Recently I was given the privilege of reviewing the Venus Project's new film “Paradise or Oblivion” before release. I talked with Roxanne Meadows ahead of time, going over the details and all of the work that went into it. The Venus Project has been hard at work looking through their hours and hours of archived footage to put together a strong presentation. Some of it from tours of the Venus Project, some of it from lectures Jacque has given recently, and still more from over 60+ hours of unused footage that was shot during the making of “The Future by Design”.
Future by Design” concentrated more on Jacque, his background and his designs where as Paradise or Oblivion you will get to see some excellent elaborations by Jacque Fresco on more of the “nuts and bolts” of the social direction that is supported by the Venus Project.
That footage alone was sufficient reason to watch the film. But there is plenty of other great clips used in the film. I actually realized some of it came from the time I had visited the Venus Project, which brought a smile to my face. Throughout the film it also brought to bear the reality of our world slowly moving towards collapse with footage that suggests the "Occupy" movement is part of that pain signal of society.
The movie was narrated by Joel Holt, who did a wonderful job of articulating himself and telling the “story” of the film. His voice was the perfect blend of “honest” with “serious”. The presentation provided because of it gave a sense of urgency to the problems in the world without being “spooky” or sensationalist.
Overall, I feel this film did an excellent job of sharing with the audience the problems that the Venus Project seeks to solve, and the solutions that we need. If you are a veteran of activism involving the Venus Project it is worth watching to see footage of Jacque you may not be familiar with even if you are familiar with the material presented. It is an excellent tool for introducing people to the concepts of the Venus Project. And while I do not feel it replaces “Welcome to the Future” in my heart as my favorite film about Jacque's work, it provides a further elaboration to that work. Finally there is a modern film about the Venus Project with no baggage from other films associated with the work. And it does all of this in less then an hour.
