http://www.prisonplanet.com/conspiracy-theory-with-jesse-ventura-global-warming.html
First aired in 2009, this show on the Tru-TV network is a propaganda smorgasbord. The show is hosted by none other than Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Minnesota’s favorite wrestler. Though he will never hold a candle to “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair (also from Minnesota. Whoooooooooooo!) in the ring, Ventura is a good pick as the host of the show. He’s got just the kind of cavalier attitude necessary to “follow the money trail” and expose the people who “pull the strings behind the scenes” of the global warming conspiracy. In a way, the producers are bringing us an alternate version of “State of Fear” hosted by Jesse Ventura.
The show attempts to reinforce their assertion that global warming is a scam perpetrated by wealthy liberals looking to cash in on green products. The show’s producers have many of the “expert” guests tell us how these wealthy liberal-types are really after world domination, hence the conspiracy. Thematically, this is what the show is all about. They also pick on Al Gore quite a bit.
The show has a number of fancy production devices to push their point across. For instance, they hired the narrator from every action movie you’ve ever seen or heard a commercial for. This man foreshadows the juicy bits to come in the show and steers us through dark territory in his rich, somewhat gravelly baritone. While I was watching this, every time the narrator spoke I half expected a Predator to switch off its cloaking device and start killing climate scientists and expert witnesses.
In another scene, reminiscent of something out of a Dashiell Hammet novel (Hammett wrote the “Maltese Falcon” and pretty much invented the 1930’s hard-boiled detective character. A must-read for crime/mystery fans.), While sitting around a table in a darkened, smoky room, Ventura sends some of his minions out to do his bidding and track down the bad guys. This definitely equates Ventura as the Eliot Ness of Climategate. In the producer’s eyes, this is a good association for viewers to make.
There are more than a few elements worth discussing in this show. The interview with “Dr. X”, the scientist in hiding, is perhaps my favorite. Dr. X replies, when asked what was causing global warming, ”The sun is causing global warming.” This is most definitely a post hoc ergo propter hoc argument: Because the sun’s radiation affects the earth, global warming is happening and the sun is the cause. No shit, huh doc? As far as I know, neither side has doubted the sun’s role in global warming. Clearly, without the sun, global warming wouldn’t happen. In fact, without the sun NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN. Period. We wouldn’t be here to have an argument one way or the other. So, therefore, global warming is a liberal conspiracy to get rid of the sun? No. Among other things, global warming is a liberal conspiracy to control the number of kids you may have, according to Doc X. No wonder this guy’s in hiding, he sounds like an idiot, class A.
I want to hate this show. Really I do, because the show’s message and medium are both dubious, at best. But I think I like this show for the same reasons. This could be the same line of reason that causes inmates all over the US to watch the show COPS religiously. It might not be worth 42 minutes of your life, but you can be vindicated by the fact that you’ll, in all likelihood, be able to see this piece for what it is, propaganda.
Jesse Ventura gave an absolutely insane interview to TPT in the fall which is worth watching just because it's weird to sit back and think that a whole bunch of people voted for him and let him run an entire state. You can see it here if you ever have way to much time on your hands: http://www.tpt.org/includes/programs/almanac/venturaInterviewStream.php
ReplyDeleteI'd personally be more convinced and much happier in general if he'd return to wearing feather boas!
I think that a lot of people who watch conspiracy shows on television love the idea that they are getting to know something that other people are just too stupid, or hoodwinked, to see.
I think that a lot of people who are either in correctional institutions or who have experience with correctional institutions watch COPS to talk with other people about how much they hate the police. I also think that COPS picks the most unbelievably reckless of criminals and that draws other criminals to watch the show because it can be pretty comforting to sit back and say, "Yeah. That's NOT me" or "What happened to me was such bullshit!"
Wow what a great video, and man, Jesse Ventura must be hurting for cash to do this ridiculous show on tru tv. The style and feel of the whole thing inspires that "conspiracy theory" "state of fear" reaction that is so relevant in this global warming discussion. In order for people to grasp the idea that global warming may be a front for something more, it has to be presented as this giant secret that Jesse Ventura is doing us all a solid by uncovering. One notable moment is when he goes to meet his "secret informant" and the camera man shoots from a sneaky perspective behind a tree, only to follow up with other close-up shots in direct interview form. The sad part is, though they claim to be presenting the truth, its presented in a completely fabricated "expose" sorta way. To me it seems like something like this does more damage than good, if not only the lack of scientific information used, but also by presenting it in a deceitful way. At this rate the entire country will be thoroughly confused on who or what to believe...personally I'm with "The Body," even though he's steered me wrong before.
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