Character Relationship Map: Zeitgeist: Moving Forward

Characters

• Himself (played by Robert Sapolsky) — protagonist

  Primary presenter and narrator driving the documentary series narrative

• Himself (played by Gabor Maté) — supporting

  Key presenter in the documentary, arguing for a paradigm shift to a resource-based economy.

• Himself (played by Richard G. Wilkinson) — supporting

  A principal documentary participant whose testimony helps explain economic systems, social conditioning, biology, addiction, and the consequences of endless accumulation.

• Self (played by Michael Ruppert) — supporting

  Documentary presenter in Zeitgeist: Moving Forward, contributing to the narrative.

• Himself (played by James Gilligan) — supporting
• Himself (played by John McMurtry) — supporting
• Himself (played by Jacque Fresco) — supporting
• Herself (played by Roxanne Meadows) — supporting

  Female expert offering specialized insights on cultural and economic shifts

• Self (played by Max Keiser) — supporting

  A documentary participant whose personal perspective contributes to the film's examination of economic illusions, social organization, and human behavior.

• Himself (played by Adrian Bowyer) — supporting
• Himself (played by Behrokh Khoshnevis) — supporting
• Himself (played by Colin Campbell) — minor
• Himself (played by Jeremy Gilbert) — minor
• Man Behind the Curtain (played by Jerry Goralnick) — minor

  Symbolic representation of opaque financial and political power structures

Story Analysis

The documentary connects economic systems, biological behavior, social environments, and addiction to question endless accumulation.

Plot Progression

1. The Game of Ownership — The documentary opens by connecting truthful art with social change. A Monopoly memory exposes ownership and competition as temporary constructions.
2. Earth Against the System — A personal history moves from national allegiance toward allegiance to Earth. Scientific thinking and historical crises challenge the logic of the economic system.
3. Resources Misused — The film examines the 1929 crash and the waste of World War II. It emphasizes the contrast between available resources and unmet human needs.
4. Nature and Circumstance — The documentary questions genetic determinism through examples involving abused children, environmental influence, and laboratory animals. Biology is presented as inseparable from social conditions.
5. The Hunger for More — Addiction is broadened beyond drugs to include consumption, work, technology, power, corporate acquisition, and oil dependence. The film closes by questioning endless accumulation.