The events that led to the deaths of 909 Americans, most of whom voluntarily gave up their lives under the watch and orders of a sadistic, egomaniacal, hypocritical, but convincing madman are, by themselves, very difficult to accept. Any reasonable person would not want to accept that these things have happened, and continue to happen today on a lower magnitude. However, it is best to know how these things happen so that history doesn't repeat itself. It is a lesson that, ironically, was actually spelled out in all capital letters on a sign that hung prominently in Jonestown, Guyana: "THOSE WHO CANNOT REMEMBER THE PAST ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT". It's even more ironic that this particular sign can be seen in the haunting photographs hanging over the lifeless bodies of unfortunate victims.
The things that happened in Guyana on November 18, 1978 are a tough pill to swallow, that's for sure. What's great about a documentary like "Jonestown: The Life And Death of People's Temple" is that many of the events leading up to the notorious mass suicides are unfolded with the aid of vast amounts of archive footage, revealing photographs, and absolutely no narration whatsoever. The accounts of more than a dozen former People's Temple members, including some who miraculously made it out of Jonestown alive, provide the much-needed support for this heavy-handed historical account.
Viewers who are unaware of the events, or who don't know where the expression "drinking the purple Kool Aid" comes from, will probably be shocked even in the first five minutes of this movie. It is then that the who, what, when, where and how are revealed, none of which is pretty. It is to find out the why that many people, including myself, would want to watch this documentary.
Deborah Layton, a former People's Temple member who wrote a bestselling book about her ordeal with Reverend Jim Jones and his followers, starts the documentary out right by saying, "Nobody joins a cult. Nobody joins something they think's gonna hurt them. You join a religious organization, you join a political movement, and you join with people that you really like". Upon hearing this statement, I could not help but think of the proverb, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions".
More pertinent to this story, it seemed as though Jim Jones founded the People's Temple on very good intentions. His church embraced integration when many other churches were against it. When his congregation grew, the Temple provided a great amount of community service. As you watch the footage of the church services, you see so many happy people, and it's easy to forget the magnitude of the group's eventual demise.
In fact, the interviewees do a great job expressing their reasons for joining the Temple. They also delve into some interesting details about when Jim Jones revealed his true intentions to them behind closed doors. Let's just say that some of his tactics ranged from public humiliation to sodomy.
Of course, once Reverend Jones and company hightail it to a remote location in Guyana, the story gets even more disturbing. The opinions of Jonestown vary amongst the survivors. Some hated it from the start, while others loved it up until the very end. Regardless, the accounts that came from all these people, including Jim Jones' adopted African-American son Jim Jones, Jr., are all fascinating.
Director Stanley Nelson did some great research for this documentary, and the interviews served as the backbone for this project. The only weakness the documentary has involves the aftermath of the survivors. You're given an epilogue consisting solely of what family and friends each surviving member lost. What I wanted to know, however, is how the survivors, who had given their lives and possessions to the People's Temple, moved on from the ordeal. They lost everything, yet when it was probably easiest to kill themselves along with the other Guyana members, they are still around today to tell the tale. It also would have been nice to know if they are successful or not.
Actually, Nelson wanted to include such information, but claimed he ran out of time. If he directs a companion piece to this documentary that includes such information, it would be information that would offset the pain of such a tragedy at least a little, and that is all most viewers could ask for in this instance.
The things that happened in Guyana on November 18, 1978 are a tough pill to swallow, that's for sure. What's great about a documentary like "Jonestown: The Life And Death of People's Temple" is that many of the events leading up to the notorious mass suicides are unfolded with the aid of vast amounts of archive footage, revealing photographs, and absolutely no narration whatsoever. The accounts of more than a dozen former People's Temple members, including some who miraculously made it out of Jonestown alive, provide the much-needed support for this heavy-handed historical account.
Viewers who are unaware of the events, or who don't know where the expression "drinking the purple Kool Aid" comes from, will probably be shocked even in the first five minutes of this movie. It is then that the who, what, when, where and how are revealed, none of which is pretty. It is to find out the why that many people, including myself, would want to watch this documentary.
Deborah Layton, a former People's Temple member who wrote a bestselling book about her ordeal with Reverend Jim Jones and his followers, starts the documentary out right by saying, "Nobody joins a cult. Nobody joins something they think's gonna hurt them. You join a religious organization, you join a political movement, and you join with people that you really like". Upon hearing this statement, I could not help but think of the proverb, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions".
More pertinent to this story, it seemed as though Jim Jones founded the People's Temple on very good intentions. His church embraced integration when many other churches were against it. When his congregation grew, the Temple provided a great amount of community service. As you watch the footage of the church services, you see so many happy people, and it's easy to forget the magnitude of the group's eventual demise.
In fact, the interviewees do a great job expressing their reasons for joining the Temple. They also delve into some interesting details about when Jim Jones revealed his true intentions to them behind closed doors. Let's just say that some of his tactics ranged from public humiliation to sodomy.
Of course, once Reverend Jones and company hightail it to a remote location in Guyana, the story gets even more disturbing. The opinions of Jonestown vary amongst the survivors. Some hated it from the start, while others loved it up until the very end. Regardless, the accounts that came from all these people, including Jim Jones' adopted African-American son Jim Jones, Jr., are all fascinating.
Director Stanley Nelson did some great research for this documentary, and the interviews served as the backbone for this project. The only weakness the documentary has involves the aftermath of the survivors. You're given an epilogue consisting solely of what family and friends each surviving member lost. What I wanted to know, however, is how the survivors, who had given their lives and possessions to the People's Temple, moved on from the ordeal. They lost everything, yet when it was probably easiest to kill themselves along with the other Guyana members, they are still around today to tell the tale. It also would have been nice to know if they are successful or not.
Actually, Nelson wanted to include such information, but claimed he ran out of time. If he directs a companion piece to this documentary that includes such information, it would be information that would offset the pain of such a tragedy at least a little, and that is all most viewers could ask for in this instance.