Earthlings

Earthlings (2015) is the FREE 10th Anniversary Edition of the award winning 2005 film of the same name.

Narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, featuring music by Moby, and written, produced and directed by Shaun Monson, Earthlings is part of a trilogy looking at ‘animal,’ ‘human’ and ‘nature.’

This hard-hitting documentary showcases all the different ways we make use of animals, and humankind’s current (sometimes unbeknownst to us, and often shocking) exploitation of animals in order to keep the current ethos, zeitgeist, narrative, and economic system going.

It presents ‘animal’ in five chapters: Pets, Food, Clothing, Entertainment and Scientific Research.

About Cognitive Dissonance

Essential to criticality, or The Art of Critical Thinking, is being able to critically think about controversial topics because, when we do, we are forced into the important process of cognitive dissonance.

Encyclopedia Britannica defines cognitive dissonance as:

The mental conflict that occurs when beliefs or assumptions are contradicted by new information. The unease or tension that the conflict arouses in people is relieved by one of several defensive maneuvers: they reject, explain away, or avoid the new information.

Thus, being presented with reliable data that strongly challenges our worldview, we are directly challenging our preconceived beliefs and assumptions.

Developing and mastering the ability to form objective opinions and make informed decisions, we do not “reject, explain away, or avoid the new information” (cognitive dissonance). This raises our awareness (or our consciousness).

Instead, we explore with open-minded examination facts that open up our world view, and accept reliable evidence as a possible new truth – a new narrative.

The sequel is Unity, a 2015 documentary film looking at ‘human.’ The film is once again presented in chapters (Cosmic, Mind, Body, Heart and Soul), but this time voiced by a cast of 100 celebrity narrators.

Unity is available on iTunes, Amazon, Microsoft, Google Play, Vimeo On Demand, Vudu and M-Go. The original 2005 release of Earthlings is also available for rent and download in English, French, German and French Canadian.

Shaun Monson’s final film in the trilogy, Beings, which is about ‘nature,’ is in production now.

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