''The Greater Good'' is an

anti-vaccination Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

film. It debuted at the

Dallas International Film Festival The Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF), presented by Dallas Film, is an annual film festival that takes place in Dallas, Texas. About Dallas Film Dallas Film, established as Dallas Film Society, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ...

on April 2, 2011, and began playing in Los Angeles, California on October 14, 2011. The film was endorsed by controversial doctor

Joseph Mercola Joseph Michael Mercola (; born July 8, 1954) is an American alternative medicine proponent, osteopathic physician, and Internet business personality. He markets dietary supplements and medical devices. On his website, Mercola and colleagues advo ...

on his website, as part of "Vaccine Awareness Week", a joint venture with the anti-vaccine organization

National Vaccine Information Center The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), founded under the name Dissatisfied Parents Together (DPT) in 1982, is an American 501(c)(3) organization that has been widely criticized as a leading source of fearmongering and misinformation a ...

. The conjecture presented in the movie that

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...

s might cause

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

is contradicted by all existing scientific evidence on the subject.

Critical reception

The ''New York Times'' criticized the movie, calling it "emotionally manipulative," and "heavily partial." ''Variety'''s John Anderson reviewed the film, saying that it is "swimming in ethical contradictions." Anderson also stated, with regard to the film's potential bias, "Admittedly, it would have been difficult for the filmmakers to show the other side of those scenes; how do you focus on subjects who haven’t died from smallpox, diphtheria or pertussis because they were immunized as children? But that would require an approach that doesn’t take advantage of the audience’s emotions."

David Gorski David Henry Gorski is an American surgical oncologist, professor of surgery at Wayne State University School of Medicine, and a surgical oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, specializing in breast cancer surgery. He is an out ...

criticized the movie, lamenting that the film "which could have been a provocative debate about current vaccine policy based on asking which vaccines are necessary and why, in the end opts to be nothing more than pure anti-vaccine propaganda of the lowest and most vile sort." ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

''s Veronika Ferdman wrote that "Though there are pro-vaccine interviewees, this film has a clear agenda in encouraging skepticism toward vaccination."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greater Good, The 2011 films American propaganda films Pseudoscience documentary films Anti-vaccination media Anti-vaccination in the United States 2010s English-language films 2010s American films