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The enticing idea is to add an extra layer of meaning to the world, as members discover things without explanation. They love the fact that they're escaping the grip of television and religions that preach that everyone else is bad. With Latitude, religious rituals are deployed without dogma to build community, although some have the eerie whiff of Scientology or fantasy roleplaying games. As time passes, the organisers are surprised to see human nature express itself within the society through divisive actions, including an uproar when a membership fee is imposed. But shutting it down feels devastating.

By its very nature, Lattitude has several purposes, including making culture the focus of life, rather than politics, and reaching people who sense that the world has closed in around them. And no one seems to mind whether this is a cult or entertainment. So it's tantalising to think that all of this was created specifically for this documentary (see also McCall's 2013 doc The Institute and his 2020 TV series Dispatches From Elsewhere). Does that violate the idea of absolute discretion? Clearly, we don't need a wealthy genius to create magic in our lives. We just need to be willing to embrace the questions.

themes, language

14.Jul.20

Meanwhile in Malibu, biker dude Dante lives alone in a cool trailer and is developing projects to make money on his own terms. Also in Los Angeles, Pierce describes himself as a normal guy from small-town Montana whose fans like his naked workouts. Newcomer Elijah stays fit at home in New York while working on remote productions. And the muscly DeAngelo does a yoga routine in his Atlanta backyard before a videogame session. Finally, James assembles a group chat to discuss advice they'd give those who want to get into the business ("Pay your taxes!").

More interesting moments include each guy talking about telling their families about their jobs. They also speak about cyber-bullying, the impact of social media on the industry and refusing to be put into any box regarding their sexuality. And they laugh that people assume they're promiscuous, even as they readily admit how much they love sex. Without any shape to the film, none of the points is made with much force. But unedited footage is perhaps the purest form of documentary.

themes, language

29.Jul.20

This leads to several intriguing set-pieces, such as when CIA-trained psychic Paul Smith sends Cory outside and asks actress Rachele Brooke Smith to use the power of her mind to see where she is and what she's doing. Hansen proves to Feldman that his voice can be transmitted using pure energy waves without sound. There's also a lot of somewhat woolly scientific stuff about converting thoughts into colours, vibrations into patterns, feelings into sounds. The salient question is: if this is true, why isn't everyone doing it?

Whatever you believe, it's clear that there are more capabilities in the human mind than we can understand. And we must be able to feel the invisible electromagnetic waves that surround us on some level. So it's intriguing to see that these things can be captured by technology. Therefore, the film argues, this is science not magic. So experts should be investigating it if they really want to understand human existence.

some themes

16.Jul.20