Food Inc. - The Rogerian Argument

The current modes of production of corn and soybeans, the two most prevalent crops in America, are unsustainable and inconsistent with the natural processes of the Earth. Corporate influence on crops causes mass-scale production without the availability of seed-saving. Subsequently, corporations are in control of farmers, the crops they plant, the prices they set, and the means of their production. This way of producing crops is disturbing to our diets and our environment.
            However, with population on the rise, one major concern in America is food availability. Certainly current modes of food production are somewhat unsustainable, but the reality is that they must be structured in such a way to meet the needs of a large populous. Urban sprawl, continued land use, and the current way of living call for new technology in the realm of agriculture. These are simple realities. We cannot practice agriculture in the ways of old. To do so would reverse years of technological improvements. Modifying our foods allows farmers the ability to mass-produce. We have to modify our foods and our practices to this standard in order to meet our needs. Certainly, some health benefits are conceded with this type of production, but the good of mass production still prevails because we must meet the needs of the populous as a whole. Furthermore, scientific innovations offer great hope to regaining the health benefits lost to large-scale agricultural production.
            The images and stories in Food Inc. are disturbing. However, the directors did not mention the crisis of the availability of food in this country. The sheer amount of people who live here contributes greatly to this issue. If the current system can be modified to be less damaging to the Earth, yet still provide us with large crop yields, then we will be on a smarter path. We have the technology and means of innovation necessary to put us on that path. We must trust in current science to arrange for a smarter planet agriculturally. This science can be used to make the current agricultural practices more sustainable, yet still maintain the production necessary to meet the needs of the population.

Food Week

The first time I ever watched Food Inc. I was a sophomore in high school. I’d never been exposed to such information about the food system in America. I never understood the brevity of the issue. After seeing this documentary, I remember feeling deeply saddened and angered. I felt as if my rights had been violated. How could the government I had trusted so much, the government I’d touted flags and buttons and colors for year after year, encourage such a food system that was so degrading to its people?

I cried for a solid 20 minutes after watching Food Inc. I’d seen it by happenstance in a local movie theater with my brother, but my actions afterward would be far from coincidental. I took a gung-ho approach to informing everyone I could about the issue. I would talk to my friends at lunch: Do you know that your hamburger was probably cleansed with ammonia? Do you know that most farmers can’t save their own seeds? Do you know? Do you care?

And you know what? They really didn’t. Most people just wanted me to stop talking. They didn’t want to be pestered. Don’t rock the boat. But all I wanted was for people to know about the issue. That’s it. To just understand where their food was coming from and how unsustainably it was grown.

I realize now that instead of preaching on the topic, I should have just suggested watching the film. Certainly the doc is somewhat overdramatic in parts (creepy music constantly playing the background), but its overall message rings very true with the current reality of the American food system. This makes it an effective documentary with lots of supporting evidence. The film shows we have serious issues. Disgusting issues. And the public needs to know. I’m convinced that if people weren’t ignorant and apathetic about societal problems, they’d be very motivated to enact change, especially when those problems face us three times a day at each and every meal. 

Modern Imperialism in the U.S. of A.

In the face of American imperialism over the past 30 years, many Muslim nations have fallen at the hands of the United States’ oil-greedy, faux-democracy-bearing, righteous, white, bastard politicians. As Taxi to the Dark Side discusses, much of the current “extremist” problem is due to American treatment of the Middle Eastern peoples. However, extreme torture is only a minor facet to this issue. As a documentary, I can understand why the film would only focus on such a narrow topic to capture and persuade audiences. But the problems with American militaristic imperialism reach far beyond torture and far beyond the era of the 2000s. Our influence on these oil rich nations goes back decades. American actions in the late 20^th century, for example, are directly responsible for the rise of religious extremism in the government of Iran today. In a review of author Stephen Kinzer’s Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq, Susan Froetschel writes, “In 1953, the CIA overthrew Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh for the British, installing a dictator who had no qualms about welcoming foreign oil firms. That operation galvanized radical fundamentalists, who, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, orchestrated the 1978 revolt, and ‘their example inspired Muslim fanatics around the world.’"  The United States is also directly responsible for the rise of the Taliban – one of our main enemies today. During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the US funneled money to insurgents in Pakistan without much direction of the money’s intent. These actions facilitated the birth of the Taliban. Froetschel writes, “ The Pakistanis used the money to build up the Taliban and destroy leftist, nationalist or secular movements. One Afghan warned, ‘For God's sake, you're financing your own assassins.’”

