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Entertainment Fascinating People art artist conspiracy conspiracy theorist conspiracy theory culture david dees disinformation documentaries

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Brad Abrahams

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Wednesday, July 21, 2021 at 4:21 PM EST via Parallel Uploader

From illustrating for Sesame Street to exposing the New World Order, this is the story of the controversial and recently departed David Dees, unofficial artist of conspiracy theory culture. What sent him down the rabbit hole, and is there a path out?

Featuring David Dees (1957-2020)
Directed and Edited by Brad Abrahams
Cinematography, Color, and Graphics by Cody Cobb
Original Score by Matt Hill/Umberto
Sound Design by The Black Dog
Mix and Addition Sound Design by Brian Pake
Poster by Ariel Davis

Short of the week 21
Vimeo Staff Pick 21
Miami Film Festival 21
Calgary Underground Film Festival 21
FilmFort 21
American Documentary Film Festival 21
Sydney Underground Film Festival 21

1 Credit
Cody Cobb
Cinematography + Design

3 Categories
Documentary Arts & Craft People

https://vimeo.com/577756310

Short of the Week

Jul 22, 2021
From illustrating for Sesame Street to exposing the New World Order, this is the story of the controversial and recently departed David Dees, unofficial artist of conspiracy theory culture. What sent him down the rabbit hole, and is there a path out?

*A selection of Short of the Week, the web's leading curators of quality short films.*

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Do you see what I see?
Directed by Brad Abrahams
http://bradabrahams.net/dyswis

Excerpts from the Full Review - https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2021/07/22/do-you-see-what-i-see/

"From director Brad Abrahams comes a profile documentary so surreal and entrenched in the life of controversial conspiracy theorist artist David Dees, that your understanding of reality from the ‘other side’ might just come into focus. While the views of the artist in question are far from relatable, growing distrust of our institutions give way to an alarming amount of people who will understand where Dees is coming from. Abrahams' unsettling portrait of a man is so human and full of empathy that it’s hard not to feel a deep connection to both Dees’ beliefs and the brilliant, yet problematic works of art he created. A film that will frustrate, enlighten, and enrage, it provides a chilling word of warning for us all.

The spread of misinformation is now so commonplace that the issues Do you see what I see? raises, is not to be ignored. Glimpsing into the psyche of someone who has gone so far down the rabbit hole, they are living in an alternate reality is a work of fiction spun from fear. Yet for Dees, this wasn’t always the case. Before the recently departed David Dees was the unofficial conspiracy theory artist for the masses, he was an artist for Sesame Street for 13 years with a promising future ahead of him. Dees’ backstory and his beliefs are what ultimately drew Abrahams, whose body of work focuses on cryptozoologists, alien abductees, renegade scientists, & conspiracy theorists, to film a profile documentary about him. For Abrahams, probing into the psychology of people like Dees coupled with the allure of the unknown is worth exploring. “No matter how bizarre the person or tale, my M.O. is to present them in a nonjudgmental, non-marginalizing manner, with disarming sincerity. Because of the darkness of his beliefs, profiling David Dees turned out to be the most challenging subject yet,” Abrahams tells Short of the Week.

Abrahams wanted to juxtapose the two halves of Dees persona, a sensitive empath and rabid conspiracy theorist, allowing for enough empathy to suspend judgment. He argues that conspiracy theories used to be a phenomena most of the public could laugh at and disregard, but we no longer have that luxury. “They can consume lives, destroy families, and lead to violence,” Abrahams points out. “Instead of othering or ignoring the believers, we must understand how they got there and why they believe, so we can create a dialogue that helps pull them back from the abyss.” But there's no denying that Dees' extremist art and online presence are in any way forgivable. Abrahams asks a lot of his audience - perhaps too much.

Attempting to bring back someone from "the abyss" is a massive undertaking for any one individual let alone a single filmmaker, and yet, Do you see what I see? manages to humanize its protagonist in such a way that it’s hard to write Dees off as a lost cause. It’s therefore even more unfortunate and emotionally impactful due to Dees’ passing - he’ll never get that chance. In this way, Abrahams treads into a gray area of ethics that's hard to navigate for any documentarian." - S/W Curator Chelsea Lupkin

Reproduced on this channel with the permission of the filmmakers.

Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:04 What do you do
2:42 GB 4000
4:12 Conspiracy Theories
4:39 Political art
5:49 Did you always want to be an artist
6:48 How did people hear about you
8:02 Taking a break from the internet
8:34 Conspiracy art
10:28 Spiritual experiences

Reading List
*American Conspiracies J Ventura
*Among the Truthers Jonathan Kay
*Behold a Pale Horse William Cooper
*Conspiracy Theories by Cass R Sunstein
*Conspiracy Theory Lance deHaven Smith
*Conspiracy, Compliance, Control Nowicki
*Deep State Encyclopedia Reallygraceful
*Deliberate Destruction America L Day
*The New Order of Barbarians
*The New World Order Epperson
*The New World Order by Mark Dice
*New World Order Eugenics Wars
*None Dare Call It Conspiracy G Allen
*None Dare Call It Treason Stormer
*Octopus of Global Control
*Official Stories by Liam Scheff
*One Nation Under Blackmail Webb
*Pawns in the Game William Guy Carr
*Reportage Essays New World Order
*Thirteen Pieces of the Jigsaw Perloff
*Truth is a Lonely Warrior James Perloff
*Tuttle Twins Guide True Conspiracies
*Understanding Conspiracy Theories Neal
*The Unseen Hand by A Ralph Epperson