Thrive

{{title-italics}}{{conspiracy}}{{film}}
{{cquote|''THRIVE'' is an unconventional documentary that lifts the veil on what's REALLY going on in our world by following the money upstream -- uncovering the global consolidation of power in nearly every aspect of our lives. Weaving together breakthroughs in science, consciousness and activism, THRIVE offers real solutions, empowering us with unprecedented and bold strategies for reclaiming our lives and our future.|||IMDB tagline<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2063834</ref>}}
'''''Thrive''''' is a 2011 [[conspiracy theory]] film made by Foster Gamble, bank heir to the multinational consumer goods company {{wpl|Procter & Gamble}},<ref name=HuffPost>Georgia Kelly, "[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/georgia-kelly/thrive-film_b_1168930.html Thrive: Deconstructing the Film]". ''The Huffington Post''. Retrieved on 19 September 2016.</ref> and his wife Kimberly Carter Gamble. Claiming to be a documentary, the film smashes together pretty much every modern conspiracy theory in the books, including [[free energy suppression]], [[UFO]] landings, [[New World Order]], [[vaccine hysteria]], [[9/11 truthers]], and much more, all combined to make a statement about a "Global Domination Agenda" Gamble claims controls much of the world.<ref name=HuffPost />

As seen by the proposed "solutions" (which include the dismantling of the [[Federal Reserve]] and elimination of public schools and taxes), the film is a not-so-well disguised [[Libertarianism|libertarian propaganda]] piece and [[Unified Conspiracy Theory]] at the same time.<ref name=HuffPost /> Several of the more liberal interviewees were quite disconcerted to be used to further such an agenda. [[Pseudoscience]], [[New Age]], and [[conspiracy theory]] stars like [[David Icke]] also appear on the movie, talking about [[Free energy (pseudoscience)|toroidal energy]] and [[UFO]] [[Bullshit|nonsense]], respectively. Ironically enough, the company Foster's family co-founded was also the subject of a [[Satanic Panic|satanic conspiracy theory]], though the ''Thrive'' website maintains that while Foster Gamble was indeed the great-grandson of James Gamble, Foster's documentary is neither affiliated with P&G nor funded by it.<ref name="png">[http://www.thrivemovement.com/how-foster-related-procter-and-gamble How is Foster related to Procter and Gamble?]</ref>

== Positive reactions ==
''Thrive'' was voted the Veiwer's Choice {{sic}} for Top Transformational Film for 2011 by AwareGuide.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20131105140741/http://www.awareguide.com/index.php/articles/blogs/item/370-2011top  Top Transformational Films of 2011] (AwareGuide). Dig the rest of that list.</ref> It's in excellent company.

Mark Jeantheau of Grinning Planet ("Saving the Planet One Joke at a Time") reviewed the film, saying  it "gets down to the real answer, which is non-violent non-participation. Under that broad umbrella, presented for your consideration are things such as changing how you bank; shunning corporate food (especially GMO-based food) in favor of local food; adopting and promoting renewable energy; and demanding that the internet be kept fair and open."<ref>[http://www.grinningplanet.com/environmental-movies/t/thrive-review.htm Movie review: Thrive (2011)] (Mark Jeantheau, ''Grinning Planet'')</ref>

== Not so positive reactions ==
Kyle Hill of [[JREF]] described it as "basically ''[[Zeitgeist]]'' 2.0 ... when you align all of the claims that this movie purports to be true, it is hard not to think it is some kind of joke."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/1538-thriving.html|title=Thriving|author=Kyle Hill|accessdate=26 November 2011|publisher=[[James Randi Educational Foundation]] |work=Swift blog}}</ref> Even people who like some of its message aren't so impressed; Reality Sandwich noted its "disjointed editing" and "repetitiveness ... in place of actual evidence or arguments", and that its claims about [[free energy suppression]] advocated something that would violate the second law of thermodynamics.<ref>[http://www.realitysandwich.com/thrive_story_wrong_spirit_right  Thrive: The Story is Wrong but the Spirit is Right] (Charles Eisenstein, ''Reality Sandwich'')</ref>

Georgia Kelly of the Praxis Peace Institute pointed out the film's "reactionary, libertarian political agenda that stands in jarring contrast with the soothing tone of the presentation", and Gamble's push for shrinking the government as part of the solution to the problems, rather than better regulating the runaway libertarian agenda that caused them. She spoke to several progressives who were interviewed in the film, unaware that it would have such a political slant.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/georgia-kelly/thrive-film_b_1168930.html Thrive: Deconstructing the Film] (Georgia Kelly, ''Huffington Post'', 28 December 2011)</ref> Praxis posted a greatly-extended version as a paper on the film and the organisation.<ref>[http://www.praxispeace.org/pdf/DL_020612.pdf Deconstructing Libertarianism: A Critique Prompted by the film ''Thrive''] (Praxis Peace Institute, February 2012)</ref>