A man heckles Iranians demonstrating for Khomeni in 1980. 

US history is wrought with similar actions all across the globe. Following World War II, these actions reached farther and wider than they had ever before. Using similar tactics as the government uses today to paint Muslims as extremists, the US painted the Soviet Union as a threat to world democracy. I recommend acclaimed writer and activist Noam Chomsky’s book Deterring Democracy if this fact peaks a particular interest. The novel reexamines the Cold War as a catalyst for the rise in the power of the United States in the latter part of 20^th century. Chomsky argues that this new found power allowed America to exploit weaker nations in the name of maintaining national interests.

Our history with the Middle East is the most modern example of this power to which Chomsky alludes. Our exploitation has had serious consequences, however, contributing to the rise of hatred toward America. In an article titled “Obama Moves to Make the War on Terror Permanent,” renown journalist Glenn Greenwald recently wrote, “A primary reason for opposing the acquisition of abusive powers and civil liberties erosions is that they virtually always become permanent, vested not only in current leaders one may love and trust but also future officials who seem more menacing and less benign.” This is the exact pattern we’ve witnessed in the Middle East. The modern “anti-terrorist” campaign is propaganda to fight the very problems America created in the past.

The United States military industrial complex is the greatest threat to human rights in the modern era. For the past decade, the nation has flexed its military strength globally, with an intended focus on the Middle East in particular. America has painted the area as a land of religious extremists with an agenda to take down America. However, this current picture is not the true reality. I urge every reader to question this US government we’ve grown up revering. Realize that our influence on the world is tyrannical and exploitive.

Even our current president, beloved leader of your average middle class democrat, is guilty of serious war crimes and human rights infringements – all in the name of maintaining US power.

The cover of the May/June edition of Adbusters magazine. 

I’ll leave you with two thoughts. If you’d like to become more informed on US militarism and imperialism, these are two very relevant places to begin: the National Defense Authorization Act and drone strikes.

Native American Experiences - The Research Paper Edition

Over the past 200 years, America has seen thousands of treaties and laws passed. This particular history has been highly important and often devastating to the Native American culture. The history of Indians and the American government is wrought with broken agreements, lost land, mass killings, and environmental injustices. However, these treaties aren't supposed to have expiration dates. Could the laws and treaties of past years become prominent today in the fight for Native American lands and for the environment? Author Steven L. Pevar  writes in The Rights of Indians and Tribes, "Regardless of how they seemed then or now, the citizens of this country have legal, moral, and ethical duty to enforce these treaties. Indians paid dearly for their treaty rights, and the United States must keep its end of the bargain." My essay will explore various treaties and laws dealing with Native Americans that have occurred in past two centuries and how they can be applied to modern environmental and social battles within the culture. 

Dear President Obama,

I am an 18-year-old college student at the University of North Carolina-Asheville and I would like a few minutes of your time. The issues you face today are monstrous and you have the incredible responsibility of carrying and maintaining the world’s economic state on your shoulders. While I inherently disagree with the very existence of this responsibility on any one man (as I completely disagree with globalization and the imperialistic endeavors of the United States), I would like to at least encourage you to use your responsibility wisely.

As I’m sure you’re tired of hearing, one of the biggest threats currently facing the United States economy is the debt. President Obama, I want you to take a stand. My future hinges greatly upon which way you will swing the door. This debt was created through years of deregulated mismanagement and corruption on Wall Street and within the banks of America, with whom the federal government continues to have strong ties.  

Your office was born into an era of economic meltdown, a time in which unemployment and foreclosures skyrocketed. And somehow, you were able to evade a complete disaster. Since this time, the economy has somewhat stabilized, but the institutions that led us to meltdown in the first place are still in power and still maintain close ties with the offices in the Washington D.C. This is no solution. Another economic disaster is waiting for us if we continue on this same path.

