Film reviews
Alernative corner: Collapse
CHRIS SMITH’S 2009 documentary Collapse is nothing but facetious scare-mongering. The film, which consists entirely of an 80-minute-long interview with conspiracy theorist Michael Ruppert, is surprisingly biased and sensationalist—even considering the subject matter.
Ruppert is the founder and editor of the investigative journalism publication From the Wilderness. He is well known both for his belief that the world’s oil supply is at risk of becoming dangerously depleted, as well as his deep hatred towards American politicians George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and current U. S. President Barack Obama. Ruppert’s theory suggests that when oil becomes scarce enough, the government will collapse and only the survivalists and those who are strong enough to live through the “transition” will endure. He argues that, once this imminent collapse comes to pass, plant seeds will become a new form of currency.
Ruppert’s argument is less than convincing. His anger with the government and its supposed corruption overshadows any strength behind his convictions, giving his argument no more than a bargain-basement quality. All of this is made worse by the tactless cinematography, which banks on manipulative zoom-in closeups that try to win over the viewer with pathos and the supposed “authority” of this self-proclaimed seer.
The only way Collapse could be redeemed is as a cultural artifact. Though there are faults to Ruppert’s logic, his arguments offer an in-depth view into social discontent in the wake of a major economic downturn, one which he apparently foresaw. Late in the documentary it is even told, in one of many awkward scenes that show nothing but a blank screen, that Ruppert is now late in paying his rent and facing eviction, and that one of his only comforts is his dog Rex. Th is information displays the extent to which Ruppert himself is affected by the current economic situation.
This focus on the American government and economy classifies the documentary as a recession fi lm—a new thematic group that encapsulates the personal eff ects of the 2008 credit system collapse and the bursting of the housing bubble due to regulatory failure. As a socially conscious fi lm, Collapse has some small merit; but ultimately, it contains little more than a vague and ill-supported theory.
