5.0 out of 5 stars
Perhaps the best crop circle video available, November 26, 2009
This review is from: CircleSpeak - A Journey into the Heart of Crop Circle Country (DVD)
The phenomenon of crop circles has been plagued by the same kind of controversy associated with UFOs - true believers and cultists are confronted by mocking skeptics, and a good measure of fraud and fakery is thrown in to completely muddy the waters. Meanwhile, the general public is left in confusion and moves on to matters of more pressing concern. This video is a needed corrective to the situation, and steers a course between credulity and mockery. All points of view are presented fairly, in my opinion, and any reaction - positive or negative - will come from the viewer himself, not from heavy-handed and manipulative editorializing.
This video treats crop circles as a potentially unexplained and unexplainable phenomenon, but gives due credit (if that is the word) to the ability of hoaxers (or circle artists, if you prefer) to create patterns that one might not have thought possible.
The "true believers" are here represented by the likes of Michael Glickman and Lucy Pringle, the sober scientific approach is exemplified by W.C. Levengood, and the hoaxers are represented by Doug Bower and a group of younger "circle artists." Among the more interesting individuals are those who - such as Colin Andrews - have seen their former "belief" in crop circles modified or even destroyed when confronted by the unforeseen skills (not to mention the remarkable tenacity) of the hoaxers.
I came away from this video thinking - for the first time - that it is at least possible that the entire crop circle phenomenon has been a vast tragi-comedy in which the unfulfilled spiritial yearings of post-Christian Europe have been toyed with by a cadre of skilled but heartless artisans. No doubt, that is part of the story, but I shy away from offering that as a universal explanation of the phenomenon. As the video points out, aspects of the phenomenon do not entirely yield to rational explanation at the present time, and there is yet much to learn and much to be uncovered.
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