By Jusjit Lalli, Grade 12

Zeitgeist and Zeitgeist: Addendum are documentaries created by the intellectual Peter Joseph, and they are credited as being some of the most thought provoking films of our time.

Zeitgeist is presented in three parts; part one is named “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” and criticizes Christianity and religion altogether. As a warning, this section may offend people of faith; however, the arguments presented are logical and from personal research, I’ve found that some of the main points are quite true. Therefore, viewers with strong belief may want to skip this section.

Part two is titled, “All the World’s a Stage,” with reference to Shakespeare, respectively. This section focuses primarily on debunking the 9/11 official statement and thereby criticizes the American government. It “points the finger” exclusively at the suspicions and falsehoods of the unlikely details provided of official 9/11 information reports.

Lastly, part three is entitled “Don’t Mind the Men Behind the Curtain”; it is by far the most compelling and thought provoking section of the entire film. This section deals with the power structures of the world and uses real people and historical evidence to “paint a picture,” so to speak, of the ideas, plans and outcomes of the most powerful people in the world. This deals with real world possibilities and may actually scare some viewers, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Zeitgeist: Addendum essentially follows up on the most important part of the original Zeitgeist: “Don’t Mind the Men Behind the Curtain.” It focuses in on modern money mechanics = a real book of how money is made and how truly corrupt and fundamentally flawed the American economy truly is. I was honestly shocked with the information presented and from my own personal experience all of this information did actually make perfect sense to me, increasing my worry.

The Zeitgeist documentaries are very long and I suggest watching them in parts unless you have the patience to sit for nearly three hours. I deeply recommend these films just because of their ability to make viewers think outside of the box; although most of this information may be disputable, watching these documentaries is certainly not a waste of time. Furthermore, I do not believe viewers will not come across anything as different or as powerful as these films in the near future, nor be able to find anything like it from the past.

Zeitgeist received the top award from the Artivist Film Festival in Los Angeles. In 2008, Zeitgeist: Addendum, again, received the top award from the Artivists Film Festival in Los Angeles gaining record attendance. Both films are available for free on Google Video, and it is legally downloadable from the Internet at no cost at all.