Author of Living in the End Times, Slavoj Zizek wrote, “We are now entering a period in which a kind of economic state of emergency is becoming permanent, turning into a constant, a way of life. It brings with it the threat of far more savage austerity measures, cuts in benefits, diminishing health and education services and more precarious employment. The left faces the difficult task of emphasizing that we are dealing with political economy –that there is nothing ‘natural’ in such a crisis, that the existing global economic system relies on a series of political decisions.”

President Obama, I beg of you to realize how wisely you must hold this responsibility. You need to take a stand against corruption in the financial system today. If the economy really relies on a series of political decisions, then your role in a new future for America is integral. You must realize and proclaim that this world does not fall and rise at the hands of profit. As Charles Eisenstein writes for Adbusters, “’I wasn’t put here on Earth to sell product.’ ‘I wasn’t put here on Earth to increase market share.’ I wasn’t put here on Earth to make numbers grow.’ We protest not only our exclusion from the American Dream; we protest its bleakness. If it cannot include everyone on Earth, every ecosystem and bioregion, every people and culture in its richness; if the wealth of one must be the debt of another; if it entails sweatshops and underclasses and fracking and all the rest of the ugliness our system has created, then we want none of it.”

President Obama, we need a new dream. The world cannot sustain another economic crisis of the likes of before, literally. This new economy needs to be built for the people and the environment. This new economy needs to be a collective effort. You have the power to make a major change in the way people view economics in this country.  No more empty promises and false hope. Appoint people to office who have the interests of the environment and the people in mind over profit. This will change the face of the economic system and will be what brings prosperity to the planet, to society, to the economy, and to finance. We cannot make the same mistakes and follow the same systems as before.

 As a child of the younger generation, who will reap the effects of your decisions now for the rest of my life, I ask you to take your responsibility as my President and use it for good. No more deception and no more profit-driven decisions. Put Wall Street and the banks into their rightful positions and make mindful decisions about the future of this country.

Sincerely,

Erin Bridges

"At the end of the line, there's someone diggin' their way through my good times"

Ben Sollee - The Wires

good times in brooklyn
at the brewery with my friends.
i like to try those seasonal blends.
the alcohol the laughter,
it's somethin' like a dream.
as the night wears on
the lights stay on,
i lose the comfort of my seat.
in the distance a subtle hum.

oh can you hear the wires?
they're comin through the wires

drivin' up the coast
in a rental car.
on the speaker the preacher's preachin' some hip-hop star,
livin' fast, livin' free
it reminds me of a dream.

but the road is long today,
longer than it used to be.
there's somethin' wrong.
on the speaker's a subtle hum.

oh can you hear the wires?
listen to the wires.
they're comin' through the wires.
listen to the wires.

at the end of the line
there's someone diggin' their way through my good times.
i can see the people callin,
i can see the mountains fallin' for my good times.
oh and i don't want it no more.
i don't want it no more.

hikin' up the creek,
hemlocks hangin' over me.
a swimmin' hole, a tired old rope swing.
the shell banks surround me like a dream.
but the ground it shakes, not so naturally,
my feet are feelin' heavy, this dust is coverin' me.
all this for somethin' as faint as a hum.

can you hear the wires?
they're comin' through the wires.
listen to the wires.
they're comin' through the wires.

This is depressing and I apologize

There’s always talk about the world we’re going to leave our children 10, 20 years from now. The scientists never have anything positive to say about the plight of these future generations. But sometimes I look at the world that’s been given to me in this present reality and I feel like I am the child that’s always being talked about. I feel sold short. I feel I’ve been given a broken earth.

                This broken world is a direct product of the choices of my parents’ generation and the globalized world they produced. I’m angry. I’m so, so angry. I was born into a world driven by profit. Manufactured Landscapes depicted this reality. The images of the film give viewers an intimate look into the barren, ravaged, polluted landscapes of the world, of which the newspapers always talk but we often never see.

A mountaintop removal site in Kentucky, my home. These manufactured landscapes are near to very us. Mountaintop removal is a practice of coal mining in which a mountaintop is literally blown off and the coal below is reclaimed. The practice is devastating the land and culture of my home and of many others in the mountains of Appalachia. The Kentucky House of Representatives recently passed a bill that will strip the EPA and the Office of Surface Mining of their abilities to protect the public and the land from the disastrous effects of mountaintop removal. The Kentucky legislature is in bed with the coal companies responsible, just as the governments of the United States, Russia, China, and many others are in bed with energy companies across the world. It's time for a new world order in which the health of the people and the land are taken into higher priority than money. 

