Weekend Media: The Man from Earth (or How to Make People Believe Anything)
It is late afternoon and the sun is setting. Professor Oldman is quitting his job in a University and has invited a group of fellow colleagues for a farewell gathering at a cabin in the remote woods.
They engage in polite talk and try to probe the reasons behind Oldman’s sudden departure. The truth soon emerges when Oldman makes a shocking confession: he is an immortal man who has lived on earth for the past 14,000 years.
That’s the premise behind The Man from Earth, a fantastic independent sci-fi film. The story is based on a long-running project by Star Trek and Twilight Zone writer Jerome Bixby, who finally completed the screenplay on his deathbed in 1998.
I watched this movie two weeks ago and found it quite enjoyable. The entire film is set in a living room and the plot revolves around conversation and nothing else. No special efforts, no action stunts, no physical jokes, no sexual titillation. Just talk.
The film is driven by an active, thought-provoking dialog initiated by Oldman’s absurd claim of being an undying man that has experienced 140 centuries of life on earth. Anxious to disprove his statement and remain in the realm of scientific comfort, his colleagues respond by attacking him with all sorts of historical questions.
But they are clearly disturbed, because Oldman doesn’t appear to be lying. He answers every single question immediately without any hesitation: a behavior they eventually notice as the discussion accelerates. They slowly shift from doubt into frustration: Why is he telling us this? What is he trying to achieve?
And from that frustration, Oldman’s friends slowly ease into a state of semi-belief. They toy with the possibility that Oldman is telling the truth. They probe for more answers, but this time with minds that seek confirmation. They hang on his every word, hypnotized by his presence, eager to get a glimpse of the complete truth.
Is Oldman telling the truth? Or is he really an exceptional story teller who has mastered the art of persuasion? That is something you’ll find out when you watch the movie all the way to the end. I’m not going to spoil it for you because the subtle plot twist at the end is just way cool.
The Power of Believable Personas for Persuasive Marketing
Image Credit: Ganymedes Costagravas
I haven’t seen good movies like this in a while. While I was watching it, I thought Oldman would make a terrific marketer or salesman. Why? Because he is performing persuasion on a whole new level.
It’s not about selling an idea, its about personifying the idea and making people believe in you first as a person, which secondarily validates the idea. Oldman isn’t hard selling benefits in order to get his audience to believe in him.
He opens with an outrageous statement, which naturally grabs attention and then withdraws in a reactive mode to receive the barrage of expected questions. By replying to each question with an answer that reveals a little more about himself, he provokes more queries and continued interest.
He observes each participant and monitors their comfort levels. How is she taking my message? What does she want to hear next? He criticizes himself for being unclear and acknowledges the implausibility of his assertions. He softens his arguments by throwing up caveat emptors and multiple disclaimers.
The addition of excellent listening skills and a substantial dose of empathy make Oldman an exceptional persuader. It is difficult to dismiss his claims completely.
Here are five quick takeaway points from the film:
- You can make people believe anything you want, no matter how absurd it is. Create a persona they can relate to, which they think or feel is trustworthy or authentic. This is how cults are formed and sustained. People relate to and follow individuals who embody ideas. For example, Gandhi was the physical embodiment of non-violent protest.
- The harder you try to ’sell’, the worse you’ll be. Trying too hard makes you look like you’re hungry for validation. If your idea is excellent, spread talking points and information to let others validate it. The best marketing work is invisible and pitch-free. You don’t know that they’ve succeeded in influencing you until you retro-actively examine your beliefs or actions.
- Fallible characters are attractive. It’s not about the hero or underdog. When you promote a product through a persona, the most important thing to do is to make that persona fallible. Capable of errors. Able to fail. Just like you and me. Make them too perfect and you’ll find it difficult to elicit empathy.
- You don’t need much to engage your audience. A great design, product, price and location are not necessary factors for success. Overdressing an idea can sometimes kill it. The Man from Earth worked well as a movie because of its intentional minimalism, which forces one to pay attention and hence be absorbed in the ongoing dialog. Therein lies its success in captivating minds.
Capture mindshare first by giving ideas full emphasis.
- Personalize Myths and Avoid General Truths. It is easy to debunk a general theory about everything because it leaves itself open to attack from all disciplines and angles. Persona-based claims are a little harder to dissect because their statements are tied to individual experience.
