The Forbidden History of Unpopular People
Project Description
In 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People' Topher launches himself headlong into the ideological battle over free speech.
The Project:
'TFHUP' (as we call it) is a fast-paced take-no-prisoners look at some of history's most 'Unpopular People'. 'Crackpots' who were punished, persecuted, banished or executed simply for what they said. The catch is, we now know that some of those 'crackpots' were right, and the rulers, religious leaders, medical experts and scientists who persecuted them were wrong. Guys like Galileo, Semmelweis, Martin Luther King Jr and many MANY more.
Each was persecuted and punished for daring to stand up against the 'accepted wisdom' of the day, and yet today we accept THEIR view of the world, not the one that was dominant at the time they spoke up. They were world-changers. Throughout history It has been the CRACKPOTS who have driven human ideological progress forward.
'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People' briefly surveys the history of these 'unpopular people' and shows us why we need EVERYONE to be free to speak their mind. We need ALL people to be able to say what THEY believe to be true, even if NO ONE ELSE agrees with them. EVERYONE should be free to disagree with each other, argue over the evidence, declare each other to be wrong and argue in favor of their point of view to their hearts content!
'TFHUP' (as we call it) is a fast-paced take-no-prisoners look at some of history's most 'Unpopular People'. 'Crackpots' who were punished, persecuted, banished or executed simply for what they said. The catch is, we now know that some of those 'crackpots' were right, and the rulers, religious leaders, medical experts and scientists who persecuted them were wrong. Guys like Galileo, Semmelweis, Martin Luther King Jr and many MANY more.
Each was persecuted and punished for daring to stand up against the 'accepted wisdom' of the day, and yet today we accept THEIR view of the world, not the one that was dominant at the time they spoke up. They were world-changers. Throughout history It has been the CRACKPOTS who have driven human ideological progress forward.
'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People' briefly surveys the history of these 'unpopular people' and shows us why we need EVERYONE to be free to speak their mind. We need ALL people to be able to say what THEY believe to be true, even if NO ONE ELSE agrees with them. EVERYONE should be free to disagree with each other, argue over the evidence, declare each other to be wrong and argue in favor of their point of view to their hearts content!
If we try to stifle and silence the 'crackpots' then inevitably this means silencing ANYONE who doesn't go along with the conventional wisdom of the day.
The Reason:
It's the CONTEST of ideas that matters, it's the CONTEST that allows the best ideas to rise to the top, and that contest is only possible when ALL sides of an argument are free to put their case.
Consider the alternative. If we were to say 'Ok everyone, you can have free speech as long as you are not contradicting known science!' Really? 'Known science, ACCORDING TO WHO???'
ANY government restrictions on free speech, no matter how well intention or how well they are designed will INEVITABLY place power over speech (and therefore power over ideas) in the hands of some kind of arbitrating body who says 'yes yes, that kind of speech is ok', and 'no mate, we'll have no more of that lunatic theory'.
In reality, ANY kind of government restrictions on free speech will place power into the hands of a relatively small, bureaucratic body of people who will of course be chosen because of their excellent grasp of science, sociology, medicine, religion and the like (in other words, their excellent grasp of todays conventional wisdom, just like the persecuting rulers, religious leaders, medical experts and scientists of yesteryear had an excellent grasp of THEIR day's conventional wisdom) whose job it will inevitably become to stamp out the opinions of anyone who strays too far away from todays version of 'conventional wisdom'... for our own good, of course.
The Reason:
It's the CONTEST of ideas that matters, it's the CONTEST that allows the best ideas to rise to the top, and that contest is only possible when ALL sides of an argument are free to put their case.
Consider the alternative. If we were to say 'Ok everyone, you can have free speech as long as you are not contradicting known science!' Really? 'Known science, ACCORDING TO WHO???'
ANY government restrictions on free speech, no matter how well intention or how well they are designed will INEVITABLY place power over speech (and therefore power over ideas) in the hands of some kind of arbitrating body who says 'yes yes, that kind of speech is ok', and 'no mate, we'll have no more of that lunatic theory'.
In reality, ANY kind of government restrictions on free speech will place power into the hands of a relatively small, bureaucratic body of people who will of course be chosen because of their excellent grasp of science, sociology, medicine, religion and the like (in other words, their excellent grasp of todays conventional wisdom, just like the persecuting rulers, religious leaders, medical experts and scientists of yesteryear had an excellent grasp of THEIR day's conventional wisdom) whose job it will inevitably become to stamp out the opinions of anyone who strays too far away from todays version of 'conventional wisdom'... for our own good, of course.
