Product: Jonestown - The Life & Death of Peoples Temple (2006)
Rating: 5.0
Reminder of the depths of exploitation
I was in the eighth grade in 1978 when the Jonestown massacre took place and remembered it well from nightly newscasts. I remember how preachers used the Jones tragedy as a cautionary tale against the dangers of cults. The late 70s were a time of mass confusion after the traumas of the 60s, Vietnam, and Watergate, and a lot of these confused people were looking for direction.This DVD does an excellent job of using archival footage and the recollections of survivors of Jim Jones' sickness and lunacy (including his African-Americn adopted son Jim Jones Jr.). To their credit, unlike most followers of cults and similar movements, no one among his former followers continues to defend him and all seem to accept the reality of how evil he actually was.As the story goes on, one really feels for the poor blacks, elderly people, and assorted sixties misfits who fall for Jones' baloney. In most cases, its easy to mock the followers of such people as Jones as ignoramuses who should have known better, but to its credit, this film doesn't do that. It makes clear that most of these people were rejected by everyone else in society and Jones was the only one who appreared to acknowledge their humanity, thus they fell for him hook, line, and sinker to where they were convinced to worship Jones instead of God. The scene of Jones telling a cheering crowd not to believe in a God they could not see is really frightening.The testimonies of former followers to Jones' sexual preversion and vile public sexual humiliation of his flock is truly jaw-dropping. It is noteworthy to consider that he would not get into such antics until long after he convinced his following of his false divinity. All of course led to the ultimate tragedy of convincing his followers to move to a remote outpost in Guyana, South America, and to commit mass suicide.The Jonestown tragedy has receded in public memory due to the many events in recent history that have eclipsed it, but as Elijah Muhammad's biographer Claude Clegg correctly put it, "In times of crisis, charlatans fare well." This film serves as a timely reminder for succeeding generations to understand the dangers of surrendering one's mind to charasmatic "leaders" and false prophets. Check out Matthew 24:24 while you're at it.