Sim1review of Loose Change
March 30th 2007 04:09
Without beer there is no art
Not so long ago the guy painting my neighbour’s house had his radio glued to a shock-jock station. Ray Hadley was banging on about a school riot that he reckoned was racially motivated. Blah, blah - big story and he broke it because some la-la sent him a YouTube link. A mate of mine works at the school – he’s on the YouTube video and he told me later;
No it wasn’t racial, it’s all over a girl…
My point is; the shock-jock trip is about entertainment, not journalism. It’s the same in many documentaries. The guy who made Loose Change, Dylan Avery, is not a journalist. That’s not to say he doesn’t have the right to voice his opinion. It just means he’s not a journalist. Journalism is based on objectivity, verifying sources, right of reply, balanced approach etc.
I’m not saying Loose Change isn’t riveting or entertaining but it falls way-short of informed debate. Much like the shock-jocks which Avery and his friends seemed to have embraced since the films release. Right of reply is at the core of Jurisprudence – and that’s severely lacking in Loose Change.
The film is not a documentary about the cause of an event, it’s an opinion piece. So, the focus concentrates on the film-maker – Avery. He’s very young. Perhaps he believes in conspiracy because it’s cool or it will give him fame. He’d willingly believe men like Cheney and Rumsfeld could orchestrate 9/11 but he’s years away from understanding a man like Cheney, in particular. Indeed, how many could truly appreciate what it’s like to be the most powerful man on Earth and have over $100 million in personal wealth. Not many. My thoughts hover round legacy as motivation in everything he dose.
Anyway, essentially 9/11 is about cause and effect with Cheney added. So to truly brake the back of this conspiracy (if one exists or could ever be proved) Avery has to know Cheney – know your subject (or enemy if it’s a war). But that’s never going to happen.
And there are tangents. If as a perpetrator of a conspiratorial act you’d want to create lots of theories – the more the better because you then create, as in this case, the 9/11 Nutbar tag. Nutbar – which is a variation on nerd and who wants to be… Alternatively, if you wanted to hide certain eliminates of a conspiracy you’d guide theorists away from pointing any theories at you so, say in the example of Loose Change you’d encourage the film-makers to leave specific things out like.... It never ends. I love the internet.
And Loose Change is a product of the internet. I’d never say that it’s a bad thing, I’d just say it show’s all the hallmarks.
A sandy foundation on which to build an argument DIY, truth morphed by opinion and gilded as reality – resulting in the zero to hero dream of fame for those involved.
Flawed, but at least I guess it’s got people thinking.
Until next time and happy film-making.
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