The same is true of 'Hate Speech' laws. 'Ok everyone, you can have freedom of speech as long as it's not offensive!' Really? Offensive ACCORDING TO WHO???
Suddenly our freedom to speak is limited by the unknowable possibility that 'someone' might take exception to it. Once again our freedom to speak is placed into the hands of a small group of people, this time the most 'easily offended' among us.
The Danger:
Well even as you read this there are powerful people in Australia and around the 'free' world who are working towards EXACTLY this sort of thing. Some kind of arbitrating body to stamp out 'hate' speech (hey, there were some white folk who thought Martin Luther King Jr's 'I have a dream' speech was hateful enough to be worth killing him over!) and to ensure 'scientific accuracy' (like the doctors in Ignaz Semmelweis' day who 'knew' from decades of experience and medical 'research' that sickness was caused by an imbalance in the 'humors' of the body and if someone was sick you had to bleed them to bring balance back to their body) and the like. It sounds nice, and those pushing for it may mean well, but in reality it would be a disaster for freedom and a disaster for the continuing progress of mankind.
The Solution: (ok, maybe not the WHOLE solution, but it'll help)
'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People' is designed to combat this by helping anyone and everyone to understand the true value of free speech, and the danger of sticking to today's conventional wisdom.
TFHUP is designed SPECIFICALLY for people who would not normally be even slightly interested in 'political stuff' so we can increase the 'grass roots, general public' level of support for free speech and make it politically impossible for restrictions on free speech to be forced upon us.
To this end, viewers will be taken on an engaging, interesting, humorous and fast paced romp through a bunch of history's 'villians-turned-heroes' as they are beaten, burned, beheaded, hung and otherwise craftily killed by the 'intelligentsia' of their day.
'TFHUP' will be published on the internet for people to watch for FREE. This is NOT a money-making exercise. We simply want as many people as possible to watch it and understand how precious free speech is, and that we shouldn't give it up for ANYTHING.
TFHUP will be less than 15 minutes long, which combined with the high-energy levels and irreverent tone will help ensure that even a 'short attention span' online audience will sit all the way through it.
Trouble is, making such a high-energy fast-cutting fast-talking video is expensive. Topher has been making documentaries for three years now (see www.topher.com.au to see his previous work) but he has made them with his own money and ON HIS OWN. (with only one or two exceptions Topher has done all his own research, preparation, camera work, editing and post production AND bankrolled them himself) This is simply NOT POSSIBLE on a project like this. To get the quality that this project demands, Topher needs help, and help costs money.
And that brings us to where we are right now.
We need a MINIMUM of $22,000 to make 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People' into a reality. BARE MINIMUM. Any less than that and we would have to cut too many corners, compromise too much and we feel it really wouldn't be worth it. Remember, the whole idea of this video is to engage people who aren't really all that interested in free speech, so to keep them watching it's going to HAVE to be good!
Ideally we need $36,000 to make 'TFHUP' the way we would like to. We want to create a video so good that people will watch it and post it to facebook / twitter / wherever telling their FRIENDS to watch it.
Please help us to make 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People' into a reality by donating to our fundraiser. ANY donation will earn you a spot in the credits (if you want it! If you'd rather be anonymous then just say so and we'll take care of it!) thanking you for standing up for free speech when it mattered most. A donation of more than $100 will get you a more prominent position in the credits and a donation of more than $1,000 gets you a whole screen to yourself in the credits, thanking you for taking a stand with us in support of free speech.
In closing, and with apologies to Pastor Martin Niemoller: "First they are coming for your freedom of speech..." And Topher is taking a stand. Will YOU help?
Suddenly our freedom to speak is limited by the unknowable possibility that 'someone' might take exception to it. Once again our freedom to speak is placed into the hands of a small group of people, this time the most 'easily offended' among us.
The Danger:
Well even as you read this there are powerful people in Australia and around the 'free' world who are working towards EXACTLY this sort of thing. Some kind of arbitrating body to stamp out 'hate' speech (hey, there were some white folk who thought Martin Luther King Jr's 'I have a dream' speech was hateful enough to be worth killing him over!) and to ensure 'scientific accuracy' (like the doctors in Ignaz Semmelweis' day who 'knew' from decades of experience and medical 'research' that sickness was caused by an imbalance in the 'humors' of the body and if someone was sick you had to bleed them to bring balance back to their body) and the like. It sounds nice, and those pushing for it may mean well, but in reality it would be a disaster for freedom and a disaster for the continuing progress of mankind.
