Zeitgeist (film series)

Synopsis

The film starts with animated visualizations, film segments and stock footage, a cartoon and audio quotes about spirituality byChögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, then shots of war, explosions, and the September 11 attacks. Then the film's title screen is given. The introduction ends with a portion of a George Carlin monologue on religion accompanied by an animated cartoon. The rest of the film is in three parts with narration by Peter Joseph.[5]

Part I questions religions as being god-given stories, stating that the Christian religion is mainly derived from other religions,astronomical assertions, astrological myths, and other traditions, which in turn were derived from other traditions. In furtherance of the Jesus myth hypothesis, this part states that the historical Jesus is a literary and astrological hybrid, nurtured by political forces and opportunists.[5]

Part II, alleges that the 9/11 attacks were either orchestrated or allowed to happen by elements within the United States government; the government's purpose, it alleges, was to generate mass fear, initiate and justify the War on Terror, provide a pretext for the curtailment ofcivil liberties, and produce economic gain. It asserts that the U.S. government had advance knowledge of the attacks, that the militarydeliberately allowed the planes to reach their targets, and that World Trade Center buildings 1, 2, and 7 underwent a controlled demolition.[5]

Part III states that the Federal Reserve System is controlled by a small cabal of international bankers who conspire to create global calamities to enrich themselves.[6] Three wars involving the United States during the twentieth century are highlighted as part of this alleged agenda, started by specifically engineered events, including the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and theGulf of Tonkin Incident. The film asserts that such wars serve to sustain conflict in general and force the U.S. government to borrow money, thereby increasing the profits of the international bankers. The film also states that the Federal Income Tax is illegal.[5]

This segment also alleges a secret agreement to merge the United States, Canada and Mexico into a North American Union as a step toward the creation of a single world government. The film speculates that under such a government, every human could be implanted with an RFID chip to monitor individual activity and suppress dissent.