Forget Netflix and Disney+. The must-see movie of the year doesn’t require a streaming subscription.
It’s available right here for free on the Stuff website.
Genre-wise, I’d describe Fire and Fury, made by veteran investigative journalists Paula Penfold and Louisa Cleave, as psychological horror. There’s no blood and gore, though a blistering riot scene near the end gets the pulse racing. Like the best in its genre, it sends a shiver down your spine with its implied horror.
It’s the story of how a disparate group of Kiwis – wellness bloggers, disgruntled health workers and far-right activists – joined forces during the pandemic to fight against the vaccine and the associated vaccine mandates.
A host of intersecting grievances were bundled together and promoted by a group calling itself Voices for Freedom, which has now amassed around 100,000 followers across social media platforms. Its co-founder Claire Deeks is in the documentary, filmed during the Parliament protest.
“You are not conspiracy theorists, you are truth seekers,” she tells the scruffy tent dwellers gathered before her.
But Voices for Freedom is about anything but the truth. It peddles a jumble of mis/disinformation, much of it delivered in Instagram videos by innocuous-looking yoga mums. It’s clear from Fire and Fury that the Wellington protests were only the start.
A growing and occasionally violent movement of people is happy to make its own truth and impose it on everyone else.
I hope the Government doesn’t need to resort to censorship. I recently had a good-natured argument with a friend who is sceptical that humans ever landed on the Moon. That’s fine, he’s entitled to his opinion. It’s not hurting anyone if he thinks that.
But anti-vaccine misinformation does hurt people. Climate denial hurts people, by prolonging action on the biggest issue facing humanity. We are all entitled to our opinions, but we are not entitled to create our own truth – and push it on other people.
“In science, particularly in the natural sciences, there is an absolute truth,” the British physicist and broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili said in March.
“Wherever we come from, whatever culture, whatever time period, whatever language we speak, we should be able to reach that truth about the world.”
Science is the search for that truth. It’s often messy and its answers can be inconvenient. But it’s the best system we have and we need it more than ever. I urge you to watch Fire and Fury and ask yourself – am I happy to drop down the rabbit hole of disinformation and misinformation?
Or will I recognise that I’m vulnerable to confirmation bias, that I will question dubious claims and inform my views with trustworthy sources? If enough of us opt for the latter, we can get through this. I think we will.
Last column
This is my last column for Stuff. I thought I’d be doing well to rack up 100 columns and this, it turns out, is column 101. So thank you for reading and for your honest feedback. Stay curious and keep asking questions.
Originally published on Stuff.co.nz
PETER GRIFFIN 