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Debunked: Zeitgeist – Parts I, II and III

JESUS

Image by Daniel Go via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

Conspiracy Science

Zeitgeist – Introduction

Note: I’m continuously updating this page to coincide with Z-Day, my goal is to debunk everything, as I have already called most of their sources into question.

Zeitgeist, The Movie is a film that was released on Google Video in the spring of 2007 and was created by Peter Joseph. Essentially the video covers three areas of Interest. Part I, entitled “The Greatest Story Ever Told” evaluates Christian beliefs and asserts that it was all taken from pre-existing myths, primarily Egyptian mythology. In Part II, entitled “All The World’s a Stage” it goes on to talk about how the US Government knew about the attacks on September 11th, 2001 before hand and that it was a large conspiracy and cover up — essentially an it was an inside job. Lastly we are told in Part III, entitled “Don’t Mind The Men Behind The Curtain”, that powerful bankers and world leaders are conspiring for world domination and consolidation of power.

This video has recently (early 2008 now) spread through the Internet like wild fire. I cannot go to a forum on the Internet without someone mentioning how this is the “truth” and it has “opened [their] eyes”. Nearly always, they also claim that they know these things are true because of their “own research”. The interesting part of all this is, you rarely see any engineers, scientists, or anyone else making such claims.

I decided to sit down and watch the film, I honestly began watching it thinking it may have some interesting information. When it was all over, I realized that many things were completely wrong, misquoted, or had already been disproven by many other people long ago. The problem was that when I tried to Google more information about it, nobody had made a complete guide discussing all the inaccuracies of the film. So, here I am.

The movie rarely cites sources, and when it does, it fails to provide page numbers, dates, and other information. Sourced information listed on their web site is primarily from books which are sometimes hard to obtain — trust me, I tried — making fact checking near impossible. So, in my work, I am going to source all my claims and exactly where I find them. If it is in a book, I will do my best to find an online version of the book, and if I cannot, I will link to where the book can be purchased.

I am not naïve, and you should not be either; the information here will be considered controversial to many of those who see Zeitgeist, the movie as the truth. That said, do not be surprised if they refuse to believe anything written in these pages. I personally have tried to show people before, generally they reply “you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the Internet” (ironic, isn’t it?) and/or that they “just have an open mind”. Note that these are not answers to the skeptics questions, these are just ways to avoid facing something that disproves what they believe.

Good luck to anyone using this information to try to talk sense into someone.

Debunked: Zeitgeist – Part I: The Greatest Story Ever Told

Debunked: Zeitgeist – Part II: All The World’s a Stage

Debunked: Zeitgeist – Part III: Don’t Mind The Men Behind The Curtain

Movie Sources

Movie Statement

Movie Clarifications

My Sources

from the archives:

The Zeitgeist Movement: Orientation Presentation

Zeitgeist Part One Exposed: The Film

Zeitgeist Refuted + Zeitgeist Debunked (videos)

Zeitgeist, The Movie – Remastered/Final Edition

Exclusive: The god of this world: Money by Shawn S. Grandstaff

Modern Money Mechanics Federal Reserve

Money As Debt (video) + “In Debt We Have Trusted,” For over 300 years By Jim Kirwan

Jesus was a Communist by Darren Pedigo

19 thoughts on “Debunked: Zeitgeist – Parts I, II and III”

  1. Pingback: “The ‘Real’ Zeitgeist Challenge” Debunked – Peter Joseph interviews Acharya S « Dandelion Salad

  2. Pingback: Why the direct attack on Christianity in Zeitgeist? (2008) « Dandelion Salad

  3. Pingback: Zeitgeist Refuted Final Cut « Dandelion Salad

  4. Pingback: Zeitgeist, The Movie - Remastered/Final Edition « Dandelion Salad

  5. Pingback: The Zeitgeist Movement: Orientation Presentation « Dandelion Salad

  6. even if zeitgeist was fake, cant you all just take a look around at the world, half the world lives in poverty, minimum wage is like 8$, Everyone is fighting over beliefs and texts and ancient litirature and race, everyone is out for personal gain, and dont say your some Bono and that you only care about others, and you all take orders from “authority Figures” in envy of what they have, because you think that one day you will get somthing back, one thing is for certain we are all going to end off in a whole in the ground somewhere, so what does anything really matter?, in reality WE KNOW NOTHING, we live on a rock in a black mass we call space or the universe, there is no end or beggening or time it as all simply how we measure change…regardless of the facts in zeitgeist the world is “fucked”, twisted and distorted and ultimatley the government is corrupt, and disfunctional, there may be somthing divine that will lead us on after we die but i havnt seen jack shit…