So what if scientists say that avocado consumption doesn’t correlate to better skin. People will still buy them when an individual they know, respect or trust swears that the humble avocado has made her skin beautiful.
And that’s it for this week’s installment. If the synopsis and everything else interests you, go buy/rent the DVD for The Man from Earth and check out the official website.
Weekend Media is a weekly editorial which showcases intriguing books, videos and films which are relevant to topics covered on Dosh Dosh. Published every Saturday, these articles are designed to be easily digested and maximally useful.
To receive updates on future weekend stories, subscribe to Dosh Dosh today.
Maki you are one of the bloggers who explain their ideas through wonderful metaphors and examples and thus are able to get your point through very well.
If someone just starts preaching stuff, its really not believable at times, but when presented with an example, works like a charm.
This post is one of the excellent examples of just that, and you have an amazing knack for it! Keep it up!
Very interesting. I love SCI Fi like this. I think I’ll stick it in the netflix queue tonight!
You made some good points. If your product or service is good enough, you don’t have to market as hard. Look at Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Sony, Grey Goose, etc. There are so many companies that have spent their entire business lives obsessing about the quality of their product or service to the point where they do not have to market it any more. If you look at W. Edwards Demming’s 14 points here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwards_Deming
You can see that he consulted businesses on focusing on the importance of high quality versus anything else. This eventually lead to the names I mentioned being the leaders in their industry.
Thanks for the cool post Dosh!
Sorry for the duplicate posts, I saw some typos I wanted to fix and the edit option messed up and gave me a fatal error. Might wanna check it out.
The idea of “becoming the gift that you want to see in the world” and using that as a marketing technique is what my website is aspiring to be. I’m trying to help others to find the path, while still seeking on my own level. Thanks so much for the film review, Maki…I will definitely be checking this out!
Ok, that is spooky. I just got that movie from Red Box and watched it after the kids were in bed.
And I was thinking how that caveman could sell a bucket of honesty to Hillary.
I also appreciated how the director spent around $500 on sets and costumes.
Like a high value content website with low key UI and Ikea graphcs.
Neat.
-OT
What an awesome review. Thank you so much. And to those who have posted and plan on renting or buying this film, THANK YOU TOO. Yes, it’s true that we had a limited budget (a little more that $500 bucks, however), but we did the best we could. We knew the screenplay was great and that great writing is a strong foundation to a great film.
PLEASE, help spread the word on our little movie. Please go to our IMDb page at:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/
Post a comment, write a review and rate the film. Blog about the movie and tell everyone you can. It means so much to us and we have worked so hard to bring this movie to you with so little money. Word of mouth is all we have.
Thanks again!
Sincerely,
Eric D. Wilkinson
Producer
Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth
Thumbs up to you!!
Agree wholeheartedly with point one. People follow and worship ideas, hence persons that embody ideas.
However, I feel the word ‘cult’ should be replaced with the word ‘religion’.
P.S. I am certainly going to watch The Man from Earth. You have already got me curious as to what happened next!
It’s a very interesting movie… and you’re right, the twist at the end is great. However, I won’t spoil it. I’ll need to watch it again in a few days. It may become one of my favorites.
Just bought it from Amazon… sounds fascinating.
Maki has now moved into successful DVD recommendations. Nice work.
good article - very true to a great extend. thanks for the excellent post!
Well written. One of the reasons we like reading your articles.
That’s incredible. The art of persuasion is pretty powerful if you can master it. Thanks for bringing light to this subject.
@Vikram
Cheers… glad you found the article useful.
@ Jeremiah
I’ll check on the plugin I’m using…thanks for letting me know. Just read Deming’s 14 points…. very interesting.
Here is my favorite: “Remove barriers that stand between the hourly worker and his right of pride of workmanship” ^_^
@ Oliver
LOL at the Hillary comment. I agree, I agree.
@ Eric D. Wilkinson
I had no idea the producer for the film would actually show up on my site. Cool. The budget for The Man from Earth was really low but it didn’t seem like a cheap movie. In fact it was quite well done even though there were no special efforts or anything or any sort.
It’s a great cerebral rush…not many films nowadays use so much dialog to advance the plot. All the best for the film, I rated it highly on IMDB and will review it on Amazon as well when I get the chance.
