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blue_lotus13While I was recovering from my 21 km, I ended up watching two documentaries that I'd recommend.
1. The Real Dirt on Farmer John was recommended to me by some people I interviewed last week. It's a documentary about John Peterson, a farmer from Illinois. It traces the story of his family farm and how he almost loses the farm. John is an interesting soul, fascinated by art and farming. In the 1960s, he makes his farm into a place of art where people put on theatrical pieces, make movies and create huge artistic pieces. This doesn't fly well with the neighbours, who think he is a Satanist. Eventually, John almost loses the farm. I won't tell you all the details, but if you have an interest in agriculture and sustainable farming, you should watch this film.
2. Searching for Debra Winger- In 2001, Rosanna Arquette decided to make a documentary about women working in film. She interviews tons of female actresses about working in the movie industry, the things they have to go through, aging in the industry, and balancing a creative life with family. The main theme of the film is why some women, like Debra Winger, decide to leave the industry at a young age, rather than trying to stick it out in an industry that is not that kind to older women. I really enjoyed this film, and liked the opportunity to see women talk about their lives in such a candid way. One thing that was cool was how natural many of the women appeared. Sure, Julia Ormond, Sharon Stone, and Diane Lane are gorgeous women, but in this film, you can see some of them without stage makeup, wearing regular clothes, and with actual fly away hair. Robin Wright Penn appears with minimal makeup and with her hair in braids. You can see wrinkles on peoples' faces! Whoopi Goldberg made me laugh the hardest when she started talking about her ass, and how it grew as she aged. She says something like, "It was still there, no matter how much I exercised, no matter what I ate. It was there! Eventually I realized I was being stalked by my own ass."
3. Fido is Canadian made movie starring Carrie-Anne Moss and Billy Connolly. It takes place in the town of Willard, where ancient space dust has turned the dead into zombies. The era appears to be an alternate 1950s, where women dress in party dresses and everyone drives a convertible. Everyone in the town employs zombies, rendered harmless by choke collars created by a company called Zom Com. This isn't your typical zombie movie; it's really a story about social constructs and race relations. I don't want to give away the plot, but I will say that this is a very creative film, and one worth seeing. Carrie-Anne Moss continues to impress me in her indie roles. She was excellent in both "Snow Cake" and "Fido" and I definitely support her decision to appear in Canadian movies.
One movie that you shouldn't see- [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] tells me that you should not see "Made of Honor". It's a horrible movie, and apparently relies on fat jokes as a running gag. One of the bridesmaids featured in the film happens to be a size 12, and they constantly make jokes about how fat she is, and her dress splits because she's apparently gargantuan. Please save your money and go see something else.
******
I was thinking about stereotypes and realized yesterday that making fun of rural people is a stereotype that lots of people seem to think is okay. There's an assumption that people in rural communities are less educated, backward, stupid and simple. This assumption exists in North America, the Philippines, and Mongolia. It's probably a world wide phenomenon. I myself have been guilty of these assumptions in my youth. This is one stereotype that I've sluffed off, and am going to continue to combat in the future. It's still socially acceptable to make fun of rural people, and you know what? It shouldn't be.
1. The Real Dirt on Farmer John was recommended to me by some people I interviewed last week. It's a documentary about John Peterson, a farmer from Illinois. It traces the story of his family farm and how he almost loses the farm. John is an interesting soul, fascinated by art and farming. In the 1960s, he makes his farm into a place of art where people put on theatrical pieces, make movies and create huge artistic pieces. This doesn't fly well with the neighbours, who think he is a Satanist. Eventually, John almost loses the farm. I won't tell you all the details, but if you have an interest in agriculture and sustainable farming, you should watch this film.
2. Searching for Debra Winger- In 2001, Rosanna Arquette decided to make a documentary about women working in film. She interviews tons of female actresses about working in the movie industry, the things they have to go through, aging in the industry, and balancing a creative life with family. The main theme of the film is why some women, like Debra Winger, decide to leave the industry at a young age, rather than trying to stick it out in an industry that is not that kind to older women. I really enjoyed this film, and liked the opportunity to see women talk about their lives in such a candid way. One thing that was cool was how natural many of the women appeared. Sure, Julia Ormond, Sharon Stone, and Diane Lane are gorgeous women, but in this film, you can see some of them without stage makeup, wearing regular clothes, and with actual fly away hair. Robin Wright Penn appears with minimal makeup and with her hair in braids. You can see wrinkles on peoples' faces! Whoopi Goldberg made me laugh the hardest when she started talking about her ass, and how it grew as she aged. She says something like, "It was still there, no matter how much I exercised, no matter what I ate. It was there! Eventually I realized I was being stalked by my own ass."
3. Fido is Canadian made movie starring Carrie-Anne Moss and Billy Connolly. It takes place in the town of Willard, where ancient space dust has turned the dead into zombies. The era appears to be an alternate 1950s, where women dress in party dresses and everyone drives a convertible. Everyone in the town employs zombies, rendered harmless by choke collars created by a company called Zom Com. This isn't your typical zombie movie; it's really a story about social constructs and race relations. I don't want to give away the plot, but I will say that this is a very creative film, and one worth seeing. Carrie-Anne Moss continues to impress me in her indie roles. She was excellent in both "Snow Cake" and "Fido" and I definitely support her decision to appear in Canadian movies.
One movie that you shouldn't see- [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] tells me that you should not see "Made of Honor". It's a horrible movie, and apparently relies on fat jokes as a running gag. One of the bridesmaids featured in the film happens to be a size 12, and they constantly make jokes about how fat she is, and her dress splits because she's apparently gargantuan. Please save your money and go see something else.
******
I was thinking about stereotypes and realized yesterday that making fun of rural people is a stereotype that lots of people seem to think is okay. There's an assumption that people in rural communities are less educated, backward, stupid and simple. This assumption exists in North America, the Philippines, and Mongolia. It's probably a world wide phenomenon. I myself have been guilty of these assumptions in my youth. This is one stereotype that I've sluffed off, and am going to continue to combat in the future. It's still socially acceptable to make fun of rural people, and you know what? It shouldn't be.
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Date: 2008-06-03 06:53 pm (UTC)And, yeah, you're right about the making fun of rural people thing. Strangely, there's a lot of that here, in a small city surrounded by ruralia for 50+ miles in all directions.
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Date: 2008-06-04 12:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-06 04:05 pm (UTC)I thought the "fat" jokes were much worse in Love, Actually.