"With great power comes great responsibility . . ."
Though a relatively well-versed fan of literature and endeavors of a cinematic nature, I've rather consistently neglected one genre: documentaries. Well, that's not entirely true. In January I was absolutely riveted to my ever-so-puny screen on my iPod Nano by a History Channel special on the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth following Lincoln's assassination. Completely engrossing--I highly recommend it. I suppose it's more that I have purposely avoided documentaries that would cause any uncomfortable reflection and responsible change to my behavior. Namely, in the area of food. To this day, I've never seen Supersize Me, or even read Upton Sinclair's classic commentary on the meat-packing industry in The Jungle. Primarily because I WANT TO CONTINUE EATING MEAT. And I want to want to continue eating meat. And fast food, when occasion calls for it. Here's a shocker--I have read Fast Food Nation. It was a book club pick, what could I do? Coincidentally, when I read that book I hadn't had fast food in about a month, due to the vanity of an upcoming trip to the Lower 48 where I would see old friends and wanted to look good. ;o) Of course, that was several years ago, and it's not like I haven't had a Happy Meal since then. Whoops.
Today, however, I'd like to crucify a quote of Neil Armstrong's: "That's one small step for wimps, one giant leap for Rahni-kind." I watched an excellent documentary this weekend entitled King Corn: You Are What You Eat. It kind of reminded me of a book I purchased (and haven't yet read) called The Travels of a T-Shirt in a Global Economy.
"Two friends with one year to spare and a deep curiosity about the American food distribution system set out to grow and acre of corn and see what becomes of their crop . . .What emerges is an informative and at times disturbing account of both the food Americans so readily consume without so much as a second though and the alarming state of the contemporary agricultural industry." --Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
My mom, of course, was delighted with this film as it confirmed her belief that corn is evil and only meant for pigs. Perhaps now she thinks that even pigs are too good for corn, though. Anyhow, the documentary provides an excellent chance for introspection and is very well done--says one who doesn't watch many documentaries, but still enjoyed it. Who knows, I may tackle Morgan Spurlock yet! That came out wrong, though I do think it could be fun to tackle someone. Someday. If they don't tackle me back. You know what I mean.
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