Foster Gamble posted a response<ref>http://www.thrivemovement.com/FG-Kelly-Response.blog</ref> which goes, "yeah but no but yeah" at length and claims that his libertarianism is different to both "so-called Left and Right", which are attached to "Collectivism". He expanded on his views in the paper ''Solutions / Liberty'', which featured extensive quotes from [[Stefan Molyneux]] and such lesser lights as [[Ayn Rand]] and [[Ron Paul]].<ref>[http://www.thrivemovement.com/solutions-liberty Solutions / LIBERTY] (Foster Gamble, thrivemovement.com)</ref>

===Filming under false pretenses===
Seven people interviewed for the film openly distanced themselves from the ideas explored in it, calling them "dangerously misguided". And ''Deepak Chopra was one of them!'' We hope this communicates how off the charts the crank level of this film actually is. The above seven produced the following signed statement as a group:<ref>https://thrivedebunked.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/throwing-thrive-under-the-bus-progressives-interviewed-in-the-film-distance-themselves-from-its-dangerously-misguided-ideas/</ref>

{{quotebox|We are a group of people who were interviewed for and appear in the movie ''Thrive'', and who hereby publicly disassociate ourselves from the film.

''Thrive'' is a very different film from what we were led to expect when we agreed to be interviewed. We are dismayed that we were not given a chance to know its content until the time of its public release. We are equally dismayed that our participation is being used to give credibility to ideas and agendas that we see as dangerously misguided.

We stand by what each of us said when we were interviewed. But we have grave disagreements with some of the film’s content and feel the need to make this public statement to avoid the appearance that our presence in the film constitutes any kind of endorsement.}}

== Cast ==
* Foster Gamble - Creator of this "movement".
* Kimberly Carter Gamble - Co-creator and wife of Foster Gamble.
* Duane Elgin<sup>A)</sup>
* {{wpl|Steven M. Greer|Steven Greer}} - The [[Disclosure]] Project [[Ufology|ufologist]].
* Jack Kasher
* {{wpl|Daniel Sheehan (attorney)|Daniel Sheehan}} - Apparently, Greer brought his lawyer...
* Adam Trombly<sup>A)</sup> - [https://thrivedebunked.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/who-is-adam-trombly/ ''Who Is Adam Trombly?''] indeed.
* [[Brian O'Leary]] - Astronaut, later free energy nut, died the year ''Thrive'' was released (the death was probably unrelated to the film release, probably...)
* [[Vandana Shiva]]<sup>A)</sup> - Anti-[[GMO]] activist.
* {{wpl|John Taylor Gatto|John Gatto}} - Formerly great teacher turned [[homeschooling|homeschooler]]/[[unschooling|unschooler]].
* {{wpl|John Robbins (author)|John Robbins}}<sup>A)</sup>
* [[Deepak Chopra]]<sup>A)</sup>
* [[David Icke]] - O, RLY?
* {{wpl|Catherine Austin Fitts}}
* {{wpl|G. Edward Griffin}}
* Bill Still
* {{wpl|John Perkins (author)|John Perkins}}<sup>A)</sup>
* {{wpl|Paul Hawken}}<sup>A)</sup>
* {{wpl|Aqeela Sherrills}}
* Evon Peter
* {{wpl|Angel Kyodo Williams}} - Spiritual teacher, author and entrepreneur.
* [[Elisabet Sahtouris]]<sup>A)</sup> - Evolutionary biologist, futurist and business consultant.
* [[Liberal talk radio#Amy Goodman|Amy Goodman]]<sup>A)</sup>
* {{wpl|Barbara Marx Hubbard}}
<sup>A)</sup> Note, however, [https://thrivedebunked.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/throwing-thrive-under-the-bus-progressives-interviewed-in-the-film-distance-themselves-from-its-dangerously-misguided-ideas/ that all these persons] distanced themselves from the film after they saw the finished product, although Trombly was a bit late for the party.

==See also==
*''[[Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed]]'', which similarly interviewed experts and quote-mined them to suit its agenda.

==External links==
*[http://thrivedebunked.wordpress.com/ Thrive Debunked], a thorough refutation of the claims made by the film.
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2063834/ ''Thrive'' on IMDb]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Films]]
[[Category:New Age]]
[[Category:Propaganda]]
[[Category:Ufology]]

Categories: Conspiracy theories, Films, New Age, Propaganda, Ufology