The Solution: (ok, maybe not the WHOLE solution, but it'll help)
'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People' is designed to combat this by helping anyone and everyone to understand the true value of free speech, and the danger of sticking to today's conventional wisdom.
TFHUP is designed SPECIFICALLY for people who would not normally be even slightly interested in 'political stuff' so we can increase the 'grass roots, general public' level of support for free speech and make it politically impossible for restrictions on free speech to be forced upon us.
To this end, viewers will be taken on an engaging, interesting, humorous and fast paced romp through a bunch of history's 'villians-turned-heroes' as they are beaten, burned, beheaded, hung and otherwise craftily killed by the 'intelligentsia' of their day.
'TFHUP' will be published on the internet for people to watch for FREE. This is NOT a money-making exercise. We simply want as many people as possible to watch it and understand how precious free speech is, and that we shouldn't give it up for ANYTHING.
TFHUP will be less than 15 minutes long, which combined with the high-energy levels and irreverent tone will help ensure that even a 'short attention span' online audience will sit all the way through it.
Trouble is, making such a high-energy fast-cutting fast-talking video is expensive. Topher has been making documentaries for three years now (see www.topher.com.au to see his previous work) but he has made them with his own money and ON HIS OWN. (with only one or two exceptions Topher has done all his own research, preparation, camera work, editing and post production AND bankrolled them himself) This is simply NOT POSSIBLE on a project like this. To get the quality that this project demands, Topher needs help, and help costs money.
And that brings us to where we are right now.
We need a MINIMUM of $22,000 to make 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People' into a reality. BARE MINIMUM. Any less than that and we would have to cut too many corners, compromise too much and we feel it really wouldn't be worth it. Remember, the whole idea of this video is to engage people who aren't really all that interested in free speech, so to keep them watching it's going to HAVE to be good!
Ideally we need $36,000 to make 'TFHUP' the way we would like to. We want to create a video so good that people will watch it and post it to facebook / twitter / wherever telling their FRIENDS to watch it.
Please help us to make 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People' into a reality by donating to our fundraiser. ANY donation will earn you a spot in the credits (if you want it! If you'd rather be anonymous then just say so and we'll take care of it!) thanking you for standing up for free speech when it mattered most. A donation of more than $100 will get you a more prominent position in the credits and a donation of more than $1,000 gets you a whole screen to yourself in the credits, thanking you for taking a stand with us in support of free speech.
In closing, and with apologies to Pastor Martin Niemoller: "First they are coming for your freedom of speech..." And Topher is taking a stand. Will YOU help?
Project By
I am a documentary maker from Melbourne Australia with particular interest in politics and human liberty.
I am currently fundraising for a documentary about free speech which you can check out at http://topher.pozible.com and you can view my previous work at www.topher.com.au
I am currently fundraising for a documentary about free speech which you can check out at http://topher.pozible.com and you can view my previous work at www.topher.com.au
A$27876
Pledged Of A$22000 Goal
All pledges will only be processed if the project is successful
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A$25+ Reward
Just $25 will earn you a spot in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'!
42
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A$50+ Reward
Well, if you've watched the introduction video you'll know what the deal is... We are VERY grateful for your support, but we aren't going to blow our budget on trinkets so we are keeping our 'rewards' simple.
$50 will get you a spot in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People!'
$50 will get you a spot in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People!'
41
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A$75+ Reward
You know the drill! But hey, if you're considering sponsoring us for $75 (which would be AMAZING and we would be VERY grateful!) then why not do yourself a favor and throw in the extra $25 to get yourself a more prominent position in the credits? Eh? Eh? Good idea huh? Yeah, we think it's a GREAT idea!
$75 will get you a spot in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'.
$75 will get you a spot in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'.
1
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A$100+ Reward
Here's where it starts to get really interesting! for $100 or more you get a more prominent position in the credits, which means you'll be listed under a different heading, with larger text and less other people on the screen at the same time. You make a bigger contribution, we say a bigger thankyou. Simple!
