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Food, Inc.


monavano

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I went to the DC premier screening a few weeks back and wasn't impressed. It is basically an hour or so of confusing rambling on why Monsanto is bad and why Polyface Farms is good. I would save your money.

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If anyone's interested, Chipotle is sponsoring a free screening of Food, Inc. at various theaters.

Limited seating, first come first served.

In the DC area:

Wed, July 15 at 7:30 pm at the Bethesda Row Cinema

Thurs, July 16 at 7:30 pm at the E Street Cinema, DC

More info here on Chipotle's website.

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Actually, I found the film rather coherent. Saw it for free w a friend who hadn't read the books that preceded the movie and she found it disturbingly informative. For someone who hasn't read Fast Food Nation or Omnivore's Dilemma, it's a pretty solid introduction.

It's extremely polemical, so I can appreciate why someone who isn't sympathetic to either the message or rhetorical strategy might be turned off. Not particularly subtle.

Some of the computerized forms of old film-strip graphics used to enliven [groan-worthy verb deliberate] the dissemination of information were fun. The gross parts were not over-the-top.

What I would have preferred would have been:

1) more up-beat, positive, inspirational rabble-rousing vs. the heavy downer, alarmist stuff which, in visual, filmed form, is a bit too close to what one sees on the kind of exposés Ted Koppel or the 60-Minutes team produce.

2) less about the scary meat industry and processed [corn-based] foods and more about the historical transformations of agrarian culture in the U.S. from the 30s and 40s to present day.

However, the title, "Food, Inc." establishes the content. To make a documentary of its length, you need to narrow the focus.

Relegating the "What You Can Do to Change the System" to text at the end was probably a compromise. The thing is, this sort of film can't be attracting many of the folk who aren't already converted. With all the free tickets and showings in town, you have to wonder how many of the choir are seeing it.

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Well, it's neat see that Moe Parr has made it to the Australian Parliament with his story. It makes me curious as to why the law firm used didn't just take the case on pro bono if they went on record saying that this Monsanto lawsuit is of precedent setting law?

Here is a Monsanto blog entry explanation as to their invite to participate from Food, inc. producers.

Carole Morison's update (back in June though).

Edited by goodeats
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How would you compare it (in terms of effectively getting the message across) to Supersize Me?

I took several different friends to see the film on different occasions, and they said it changed their perspective forever. These are diverse individuals who independently reported that the film helped them "see the system", a worldview expander. Unlike Supersize Me which is also focused, but much more targeted to a specific example.

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How would you compare it (in terms of effectively getting the message across) to Supersize Me?
Different message.

Was surprised at how much I really enjoyed SSM; didn't even bother seeing it in the theater and was glad I rented the DVD from Netflix since there were around 3 hours of extras, including great stuff on school lunches and a long, fabulous IW (that I don't recall except in terms of entertainment value).

SSM was far more personal, quirky, funny and very much the olden days-Michael Moore/Sherman's March sort of documentary-confessional w more of a focus on our weight and our health. Annales school: lessons learned from the narrower focus KMango notes have broader implications.

FInc: Sense of humor not completely absent, but there wasn't much Sticking-it-to-the-Man glee. Sort of a 100-level introductory course that addresses the health and treatment of domesticated animals and [sometimes once] arable land, too.

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