAVO!
Just couldn't resist chiming in with the chorus here. Two EXCELLENT presentations, which I just watched back to back. These are terrific resources for an academic setting, and would fit well into many university-level classes.
My profound thanks for both PSYWAR and HUMAN RESOURCES. The dedication of the latest film is especially touching, Danse. You have honored your Aunt and her experiences as powerfully as anyone could have with these magnificent documentaries. I simply cannot say enough in appreciation.
visioning
potentially this has a significance well beyond the material presented. i've always thought it was crucial to build bridges between this movement and the communities who talk articulately about more participatory forms of political economy (drawing on a wide and deep critique of mainstream apologists for the current model). so i felt a great surge of hope when i saw chomsky and albert in this doco. i think many politically informed people are able to feel justified in refusing to consider the evidence of 9/11 because they very quickly become alienated by the often naive and superficial, and sometimes just plain paranoid and nutty political analyses that are rife in 9/11 forums. this lack of a penetrating and grounding political vision in the movement has always been really off-putting to me. you find this wealth of data and analysis aiming to prove the bare fact of government involvement in an enormous crime on one particular day in recent history. but without some sort of provisional map of the politico-economic landscape that we can all look to together to get our bearings, it's hard to know what to do with the bare proof of the crime. the decontextualized facts about that day have the potential to merely cause further disorientation, and even contribute to the sort of brokenness and hopelessness that bruce levine talks about in the alternet articles linked above. what's needed is some consensus of political and economic vision. and that's what scott's films are providing with a great deal of skill and flair. i see them as schematic maps gently introducing into the movement the wealth of ideas and vision available from outside about how to gradually change ourselves so that we no longer think and behave in ways that reinforce hierarchies of power. of course, not everyone in the movement will rally around the pareconomists. there are many people involved who have a deep ideological commitment to capitalism in a more just form. such people need to introduce their own maps and form their own consensus so that healthy, informed debate between various visions of the future can be something that takes place within and as a crucial component of the 9/11 movement, instead of something removed from it that takes place in another sphere of discourse.
thanks for your work, scott. awesome job.
9/11 truth ripped my lid off
then i forced myself to relearn
starting with michael ruppert's crossing the rubicon
and who were these irritating people inserting ad's for alternative currencies and end the fed into 9/11 truth sites?!
even in activism i encountered a guy who insisted on recording money as debt onto the discs as well as 9/11 truth stuff
eventually i got curious and re-educated myself on that too
i was still bewildered in a sense , as you say- perhaps it's information overload and perhaps it's knowing something terrible but being invisible to all you try to tell- very stressful
in bewilderment it would be easy to follow a false lead if it seemed to offer the reassuringness of simplicity
some subscribe to the "its all one big conspiracy" theory wherin all bad guys ever are all part of the same big secret soceity
some religiously subscribe to every theory going and dilute the effectiveness in any one cause
imagine if the buildingwhat people started banging on about chemtrails, aliens and secret handshakes
then via the project censored website i encountered speeches by michael parenti and watched all i could find on youtube and listened to all the audio available with this guy- a doctor of political science
this guy was talking about the different factions that make up Empire
i read his book and also bought a second copy for my mom who liked it
'The Assassination of Julius Caesar'
the parallels are drawn between the roman and US empires
things start to slot into place- it's not all one big conspiracy
if it was the big conspiracy would itself fund the rise of the neocons- they wouldn't need to self fund through drug running
the rise of the neocons:
similar to the rise of octavian
militarists who gain power by conquest and DO NOT step on the toes of old money
the symbiosis powers empire
when a leader turns to embrace populist policies as JC did over land reform, as JFK did over various points... you know the rest
now i have a context to file various happenings as i see them in the US empire
so many parallels are drawn
i remember a part in the book where someone is quoted skeptically saying something like " never had one country had so many enemies or so many friends in danger in so many places that merited militarist intervention and accidental empiric expansion"
9/11 truth leads me eventually to question the real reasons for WWI and WWII
now i look and see cui bono and then i reverse engineer it to who might have made it happen, and apply that in many situations
Welcome to the world of deep politics
and the seemingly endless peeling back of layers upon layers searching for truth.
Make sure to always do things that bring you pure, existential joy, as this will help you keep your balance as you negotiate the dark world the sociopaths have created (and the one we are working to recreate into the world we all want to live in).
A few minutes of bliss a day goes a long way.
Cheers!
resistance is the secret of joy
To take flight every day! At least for a moment, which may be brief, as long as it is intense. A "spiritual exercise" every day - either alone, or in the company of someone who also wishes to better himself. Spiritual exercises. Step out of duration... try to get rid of your own passions, vanities, and the itch to talk about your own name, which sometimes burns you like a chronic disease. Avoid backbiting. Get rid of pity and hatred. Love all free human beings. Become eternal by transcending yourself.
This work on yourself is necessary, this ambition justified. Lots of people let themselves be wholly absorbed by militant politics and the preparation for social revolution. Rare, much more rare, are they who, in order to prepare for the revolution, are willing to make themselves worthy of it.
-Georges Friedmann
Great quote!
Thank you, Joe90.
How about "Freely love all human beings" ?
We all need to work to make ourselves "worthy" of the coming (r)evolution.
I hope that you and yours are well (down under or wherever they might be).
Cheers!
The truth shall set us free. Love is the only way forward.
thanks, leftwright
all the best back at ya, bro.
Thanks again!
Perhaps I should have waited until all the comments were in before posting my thanks, as each day seems to bring a new insightful comment.
To Carol --
Easy solution. Just inject your husband with a tranquilizer, tie him down, stick his eye-lids to his forehead Clockwork Orange style, and let the movie marathon begin! Or withhold sex. Your choice.
Seriously though, I know how difficult it is to get friends and loved ones to watch disturbing documentaries. My sister is enrolled in Medical school yet still hasn't watched Sicko despite repeated pleas. As for "Earthlings", a documentary about how the human race treats animals -- I might as well ask someone to watch a three hour lecture on the wonders of Mitochondria. So yeah, it's tough.
To Joe90 --
One of the best posts in the thread. I'm surprised no one brought up Parecon before yourself. I think most people have an intuitive understanding that the modern corporate form just ain't right, even if they describe themselves as "libertarian". I have little doubt that the men on whose work they base their views -- be it Adam Smith or Thomas Jefferson or Alex de tocqueville -- would be appalled at the "new slavery" known as wage labor.
To Orangutan --
always appreciate your input and thank you for helping to spread my films beyond this website.
To Tom --
Thank you for your comments regarding my Aunt. I won't deny it -- her torture at the hands of the CIA changed my life. More importantly, it changed hers. She committed suicide a couple of decades after the Allen Memorial.
To LeftWright --
Words of wisdom as always -- you're a terrific moderator and voice of sanity.
To anyone I missed --
Apologies and thank you for commenting.
I finally got to watch the
I finally got to watch this documentary, and I'm going to have to watch it again. So much information, much to assimilate. It was done very very well, invoking nostalgia and odd discomforts. It was amazing.
I came across this article recently that ties in with this.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article167692.html