Unfortunately, I had a really hard time finding the documentaries which I chose to talk about. Since I really didn't want to drive around in the snow, I avoided going to the library or local Family Video to find these films. Instead, I did my best to find what I could on the internet or on Netflix.
I was able to find a 10 minute preview of the documentary, "The Hunters." This film was made in 1960's and follows the journey of 5 men hunting in the Northern Kalahari Desert of Africa. They are working to track and kill a giraffe to feed themselves and their families.
While the men are out hunting, the women of the tribe squat in the beaming, hot sun to dig for roots and tubers in the dry ground. This is their food - giraffe and roots. And they are spending hours, and days, to retrieve it.
When is the last time you had to actually work to get something to eat? For some of us that are hunters out there, surely you can understand what it means to wait patiently for the kill. But remember this, even if you don't shoot that deer or turkey today, there is likely a supermarket on your way home that you can stop by to grab dinner. For the people in this film, and many people around the world, there is no second option. Get the kill, or starve.
My mind was racing with thoughts and feelings after only watching a short portion of this documentary (and I'm hoping that I can find the full film to watch soon). We take our food for granted and forget what it takes to produce the food we eat. Maybe we would appreciate food more (and eat less of the unhealthy stuff) if we were solely responsible for hunting/gathering/producing every ounce of food we put in our mouths. People that are forced to do this for a living have a much different relationship with food and this documentary proves that. I believe this should be a major focus of discussion for our class.
The second movie I chose to watch is called, "Bananas!*" but unfortunately, I was unable to find a full version of this too. However, I was lucky enough to find on Netflix the documentary made to follow this film. This follow-up film, called "Big Boys Gone Bananas!*" is about the lawsuit the fruit company Dole made against the Swedish film maker Fredrick Gertten for his original film, "Bananas!*".
"Bananas!*" is the story of banana field workers in Nicaragua that were getting sick, becoming sterile, or dying because of the banned pesticides the company was continuing to spray on the fields. A lawyer representing the workers was named a fraud by the Dole company and therefore, Dole tried to stop the film from being shown or distributed. Dole attacked Fredrick and his colleagues personally with threats to shut down the film and the LA film festival if they decided to screen it.
Fredrick fought for many long, tiring months to keep his documentary alive. He wanted to spread the word and allow everyone to know the truth behind what was happening in the banana fields. Supporters came, slowly but surely, and soon Fredrick got help from the Swedish Parliament. His legal fight was not over for a long time still because even after Dole withdrew the lawsuit, the film could still not be shown in the United States.
Fredrick continued his fight for "Bananas!*" and after a long trial, the judge decided Dole did not have the right to fight the film. After all, the freedom of speech is what Fredrick and his supporters were counting on the entire time. Allegations against the Nicaraguan lawyer were dropped and the movie was deemed credible.
This film proved that large corporations, like Dole, are willing and able to spend large amounts of money and time to try to cover up information that could harm their reputation or business. It takes people like Fredrick, that are willing to take the risk of losing everything, to stand up for what is right to spread the word around the world. People need to know what is going on behind the curtains of the food industry. It's something that needs to be talked about.
We are very fortunate to have s second option when it comes to food and we completely take what we have for granted especially food. I think things would be different if we had to hunt everything we eat. Really interesting post.
ReplyDeleteI really do feel like I take my food for granted. When I think about the people that just get their food like this because that just what they have to do I think its just crazy. I don't think I could do it but I'm sure if I had to I could figure something out. Its just so crazy how second nature it is for them. But I guess that if you have to get your food like that then the skills you would get from your ancestors would make you really good at it. Though if you do anything everyday you will probably get very good at it.
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