@ Brian
Great. I’m not sure if you’re a big sci-fi fan but hopefully you’ll enjoy the film when you get it. I know I did… it was pretty cool. I recommend watching late at night alone or with the wife if possible.
And yeah, DVDs… I’ve got a lot more good stuff just waiting to be reviewed….
@ Everyone else
Thanks for all the comments and go watch the film if you haven’t already… and have a great weekend!
That was an awesome review. I’m thinking I’ll have to go rent this movie tomorrow.
Your opening paragraph already makes me want to rent/buy this movie to watch. That’s a great opening.
I have always like talky shows especially if the writing is smart and plausible.
Thanks, Maki
very impressive metaphor.
a film review served with advices on marketing. wow. how many bloggers can combine these?
It’s a great marketing strategy . However, sometimes we can’t deny the fact that hard selling is the only way to to achieve your goal because of the fierce competition in your chosen niche.
For those who have not seen the film yet, I look forward to coming back to this thread after you buy or rent the film to see what you guys /gals think!
Thanks again and PLEASE, help spread the word about “Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth”.
Eric D. Wilkinson
Producer
Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth
Thanks for this is very impressive and help spread the word about “Precious”
I saw and very much liked “The Man from Earth”. It speaks of Bixby the writer’s genius, especially witnessed in the original Twilight Zone episode with a very young Billy Mumy, as the kid who sent people to “the cornfield” if they did not obey his every whim!
Wow, a very nice idea and a very impressive blog!
I got some inspiration from this series of articles… Now I too will looks for something to learn when i will watch a movie .. Nice work
Great read. Thanks!
This was a great movie. Thanks for the tip. Its now my favorite movie.
Frankly, I love the story except that it is too short.
no sexual titilation? i may check it out anyway. thanks for the suggestion.
Dan… no sex in the movie, but it will give your brain a workout. Love reading these posts. Keep ‘em coming!
Eric
After reading this review I managed to snag myself a copy. Possibly one of the most thought provoking movies I’ve seen in a while. Loved it!
I think I need to learn more about this art of persuasion…
Awesome! it’s coincidence that i watched the film, pause it for half an hour and had a chat with my Russian friend about buddhism, the second i resume this film, he’s talking about Buddhism! I know what he said might sound absurd to western viewers, but I think he is making lot more sense than certain part of religious scriptures.
I think this must be the film that got the highest enjoyment/budget ratio!!!! You can save that 500USD and use my living room here in HK/SZ next time if you got a sequel to shoot!
certainly one of the best or the best movie ever seen
my aunty who stays in us sent it to me
i stay in India and certainly telling everyone to watch this movie
its a really a though provoking movie
after watching the movie i certainly feel like questioning myself!!
i enjoyed the film to the core and will spread the word for sure!!
Well ive watched this film a few times now and i suddenly had thoughts to search whether some sort of a sequel might be produced on a off chance.
While searching i came accross this blog and if i was to sum up this film in 3 words or less i would have to say “Quite simply genius”
this film is unique and very facinating if u have not watched it then i do advise anyone to watch it for a film thats all based in one room its remarkable i asure any of you who have not seen it u will be glue’d to you chair. FACINATING.
After I watched this movie with a friend, we just looked at each other and said something like “wow… goddam… damn”, trying to express how magnificent we thought it was!
We rewinded it back to about half way through, just to see one part of it again, and found ourselves watching it to the end again!! That has never happened before.
The screenplay/dialog of this movie is absolutely amazing and philosofically challenging to a point that, still in shock, might claim the trophy as “best movie I have ever seen”.
I don’t worry, I am spreading the word
The movie was exceptional. One of the best movies I’ve watched EVER. It’s such a waste I watched it by myself without anyone to discuss it with..
I think the most genuine and kind thing I can say about “Man From Earth” is that up until today I had never heard of it.
I had read no blogs, no reviews nor heard any word of mouth recommendations….not a peep about this movie until I was in the DVD section of our local ‘walmart clone” shopping plaza. I was hunting for any box set DVD’s that I hadn’t added to my collection yet…
My eyes passed over the very simple cover and I immediately knew by the title that the film would have science fiction over-tones, and being a bit of a sci-fi fan I took a read at the back cover.
