The Secret DVD

I was given a copy of The Secret not too long after the "Oprah, this video will change your life" show. My friend bought herself a copy after seeing the show and was all gung-ho about positive thinking and changing things for the better, etc. I thought, wow, if it could change her attitude I would really like to see this video. Then, shortly after someone gave me the video. Hmmm, I guess the Secret works. I thought about wanting to see the video and then I got one.I knew when I got the video that it was about the Law of Attraction and that what you think is the energy you send out to the world and it effects your life.

I will have to admit that at the very beginning of the video it was not what I expected. It starts out like it is suppose to be a big motion picture, set in ancient times. It opens with a lady walking dragging luggage behind her and a voice-over of her talking about how she worked herself to exhaustion and her life collapsed around her. But, within all this despair came the greatest gift, a glimpse at The Secret. Then, it starts to do this really weird, kinda scary flashback thing to ancient times and with all these scary like whispers in the background.

After you get creeped out by the weird flashback whisper thing, the majority of the rest of the video is people, I guess experts, talking about The Secret (law of attraction) and how it has been around forever and all these famous people wrote about it. But, at the same time it is has been hidden from all, but a few. The video is the experts giving their view, going back and forth between each expert as they sit and express their views and idea of the secret. Occasionally, in between, they would have short clips, enacted by actors, sometimes poorly acted, of scenarios of the law of attraction being put into action, showing the attraction of negative and positive energy. Even though it is basically just various experts speaking, the enactments thrown in, off and on keep your mind interested.

The video has lots of special effects. Somewhat basic, but they are done quite well. Almost the whole video was done in front of a green-screen. Some of the special effects were very pleasing to the eyes. I particularly enjoyed the enactment with the genie.

The way the video was done wasn't really what bothered me. Really, it could have been done with just talking cows and it would not have bothered me, as long as it got it's point across and had some relatable, possibly inspiring, impact and not be talked to like I am stupid. My biggest complaint is that at the start it was almost like they were promoting the Secret as a way to get any material possession you want. Do you want a new bike? Just think about it. You want a brand new sports car? Just sit and imagine you are driving one. What about that expensive diamond necklace in the window...

Is that really a way to start a self-help video, by encouraging people to wish for the things that might have lead or may lead them to empty happiness in the first place? Maybe, if it was not the first message they tried to put across I would not have gotten a bad taste in my mouth at the beginning.

They are trying to say that anything you think about, whether positive or negative is a message to the universe about what you want. You create debt yourself, because you keep thinking about debt. They tell you when you go to the mailbox don't think about getting bills,instead imagine getting a check. Of course, if you imagine getting a check you will. I wonder how that works. How can you just get a check. Where would this check be coming from. Don't you usually have to work to get checks? Or does the universe have a bank account and it randomly sends checks to the people who watched The Secret and started thinking about getting a check?

There is a part in the video, one of the enactments, where a guy parks his bike and gets out his bike lock and a chain and locks his bike to a pole. He comes back and his bike has been stolen. So, your telling me that if he had no thought of his bike being stolen and didn't lock it up and just leaned it against the pole, with no lock, it would have never gotten stolen? Just the fact that he used a bike lock caused his bike to be stolen. Do you know how many times something has happened to me that was not even a thought in my brain of something that could possibly happen? They say in this video that the car you drive, the community you live in, your finances and your health are all YOUR fault. They are basically saying that people who are poor, sick, etc are because they made themselves that way.

I am sure that doctors are glad that all those sick people don't know that being sick is all their fault; could you imagine, they would all be unemployed. Well, I guess the universe would find something for them to do and of course something that would help them pay off the $100,000 plus of their enormous student loans. All those people being abused, homeless, or just barely getting by unable to afford food or a warm place to live, I am sure they will be ecstatically happy to know that their situation is all their fault and if they just think happy thoughts everything will change.

Don't get me wrong I do believe in the law of attraction, to an extent. But, to blame people completely for their situation seem wrong. I believe that positive thoughts help your life and help you deal with things. But, I don't think that if someone is poor and thinks nothing more than how much they want a Bentley, a $200,000 car, that they will get a Bentley. Or, if they get that Bentley that there is enough positive thinking in the world that will prevent that Bentley from getting stolen if they live in a poor, bad neighborhood. Ok, I know that someone in that situation would be smarter than to wish for a Bentley if they are poor and live in a rundown neighborhood. But, that is the kind of outlandish things it promotes and the miracles it claims positive thinking can bring you.

I believe that sometimes people see what they need to see, when it is needed in their life. This video did seem a bit weird to me and I did not feel the point was put out in the way I think it should have been. There was nothing in it that inspired me. But, some people have been inspired by it. I have had friends that have had attitude changes from watching the video, some temporary, some not. Either way, it inspired them. It was probably something they needed and they got it just at the right time in their lives. Have you ever read a book, listened to a CD, or watched a movie and maybe you didn't care for it much, or maybe you loved it, but then years later maybe read, listened or watched the same thing and this time it had a different effect. Something that you didn't like years ago, maybe now inspires you. I think sometimes things comeback into your life when you need them. I can confidently say that I don't think years from now I will watch The Secret and be inspired by it, I cringe at the thought. But, never say never. Well, maybe I will, just this once.

The film itself runs 91 minutes.

The DVD Special Features includes:

Behind the scenes - How The Secret was made and the special effects done.

Deleted Scenes

The Secret Summary - A brief summary of the idea of the secret, told by philosopher Bob Proctor

Outtakes

Trailers

Commentary by Producer & Executive Producer

I agree completely with the idea of The Secret, but I just don't feel the "The Secret" video brought the idea across in a positive, effective way. It focuses too much on "things" and not enough on improving the person. I also feel it should have focused on how you can change your thoughts in a positive way and the understanding that it is not easy; instead of saying, just do it. I think it is great that it has helped many people. But, the materialist point just came across too strong for me.