The Blog
Here is my New Year's doc recommendation - I AM by Tom Shadyac. A 2011 film which I've missed as it is directed by one of Hollywood’s leading comedy directors (films include “Ace Ventura,” “Liar Liar,” “The Nutty Professor,” and “Bruce Almighty”). In I AM Shadyac steps in front of the camera to recount what happened to him after a cycling accident which temporary left him incapacitated.
The film poses two huge questions: "what’s wrong with our world?", and "what can we do to make it better?". Meeting with a variety of thinkers and doers from the worlds of science, philosophy, academia, and faith - including David Suzuki, Noam Chomsky and Desmond Tutu - it touches upon fundamental questions like what makes us human and our planet's sustainability and explores them through interconnectivity, quantum phisics, mirroring neurons, the Vegas nerve of empathy and many more. Watching it felt like an attempt for contemporary science to catch up with Eastern spirituality in a very comprehensive way.
Unlike other philosophical docs I've seen recently, it gives hope for the future by questioning the fundamentals of our society and economy. It explores Darwin's Book of Human Nature and challenges the survival of the fittest theory which is replaced by cooperation and sympathy, the strongest qualities of human nature according to Darwin himself. So have no great expectations (especially in terms of visuals) - just check it out and see what you think.
Let's try to buy less stuff in 2014 and be more compassionate towards ourselves and others! Happy New Year!