I appreciated this film and every ounce of bias it carried. Its bias is strong and captivating to viewers. I hope that its strength enraptures audience into action for change. I’m so tired of apathy and if a little more bias is all it takes to persuade people into action, then I’m all for it.

I’m only 18 and I’m already fed up with the apathy of the world. I don’t understand why profit should be more powerful than our environments, our interactions, our creative spirits, our lives, our everything. I don’t understand, and I shouldn’t feel like this. I shouldn’t feel like there’s absolutely nothing of significance I can do to reverse the choices that have already been made. You’re saying to yourself, “Wow, Erin’s really pessimistic.” But you’re wrong. You’re just letting yourself forget about the extreme depths of crap that is our current reality. America loves to forget. We all love to forget. But Manufactured Landscapes brings us back to the mindset we all need to be in to save this world: reality.

Optimism of the will, pessimism of the mind. Optimism of the will, pessimism of the mind. Optimism of the will, pessimism of the mind. Optimism of the will, pessimism of the mind. It’s the mantra I live by. It runs through my veins through and through and keeps me sane. I can know that government and corporate interests will strip this world of its own sanity, but I can keep my own by always living counter to their profitable interests. I will work for a more wholesome, mindful planet even if I know I these actions cannot change much. I was born into a manufactured planet. But I will not let this status quo stand. I will fight until the last tree has fallen and the last river has been polluted and the last landscape has been raked of its beauty. And as the old saying goes, “Only then will they realize that money cannot be eaten.” 

Spaces of Mind

My mind is jumbled and lost and a million thoughts whiz through my synapses. I have absolutely no idea what this paper is going to be about. Koyaanisquatsi provoked too many thoughts for me to conceptualize anything.

Two screen shots from Koyaanisqatsi overlayed together. I made this while watching the film.

"My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations," John Green once wrote. God was he right. I've pressed backspace too many times and the words won't come. This screen is too white; where are the words to paint it black? 

I keep returning to the film's visual appeal. I was mesmerized by the natural world Reggio captured and I felt a strange nostalgia creep up my spine every time those clouds flowed past by my eyes in a rush of watery motion. I felt as if I were looking into the eyes of the world, through those deep blue oceans to the soul and the essence of existence. But existence is questionable and I cannot draw anything from the unknown other than more questions and speculation. Maybe this is precisely why I struggle to form concrete conclusions and reflections - because I cannot get past questioning. Reggio, you bastard, this is exactly what you wanted to happen. 

I’m so bothered by my inability to draw conclusions from this film because it felt so enlightening to watch. It felt important, but I have no idea why. Maybe it’s because I was watching the world from above, instead of playing one of its parts below. A word from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows surfaces in my mind when I think of this:

Sonder n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.

          
 Koyaanisqatsi portrayed the realization “sonder” describes. No longer was I part of the traffic, but rather, its audience. Coming to this understanding opened my eyes to a dynamic, breathing world. Because we live in an individualistic society, we often think of the world as stagnant and foreign; but this documentary portrayed quite the opposite. We see the universe in constant motion. We watch it grow and decay and wake, but never do we see it rest. We intimately witness the world in its life and in its enormity.

            Sometimes seeing the world so large can trivialize its beauty to insignificance. Koyaanisquatsi portrayed quite the opposite. We see a story in every mountain, every ocean wave, every factory, every city, and every human. There is a story in every shot.

In class today, someone said it's unrealistic to believe humans are born from fire and air and the elements, that we are only protons, neutrons, and electrons. I was bothered by this statement. This idea strips the earth from its beauty. The mountains are magic, human interaction is magic. Love, hate, song, pleasure, sadness. These are all magic. And even though we are chemical, mechanical creatures, we are still able to feel, and this is the essence of life. That is why I love the painting below by Alex Gray so much - because it depicts the human existence so poignantly. 

I could not remove this image from my mind all throughout class today. I see people and nature as fascinating, creative, insightful, thought-provoking, and beautifully unbalanced. I may not know if you or I exist, but I take comfort in believing we do. And I think of the hundreds of thoughts I took away from the film, this is what Koyaanisqatsi reiterated to me the most. 

