The Collective Evolution III: The Shift, usually shortened to CE3, is an 84-minute Canadian documentary released on 28 February 2014 by the team behind the Collective Evolution website. It argues that humanity is going through a deep change in how people think about money, power and consciousness, and it mixes interviews, narration and personal stories to make that case. If you are searching for it, you probably want to know what the film says, who appears in it, where to find it, and how much of it holds up. This guide covers all four.
What CE3 is about
The film starts from a simple idea: many people feel trapped in routines of debt, stress and competition, and they sense that the systems around them are not built for their well-being. CE3 describes these as "control structures" and suggests that a growing number of people are noticing them and stepping away.
From there it moves in three directions. First, it looks inward, talking about consciousness, fear and the habit of living in what the narrators call survival mode. Second, it looks outward at economics and politics, presenting the current socioeconomic system as something people can opt out of rather than simply endure. Third, it looks ahead, describing new technologies and community projects that the filmmakers see as signs of a more co-operative future.
The tone is hopeful rather than angry. Where many activist documentaries of the period focused on exposing wrongdoing, this one spends much of its running time on what individuals can do: change how they spend, how they treat others, and how they react to fear.
Who appears in the film
Film databases list a mix of Collective Evolution writers, independent media figures and spiritual teachers among the people featured. They include Joe Martino, who founded Collective Evolution and is also credited on the production side; Arjun Walia and Alanna Ketler, who wrote for the site; Luke Rudkowski, the independent journalist known for the We Are Change channel; the author Daniel Pinchbeck; Inelia Benz; Michael Jeffreys; and Miriam Delicado, among others.
Pinchbeck is a useful example of the film's outlook. He co-founded the web magazine Reality Sandwich in 2007 and wrote 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl (2006), a book about Mayan and Hopi prophecy and the New Age idea of a rapid transformation in global consciousness. That background tells you the film's frame: it treats a shift in awareness as the central story of our time.
CE3 is the third film in a series. An earlier instalment, The Collective Evolution II: The Human Experience, is also listed on IMDb, and the three films share the same broad themes.
Where to watch it now
The full film was once freely available on YouTube, and this page used to embed it. That upload has since been removed.
(The video originally embedded here is no longer available on YouTube.)
DVD from the filmmakers' shop: http://collectiveevolution.bigcartel.com/
http://www.collective-evolution.com
https://www.facebook.com/CollectiveEvolutionPage
The filmmakers' resources page: http://www.collective-evolution.com/bechange
Music at the end of the film is by Anthony Tilotta:
http://anthonytilotta.com/
http://www.youtube.com/anthonytilottamusic
Some of these addresses date from the film's release and may no longer work. If they fail, search for the film title together with "Collective Evolution", or check whether the filmmakers have reposted it on their current channels. Be cautious with unofficial streaming sites that ask for downloads or sign-ups.
The ideas worth taking from it
Strip away the bigger claims and CE3 offers several suggestions that are hard to argue with:
- Notice your defaults. Much of what we do each day, from what we buy to how we react under pressure, runs on habit. Simply paying attention to those habits is a reasonable first step towards changing them.
- Fear makes people easier to steer. The film's point that anxious people make poorer decisions is broadly consistent with mainstream psychology, even if the film puts it in spiritual language.
- Local action matters. Community gardens, co-operatives, repair cafés and sharing schemes are real, and joining one is a practical way to act on the film's message.
- Co-operation is part of human nature. The idea that people are only selfish competitors is a myth worth questioning; humans are also deeply social and reciprocal.
These points do not depend on accepting everything else in the film. They are a good place to start if CE3 leaves you wanting to do something rather than just feel something.
Where to be sceptical
CE3 makes some claims that go well beyond the evidence. The original promotion of the film said it uses "scientific facts" to explain the shift, but the science in it is mostly interpretation. Words like energy, frequency and consciousness are used in a loose, spiritual sense that physics and neuroscience would not recognise.
The most important example is the theme of "hidden technologies". In this genre of film, that phrase usually refers to so-called free energy devices that are supposedly being suppressed by governments or oil companies. That idea is a well-documented conspiracy theory. Machines that produce more energy than they take in would break the first law of thermodynamics, and videos of magnet-powered motors that seem to run forever have typically turned out to hide batteries. Genuine progress in clean energy, such as cheaper solar panels, wind turbines and batteries, has happened in public, through ordinary research and markets.
The film also presents the present moment as a uniquely important turning point in history. That is a belief, not a finding. Many generations have felt the same way about their own time.
How to watch documentaries like this one
Films such as CE3, Thrive or Zeitgeist are persuasive by design. They use music, editing and confident narration to make ideas feel proven. That does not make them worthless, but it does mean watching with a few questions in mind:
- Who is speaking? Check whether an interviewee has expertise in the subject they are talking about, or is speaking from personal belief.
- What is the source? When a claim sounds scientific, look for a named study or institution. Vague phrases like "scientists now know" are a warning sign.
- What is left out? A one-sided film rarely includes the strongest counter-argument. Look it up yourself.
- Separate values from facts. "We should be kinder to each other" is a value you can embrace. "A secret device can power the world for free" is a factual claim that needs evidence.
Watched this way, CE3 can be a useful conversation starter about work, money and meaning, even if you do not share its view of where history is heading.
Sources: TheTVDB: The Collective Evolution III: The Shift (release date, runtime, people featured); IMDb: The Collective Evolution II: The Human Experience; Wikipedia: Daniel Pinchbeck; Wikipedia: Free energy suppression conspiracy theory. Film by Collective Evolution; end music by Anthony Tilotta.
Related:
COMMENTS