  7. Alright people… here is my opinion, my perspective, take it only in that way… think for yourself… draw your own conclusions…

    Enough with trying to debunk 911 – which is now a conspiracy. Conspiracies are events that have such diluted, contorted, conflicting facts that no agreeable judgment or ratification can be concluded because our system of proof relies on factual basis. Everyone is searching and comparing facts, running in circles of he said she said. Facts can’t successfully prove truth, truth is actually felt. Can we prove Jesus or other religious icons are real? Can we prove there are souls or spirits? Can we actually prove gravity (we really can’t, even though you think we can)? (For religious people, this might go against your beliefs and inner agreement system… but that’s ok, theres a time…) – So with all of that said, the only point I will draw is if there is one item that is not correct in the whole 911 situation, then the entire event is extremely questionable. A building that never suffered an impact or severe structural impact nicely (and almost planned) compacts to the ground… how does that happen? Theres your one thread of disbelief… the rest is history.

    As for proving religious topics… Have you met jesus? Have you talked to horus. Forget about religion. For those of us that can think outside the box, religion is already debunked and has been for a long time. Sorry fellow religious people, please do not take this as any sort of personal attack. Don’t try to contest my opinion, as it is only a misuse of your energy and won’t have the effect you desire. :-/

    Zeitgeist’s point was to show the profit driven world we live in. We are acting on a “separated” mentality and not acting as a species. We are a part of nature. We are an organism (not going into depth). We need to act as one and for the benefit of one. Yes, these philosophies are Utopian, and to those who haven’t been “awakened” believe this concept is very unattainable. However, all I can say is it’s a matter of time. Go on with your beliefs and inner agreement systems, but life will unfold, things will happen, events will occur, and life will as nature does, change.

    I write this only with the intent that maybe one person questions them self. I hope to reach one person. As long as I’ve done that, this was complete success of my time.

    For the record, I live in a mountain and donate my time and energy towards helping humanity in this pivotal time we are entering. Learn to survive, get back to the basics… One day you might need it. My love goes out to everyone. If you let any of my message effect you negatively, my love and sorrow reaches out to you.

    Peace. 🙂

  9. On the same note as epppie, I watched Zeitgeist as carefully and objectively as I could, I then read the Conspiracy Science website entirely and skimmed over some other popular sources of debunking and then watched the newly released Zeitgeist Addendum.

    I come from a a strong, supportive, and nurturing Christian upbringing and I also have a quality post secondary education. I feel the creators of the film definitely made some poor choices in how the info was presented and what was included and what was omitted and I agree whole heartedly that the film (especially the first film) is guilty of citing questionable (not necessarily false) sources and presenting information in a manipulative manner, but this is something that is common to all documentaries should not always be construed as negative. There is always the accompanying influence of the creator’s personal opinion. This doesn’t take away from the fact that independent documentaries in general are some of the greatest sources of groundbreaking information and a catalyst for great social advancements and mass paradigm shifts in a positive direction.

    I’m trying not to lose my point in my rambling here but while the Zeitgeist movies aren’t necessarily free from falsehoods and inaccuracies I personally believe that their importance in uncovering the real truth whatever it may be is overwhelming and while we shouldn’t take them as gospel as epppie said, we need to realize that they might be at the foundation of the new age of enlightenment. And we should all use them at the very least as a reason to continue conducting independent research and collectively strive to find the truth and a way of living that will begin eradicate some of the worlds most serious problems.

    A key point in the new Addendum version is that fact that we need to shed this engrained notion that being proven wrong is a form of failure or a negative thing and that we should embrace being proven wrong and it should be a celebration because it progresses us that much more toward enlightenment and a better life for mankind and the Earth as a whole. All I’m seeing with most of these debunkers are people that seem to feel threatened by the notion of being proven wrong and finding out that what they’ve been brought up believing is not true. Times change, knowledge changes, things become obsolete in the light of more accurate and efficient things. It is by no fault of any individual. We’re evolving as a species and as a society and we will continue to be wrong but hopefully we will also continue to realize we’re wrong and keep striving to improve.