Philip Glass.

You are pretty but you make me sleepy.

People Who Preach It Right

RAMSHACKLE GLORY! "they stole everything and locked it away/so we'll smash everything that's in the way/of a world where we can stand to breathe/without giving up what being human means/we can't wait for someone else to write the songs that we'll sing on the barricades/or until the last police is gone to keep each other safe/we can't wait until we know we aren't wrong to raise the stakes/we can't wait for someone else to write the songs that we'll sing on the barricades/I meet people everyday who can barely bring themselves to believe/that the sun is coming up again/I meet people everyday who can't bring themselves to believe/that the world is gonna change, as if it's ever done anything else"

http://ramshackleglory.bandcamp.com/

Song for Next May

Paragraph Practice - A Thought Nugget

Audiences often perceive environmental films as consistently lacking central, strong, and viable solutions to the issues they pose. Audiences tend to experience pessimistic feelings about what they’ve seen as they are unable to latch onto one, specific solution. They want the problem to go away through a trust in something bigger. However, as environmental documentarians already understand, these are dangerous feelings in a capitalistic world because the only current hope for an environmentally-conscious world is an environmentally-conscious populace. The solution rests with consumers. Many come away from the Plastic Planet feeling hopelessness and maybe Boote could have more effectively empowered his audience, but we need to be aware that the solution rests with our choices. Environmental documentaries empower the will and provide the mind knowledge, revealing to audiences that we are the solution. Under the current society, this idea could transform our planet, giving us hope for change without ignorance. 

Attack of the Lizard Men

It’s been a rough week  for documentary films in my life. It was environmental film week, which excited me and had me watching the docs early. Environmentalism is one of my favorite subjects. Its role was central and should have made a great show. However, I was sorely disappointed.

                Both films featured strong narrators who drove the plots of the films. While this stylistic choice can work well in certain cases, both narrators in these particular films projected inflated egos that distracted the viewer from the important environmental issues presented. Each narrator thought themselves very important to their causes. And to some degree, they thought they were more important than their causes.

                As a proponent of environmental advocacy, I was seething in my chair as these pretentious men shoved their personal agendas down my throat. I couldn’t even finish An Inconvenient Truth as Al Gore’s gentle-yet-oh-so-i-know-everything voice pummeled through my tolerance levels, leaving my internal thoughts screaming for respite. I felt irksome pains, carrying the force of a juggernaut, roll over me every time he spoke of his personal life story. Maybe I'm just a disgruntled anarchist, but his demeanor completely pissed me off. Watch for yourself. 

 "That brings up the basic science of global warming. And I'm not going to spend a lot of time on that because, uh, you know it well," he says. Oh the pains, they're rolling over me again. They make me relate to Louis CK when he asked Donald Rumsfeld, “Are you a lizard?”

Al, dude, you are a failed presidential candidate attempting to reclaim your self-pride by making your face the face of the global warming issue, a topic over which you have zero authority. This film was supposed to be about one of the most threatening issues our Earth faces currently and you’re telling me about your dad’s life as a cattle rancher. You are not cool. You are not smooth. You exploited the cause of environmental justice to further yourself in the eyes of society. Congratulations, Al. You even succeeded, winning the Nobel Prize for your work.

Werner Boote, in Plastic Planet, was less egotistical in his narration, but not much better. He probably thought his ability to speak in countless languages heightened his persona, but he missed the mark on the personality bit substantially. To give Boote some credit, he did seem more interested in his cause than Gore.

I’m left shaking my head in memory of these two men on my computer screen. I am angry. I feel like they profited from the issues that the earth is currently suffering just so they could profit, not so they could change the blight of the environment. The latter cause is the true purpose of environmental films – to empower the people and make the world healthier. I was left wanting far more from these two men, who cared more about their roles than the issues they preached. 

[Kids stating their dreams]

Common - It's Your World
To the children, foster your own thoughts and dreams. What does your soul tell you? Who are you? Be you. It's your world. Remember to love and listen to your master's voice, whoever that may be.

