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The half-animated, half-live-action short documentary You’ve Never Been Completely Honest (2022) chronicles a disturbing story at the advent of the oft-overlapping self-help and multilevel-marketing industries. Rendered in gut-wrenching detail by the US director Joey Izzo, the film recalls a four-day ‘leadership seminar’ in 1970 in Palo Alto, California, for male employees of the the multilevel cosmetics marketing company Holiday Magic Inc. Izzo builds his intentionally unpleasant visuals around a never-before-heard recording of an interview with a man named Gene Church, who attended the seminar and later wrote about his experience. Through Church’s harrowing account, Izzo depicts how this seemingly benign-sounding work event descended into violence, depravity and nearly death – all without losing a single participant before its end. The film ultimately connects the story to the rise of the modern multibillion-dollar self-help industry, providing some unsettling insights into social psychology and group dynamics that are still relevant today.
Director: Joey Izzo
Producers: Andy Ruse, Jesy Odio
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Architecture
The celebrated architect who took inspiration from sitting, waiting and contemplating
29 minutes
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Anthropology
Why are witchcraft accusations so common across human societies?
4 minutes
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Subcultures
Drop into London’s eclectic skate scene, where newbies and old-timers find community
5 minutes
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Technology and the self
A deepfake porn victim confronts the pain of having her likeness stolen and vandalised
19 minutes
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Wellbeing
Born in China, Zee seeks a gender-affirming life in the American Midwest
11 minutes
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Rituals and celebrations
A beginner’s guide to a joyful Persian tradition of spring renewal and rebirth
3 minutes
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Love and friendship
Love looks a bit different for a chain-smoking couple in a small apartment
11 minutes
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Metaphysics
Simple entities in universal harmony – Leibniz’s evocative perspective on reality
4 minutes
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Work
A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?
14 minutes