    Other debunkers also come across as going out of their way to disprove the less relevant facts of the movie while ignoring the enormous social implications of the movie as a whole. To call into question the whole credibility of the entire movie and its creator based upon petty discrepancies and nitpickings is, well, petty. The Conspiracy Science website in particular tries to come across as completely objective yet the person makes SEVERAL SUBJECTIVE ASSUMPTIONS about the discrepancies he’s found. I congratulate him for having the passion to question Zeitgiest in its entirety. As epppie said the movie is about skepticism and in that spirit it probably welcomes skepticism itself. But the Conspiracy Science website seems to come off as already having made up his mind and being on a mission to prove it all wrong. That’s not how it should work. In fact look at the excerpt from that website at the top of this thread. “Note: I’m continuously updating this page to coincide with Z-Day, my goal is to debunk everything, as I have already called most of their sources into question.”

    This is a person on a mission to disprove something that he hasn’t even learned everything about yet. There is something fundamentally wrong with that approach and it is obvious to even the least intellectual of all of us. We need to independently search for the truth by using sources like the Zeitgeist movies and other controversial media and literature and contribute to making things better, not just simply jumping on everything that has holes in it and totally discrediting it entirely. Stop contributing to holding the world back and contribute to finding the truth and spreading it. As I mentioned at the start, I was brought up in of a strong Christian faith. The Zeitgeist movies have made me consider more things than I ever imagined. The fact that the creator manipulated things a bit and made some historical errors makes no difference in the big picture. It promotes independent thought and it questions the established authority that tells us its doing its best. That’s the point. Stop nitpicking and start contributing. The world is in a lot of trouble and we are advanced enough as a species to eradiacte a huge portion of the world’s serious problems but we’re too busy arguing over citations!!!! Put you’re MLA handbook away and stop pouring through footnotes about the actual details of the Egyptian Gods and Pagan rituals and wake up and see the big picture. Things are not and have never been the way they seem. Let’s get to the bottom of it ASAP.

    • Hank, that was the single most intelligent reply and truthful insight that I have read since the dawn of time. It is great to finally see someone who is looking at the bigger picture.

  10. A debunk of a debunk.

    I’ve watched Zeitgeist. I think it’s very good. But I don’t take anything in it as gospel. It’s really a movie about skepticism, and in that spirit, I’m sure it welcomes debunkers and debunking.

  11. Pingback: Zeitgeist: Addendum « Dandelion Salad

  12. Pingback: Zeitgeist Part One Exposed: The Film « Dandelion Salad

  16. The debunking of part 1 was very strong, and thank you for that. Like the stories in the Bible, however, there are several different versions of the same stories, many directly contradicting each other, so how could we ever know which one is correct? Theologians get PhDs squabbling over this.

    Also, that we could ever surmise what people in ancient times thought, felt or believed is, to me, hubris. It’s all speculation.

    Part 2 is weak. “Fat Osama” is not the real Osama; let me find the computer analysis of his facial structure if I can; I know it’s out there. Unless Osama had a nose job it’s not him. Fake Beard Osama is also an actor.

    http://www.welfarestate.com/binladen/surprise/

    There is only one video that has NOT been “proven” a fake (to the extent that such things can be proven) by professional (mostly European) analysts was the FIRST video, in which Bin Laden denied everything.

    THIS is the transcript of an interview he gave shortly after the 9/11 events:

    http://www.justresponse.net/Bin_Laden1.html

    I dunno, he doesn’t sound like a mass murderer to me. Just sayin.’ Besides, he died about 3 months after the attack anyway, here’s his obit:

    http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/osama_dead.html

    Have you seen this site?
    http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timelines.jsp

    It is a timeline of historical events and the 9/11 data is impressive. Fully sourced too from what I can tell.

    Bottom Line: Pulling out the “truth” vs. the “truthiness” gets easier if one asks, que bono? Who benefits? The PNAC people benefitted, and that’s who we should be investigating.

  17. Thanks soo much 4 taking time 2 clarify this.
    I always found this eye-opening, questionable, & worthy of investigating..yet unable 2 spend the time needed 2 resource it.
    Have u read “Human Smoke” by Nicholson Baker(?I’m not sure if I have the writer’s last name correct) Time magazine’s 3/24/2008 book review? He questions some of the issues explored by Zeitgiest; specifically World War II. I’m requesting it through our library & know it will take a few months.
    Again, Thanks.

  18. Pingback: Zeitgeist Refuted + Zeitgeist Debunked (videos) « Dandelion Salad

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