"[Kids stating their dreams]

Be, be here, be there, be that, be this
Be grateful for life, be grateful to life
Be gleeful everyday, for bein' the best swimmer among 500,000
Be-nign, be you, be mom's mean pie
Be little black sambo with bad hair
Be aware of Willie Lynchism, Be, be boundless energy
Be a four-star ghetto general, be no one except I
Be food for thought to the growin' mind
Be the author of your own horoscope
Be invited, be long-living, be forgiving, be not forgetful
Be a proud run, only to return to fight another day
Be peaceful if possible, but justice in any way
Be high when you low, be on time but know when to go
Be cautious of the road to college
Takin' a detour through Vietnam or the Middle East
Be visual of foreclosure over your shoulder while beggin'
A nation built on free labor for reparation
Be a cartopographer, a map maker
Be able to find Afro-American land
Search thoroughly, it may be close to black land
Be amended 5/5ths, be amended 5/5ths human
Be the owner of more land than is set aside for wildlife
Be cupid, to world government
Be found among the truth, lost tribe
Be at full strength when walking through the valley
Be not foolish as temporary king of the mountaintop
Be a brilliant soul
Sparklin in the galaxy while walkin on Earth
Be loved by God
As much as God loved Ghandi and Martin Luther King
Be that last one of 144,000
Be the resident of the twelfth house
Be...eternal!"

Intolerance vs. Acceptance - Brainwashing at Jesus Camp

The shock value of Jesus Camp is pretty damn hard to move beyond. I find it incredibly difficult to dissemble the story and filter it in a way that allows me to see its intent and perspective. So for today, I think I’ll just talk about Jesus Camp at face value. The story has a great deal to offer in the realm of religious discussion.

                At many points in the film, the audience is left completely baffled at the brainwashing occurring with these evangelical children. We see a mother telling her son of the non-threat global warming poses to the planet. We watch the idea of creationism pour into the innocent, ready minds of the children. We see political and religious beliefs mix in an unsettling pot, churned by the religious leaders and parental figures of the evangelical movement. We see children born into a culture of partisan thought. They are taught at the ready ages of five, six, seven, that religious-based prejudice is not only okay, but encouraged.

                Quite surprisingly however, what unsettled me most about the film was how much I identified with these kids. I grew up in a Catholic school, attending church two times a week, from the ages of four to 13. I was educated by a voice that spoke of Christian values. And while I didn’t try to convert anyone or admonish anyone for their faith, I certainly thought of myself as better because of my strong Christian views. This is a truth about my past identity that I find myself weeping for now. My tears flow as these memories are solidified into words. I remember. And I am sorry.

Holy Spirit School in Louisville, KY, where I attended grade school from kindergarten through eight grade.

                Jesus Camp reminded me of how deeply rooted my values are in knowledge and acceptance, especially regarding faith. Certainly I am proud of my religious heritage and culture, but I completely break from the tradition of conditioning the ignorant young into one’s own beliefs. I have said for the past few years now that when I have a child, he or she will thoroughly understand the basic beliefs of most religions. The child will have a vast knowledge of the rich and beautiful cultures that exist behind these faiths. I believe that from this knowledge comes acceptance, which ultimately can bring peace and prosperity.

                Jesus Camp highlighted the partisanship that exists among faiths today. This was demonstrated well by an interview with Camp Director Becky Fischer at the beginning of the film. She says she wishes that the youth of America could have the same passion in their faith as the children of Pakistan, Israel, and Palestine. Kind of funny that she would mention some of the world’s most violently religious nations to prop on a pedestal. She continues by saying that it is Christians who have the coins of truth and love in their pockets, coins that she is quite ready to use as a payday for the rest of the planet. But to me, that money is an empty briefcase, spawning a mafia of faith-wielding soldiers onto each other, degrading one another, and forgetting altogether the message of tolerance taught by most religions.

 I am exasperated from religious intolerance. I am tired of watching children of all faiths growing up believing they are better. I am ready for a world that strips established religion from its intolerant, ignorant tendencies and instead focuses on the values of knowledge, acceptance, and love. And when these worlds fall into the palm of the world’s hands, I hope they slip like sand into the minds of the young like the glow-in-the-dark stars that hang on their ceilings, creating dreamers and doers and thinkers and believers all in the name of love, only to wake on a pillow of peace, singing in harmony: Be who you want to be and hold your neighbor in your palms of peace. 