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A$150+ Reward
$150 would be amazing! But as you know we are keeping our budget for the production itself, not for 'incentives' so please don't think us ungrateful, we really are! We are just trying to make sure we put your $150 to the best possible use!!!
$150 will get you a more prominent position in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'.
$150 will get you a more prominent position in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'.
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A$200+ Reward
Ooooh yeah. *does a happy dance*
$200 will get you a more prominent position in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'.
$200 will get you a more prominent position in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'.
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A$300+ Reward
Sweeeeeeet!!!
$300 will get you a more prominent position in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'.
$300 will get you a more prominent position in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'.
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A$500+ Reward
Ooh baby where have you BEEN all my life???
$500 will get you a more prominent position in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'.
$500 will get you a more prominent position in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'.
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A$750+ Reward
Totally... totally... mindblowingly amazing. I love you. No really.
But having said that... for another $250 you can get the WHOLE screen to yourself! How's that eh?
$750 will get you a more prominent position in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'.
But having said that... for another $250 you can get the WHOLE screen to yourself! How's that eh?
$750 will get you a more prominent position in the credits of 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People'.
1
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A$1000+ Reward
There it is! You've hit the next level! For $1,000 you are not just a donor, you're a partner and you deserve to be recognized as such!
$1,000 will get you the whole screen to yourself in the credits! The WHOOOOOOLE SCREEEEEEN!!! Just you and the wide open spaces! You can even pause the video at that point so you can have the whole screen for as long as you like!!! Hey, everyone wants to be on the big screen...
$1,000 will get you the whole screen to yourself in the credits! The WHOOOOOOLE SCREEEEEEN!!! Just you and the wide open spaces! You can even pause the video at that point so you can have the whole screen for as long as you like!!! Hey, everyone wants to be on the big screen...
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A$1500+ Reward
Ok, I am your biggest fan.
$1,500 will get you the whole screen to yourself in the credits!
$1,500 will get you the whole screen to yourself in the credits!
0
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A$2000+ Reward
I'm running out of superlatives here guys.
$2,000 will get you the whole screen to yourself in the credits!
$2,000 will get you the whole screen to yourself in the credits!
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A$3000+ Reward
Who needs to send the kids to school anyway? They'll probably just be taught that we need to stamp out 'hate speech'...
$3,000 will get you the whole screen to yourself in the credits!
$3,000 will get you the whole screen to yourself in the credits!
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A$5000+ Reward
Hmmm a car, or a donation to 'TFHUP'...
Be honest: If the first thing you thought was 'You can't buy a decent car for $5,000' then clearly you should donate the money to TFHUP...
$5,000 will get you an 'associate producer' title and the whole screen to yourself in the credits!
Be honest: If the first thing you thought was 'You can't buy a decent car for $5,000' then clearly you should donate the money to TFHUP...
$5,000 will get you an 'associate producer' title and the whole screen to yourself in the credits!
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A$7500+ Reward
Ok, I'm just gonna sit down over here for a while and catch my breath...
$7,500 will get you an 'associate producer' title and the whole screen to yourself in the credits!
$7,500 will get you an 'associate producer' title and the whole screen to yourself in the credits!
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A$10000+ Reward
Wow, just wow. You have totally made my year. Can I have your autograph?
$10,000 will get you an 'associate producer' title and the whole screen to yourself in the credits!
$10,000 will get you an 'associate producer' title and the whole screen to yourself in the credits!
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A$22000+ Reward
You wanna donate the entire minimum budget on your own...? Umm, wow! and YAY! And hey, if you are THAT passionate about free speech I think I should probably take you and a significant other of your choice out for dinner!
$22,000 will get you an 'associate producer' title and the whole screen to yourself in the credits AND Topher will personally take you out to dinner in one of Melbourne's many famous restaurants!!!
$22,000 will get you an 'associate producer' title and the whole screen to yourself in the credits AND Topher will personally take you out to dinner in one of Melbourne's many famous restaurants!!!
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A$36000+ Reward
BANG! The whole lot in one go? Enough for us to be able to go nuts and make 'The Forbidden History of Unpopular People' the way it DESERVES to be made? You are my hero. I'm completely serious. People like you make it possible for people like me to do what I do and I can't thank you enough.
$36,000 will get you an 'associate producer' title and the whole screen to yourself in the credits, AND dinner with Topher AND... well what do you want?
$36,000 will get you an 'associate producer' title and the whole screen to yourself in the credits, AND dinner with Topher AND... well what do you want?
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