Now I have had times in my life when I know I have been truly lucky to find something new…something unknown…that fits perfectly into my little world. A tape cassette my father bought me for my birthday when I was younger…Boston’s albumn “Third Stage”. So unlike my father to buy a present himself, and to just pick ‘almost at ramdom’ an albumn/band I certainly knew nothing about at that time….he created a very happy memory for me as that albumn is definately one of my all time favorites - sheer musical perfection. High school when I picked a book from the downtown library to write a report about…Day of the Triffids….and thus sparked my obsession with reading great science fiction literature. The time as clerk at a local video store when I decided to give some of the older black & white flicks a chance and brought home “12 Angry Men” and watched it 5 times in 2 days (I do like the newer version with Jack Lemmon as well).
Needless to say I felt good about the write-up on the back of the “Man From Earth” DVD and took a chance on buying it. I got home and happened upon a review of the movie when browsing on the internet, and within 15 minutes I noticed this film was garnering some serious reviews in large numbers. As much as I love my action/drama sci-fi (Thank you Stargate Atlantis), the ‘older guy’ in me does crave a good ‘think piece’ as well and I got excited when I read so many people raving about this low budget film with a simple premise that pulled off it’s story so prefectly.
I knew from the first 10 minutes of the show that it was going to be one of my favorites. It’s the same feeling I got when I bought the unknown “Legend of 1900″ back when it was first released on DVD (solely on the fact that Tim Roth was in it). I just got through my first viewing of “Man From Earth” and I have to say it is EXACTLY what I wanted when I read the DVD cover.
Bravo to all the people who made this film such an excellent cerebral piece of science fiction. For an hour and a half there I was back in my early teens discovering all the great books I grew so fond of, and I didn’t want to leave.
Also, thank you Dad…I still have that old tape cassette and it still sees regular use.
Hi! Sorry for intruding. You have some excellent posts on here
I;d like to ask a question. Does anyone knows how to contact Mr. Emerson Bixby or Falling Sky Entertainment? I would be much obliged if so. It’s a superb movie,we all agree to that. 
a couple things for one: is ‘bixby’s’ a coincidal pun meaning ‘be y’s at the second crossing’. nah really just kidding.i would have to say this story had a very strong impact on a huge variety of situations that ive become concious to. yet they all make one big landscape thats only seems impossible to explain. here’s story im compelled to tell by my recent coincidences. hera ‘her alpha’ drained the blood from her youngest to make the immortal potion ‘the fountain of youth’ literally. hero ‘her omega’ was a menstruation that assured her so called youth in asia. hades may have looked strange because he i believe was one of the very few to ever follow his broken spirit to find the deepest love of all life. my best guess would be to be willing to save the world to make sure his children were safe before he moved on. i have alot more short stories i would like to tell. here’s a title of one ‘the snake aka tale of the sacraficial trade for the flesh of the fruit that didn’t fall far from the tree of life because it was picked and pushed’ thats a story that didnt involve a snake but a lie that was a simple product of temptation, and has generated plenty metaphores. peace?!!!!!!!!
adalebout@aol.com as mean as possible from the valley of disease.
This movie is simply fantastic. I have been dying for more films like this. The subject matter that was covered was amazing and delivered so well, I was actually commenting about various points in the film with the cast. I actually stood up at one point during a specific “plot reveal” because I felt it coming and I loved it. It is one of those films that leave you so hungry for more it hurts. Not only bought the DVD, but purchased 3 more of them for friends as gifts, as I think everyone else should.
Regardless of the content and even the slightly controversial subject matter that occurs halfway into the film, the movie sits you down and tells you a fantastic story with colorful dialog and detail. This is so important to people. We as a society have lost our way a bit with “instant gratification” and “fast food” lives. Education is so valuable when it is stimulated through creative streams such as this film.
Fantastic film from so many levels, I believe we owe it to our friends and family to let them watch this and enjoy a good mental kick-start.
Also: I would love to figure out a way to get a signed copy of the film. It would really make my day. (wink wink nudge nudge)
Ican’t believe what i saw actually… its so damn good movie .. i donno what else to say… no violence no adult stuff no graphics and still wondering how can anyone make such a damn good movie with just those crazy ideas! I think this movie proves that we haven’t yet lost our creative thinking rather than always going back of graphics.A definite master piece as everyone said before me. All credits to whoever contributed to this and i wish they this movie gets the credit for what it has been. hoping for more of this………..
Thanks a lot!