Grizzly Man: A Microcosm of Documentary Film's Existential Crisis

Grizzly Man was a fantastic opening into the land of documentary film for this semester. The majority of the footage the movie utilized had been through several layers of filtering before it reached its audience. 
Thus,  insightful questions arise when we consider the editing process of documentary film's "mechanical eye." This allows us to explore in great depth the fundamental underpinning of documentaries: reality versus artistry.

How should we view the main character, Timothy Treadwell, as he tramps wildly into the Bear Sanctuary? Do we respect him, criticize him, or understand him? Are our opinions of him skewed by the way director Werner Herzog presents Timothy? What do these questions say about documentary film on a broad spectrum? What is its place as an art form? What is its role as a bearer of truth?

The first editing layer begins with Treadwell. He presented himself to the public as a friend and savior of the bears. He learned from them and protected them in turn. His footage is a candid glimpse into his own reality. But is the truth of his situation skewed by how he presented himself?

The next layer of editing is the greatest filter of this film, that of Werner Herzog the director. He was inspired to take Treadwell’s footage and show the story through his own interpretation. The artistic choices he made skew how audiences view Treadwell. The footage and interviews Herzog utilized completely change the dynamic of the film. This is a common theme among documentaries as a genre.  

The final eye is that of the film’s audience. Our preconceptions about nature and man’s place within the environment alter how we see and understand Treadwell’s character. Our experiences, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds filter Treadwell’s image even more.

With so many eyes and truth decomposition, we are left with an important question. What is the accuracy of documentary film in its goal of seeking and showing realities? Grizzly Man allows us to explore this question more deeply because of its many mechanical eyes. The film is complicated and a very powerful metaphor of documentary film itself. We cross heightened boundaries of reality vs. artistry, which offers much in the discussion of documentary film’s intent and place.  


image by ChristianR

What'd Teach Think

http://educationrevolution.tumblr.com/post/29619927665/waiting-for-superman
 I like this response to Waiting for Superman by an Austrailian teacher. 

"It is the responsibility of the teachers, schools and education departments to ensure that kids learn and succeed regardless of this. And I guess that is the source of my greatest anxiety, because I know that at the moment I’m not providing enough for these kids, and in all honesty I don’t really know how."

Waiting for Superman

Waiting For Superman is an important film that begins the desperately-needed education discussion. While I maintain views that run counter to the film’s, I truly respect its ability to create conversation about a sore issue in our nation. Conversation is the key to a path of solution and I commend director Davis Guggenheim for beginning the discussion.

                However, I think Guggenheim got a few things wrong. By the end of the documentary we are left to believe is that charter schools are the answer to the flawed educational system. Bad teachers and unions are the problem. But these conclusions are far too broad for how many variables calculate into the issue. Some possible variables: teachers are forced to “teach to the test,” children are coming from areas of severe poverty, educators aren’t held to a high degree of accountability, the curriculum isn’t necessarily relevant to students and thus, they have less incentive to learn, certain schools have higher academic standing, society promotes certain groups over others, the list continues.

Perhaps my greatest question is how can anyone even remotely begin to tackle such problems when the issue is underpinned by societal tendencies to discriminate those of color and of poverty? Guggenheim blames poor teachers. Sure, that’s definitely a problem. But when a teacher gets kids who are four grade levels behind or children whose families are struggling to put dinner on the table, how can they be expected to get them to grade level within just one year? It’s like these kids are destined to fail from the beginning simply because of where they were born and how much money they have.  

Waiting for Superman loves its charter schools. What bologna! If they are the answer, then we abandon every child who falls into the hands of the public school system. Charter schools don’t fix the problem, they perpetuate the problem by ignoring the issue altogether. 

Guggenheim fell short in his documentary. Superman cannot save this situation, only we can.

cartoon by Kevin Siers, The Charlotte Observer

"Why haven't you learned anything!"

Dead Prez - They Schools

Know what I'm sayin'? And they ain't teachin' us nothin' related to
Solvin' our own problems, know what I'm sayin'?
Ain't teachin' us how to get crack out the ghetto
They ain't teachin' us how to stop the police from murdering us

And brutalizing us, they ain't teachin' us how to get our rent paid
Know what I'm sayin'? They ain't teachin' our families how to interact
Better with each other, know what I'm sayin'? They just teachin' us
How to build they shit up, know what I'm sayin'?