The Cove

My family has a subscription to Netflix. On the site, subscribers are encouraged to rate movies. Netflix then recommends movies to you given your previously shown tastes. Netflix held a competition to improve this system (you can read about that here).

Anyways, I was browsing the site when I stumbled upon a documentary titled "The Cove". What really caught my attention was what Netflix assumed I would rate the movie: 4.8 out of 5. I have never seen Netflix recommend a movie so highly to me (apparently, I'm really critical). 4.8 out of 5 is really a big score for anything to receive critically. If you translated this into p4k terms, The Cove must be the MPP of documentaries. So, I took their recommendation and watched the film.

Netflix gives the synopsis of "The Cove" as: "This riveting documentary (winner of the Audience Award at Sundance) follows a group of animal activists to a scenic cove in Taijii, Japan, where they use surveillance equipment to capture footage of a secretive and heavily guarded operation run by the world's largest supplier of dolphins. As the daring group risks their lives to expose the horrifying truths behind the capture of dolphins for the lucrative tourist industry, they also uncover an environmental catastrophe."

I don't want to talk about the film too much but I highly encourage you to watch it. While it's a total piece of propaganda and as one-sided as the supposed "villains" of the documentary are made out to be, it's a thrilling ride. Usually, thrilling is the last word I would use to describe a documentary and that is why this film is so unique. "The Cove" combines fast-paced action with the traditional elements of a documentary. While it doesn't merit 4.8 stars out of 5, I'd highly recommend that you watch it.

Conscious Consumerism

Undoubtedly, there are too many arguments for the ideal economic system. I won’t touch on that. However, given the limitations of the capitalist society that we in America and most of the world live within, I feel as if we use our purchasing power to most effectively benefit our self, our local community and the world. The concept of ethical consumerism can be defined as “the intentional purchase of products and services that the customer considers to be made ethically.” However, I believe that there is a more important system than ethical consumerism, what I will refer to as “conscious consumerism”.

I agree with ethical consumerism, yet I think that there are more personal concerns to address through our consumption of goods. For instance, I recently bought a beanie from the Orchard Skateshop in Boston. Orchard Skateshop supplies the skateboarding community of Boston with the best skate goods, throws social events, made a great skate video and generally is completely down for the Boston skate scene. Not to mention, skaters own and operate the shop, of which one in particular absolutely shreds.

My initial reason for buying the hat is that I will be moving to Boston in 2 weeks and need to keep my head warm during the cold winter. The hat gives me pleasure to look at and is comfortable. Thus, it satisfies the initial need of the purchase while giving me pleasure and supporting a Boston skateshop that I’m down for, all for a completely reasonable price. I’m proud of this purchase decision and feel no qualms or buyer’s remorse over this seemingly perfect buy. (I have to admit that I do not know the manufacturing origins or processes of the hats, please excuse my ignorance)

There is no question that humans need to consume products to keep themselves alive and comfortable. If I had been approaching my need of a hat from a purely economical stance, I would’ve bought a generic hat from the store that offered it for the lowest price, most likely a national superstore. By doing this, I would be funneling my money into a business that clearly doesn’t care about me as person, only for my money. I would much rather part with a couple of extra dollars if I was circulating the money into a business that is positively effecting not only myself, but also my community.

Currently, there is not a more perfect example for conscious consumerism than the local food movement. Food is the quintessential and most necessary product that we can buy. The local food movement has the smallest environmental impact, provides the freshest food and lets us literally taste the produce of our community. Due to the specialized nature of many farms and local food producers, the food is generally tasty and healthy. Although it is generally more expensive than store-bought food, you are paying for the attention given to it and its long-term benefits, both environmental and health-related.

I believe that if we give our money to the businesses that we care for and love, the effects will be reciprocated. Local businesses allow us to maintain a sense of individuality and differentiate between our communities. Conscious consumerism causes our cities to maintain a sense of local flavor and ignites our human sense of exploration, to sample and explore the different communities of the world. So please, allow your purchases to accurately represent your beliefs, positively affect your community and support the things you care for.

Avatar

James Cameron is a genius, albeit not a good filmmaker. The dude is a businessman. He took a gamble on making an absurdly expensive ($300 million) film and will probably see enormous returns. If the basic tenets of capitalism prove to be true, this movie should be incredibly good. Yet, it’s not that the movie maintains a good storyline or relates a message to its viewers, something expected from every other notable piece of art. Instead, Cameron employs the complete shock-and-awe technology that takes this film beyond the normal limitations of film to an immersive, enthralling experience for a thrill-hungry audience.

The success of this film is almost a shame and it reveals a lot about the current state of our culture. We are willing to throw down a large sum of cash ($17 ticket wtf) to allow Cameron to transport us to his fantasy world of Pandora. Cameron intended for audiences to see the film in the IMAX medium, the most advanced technology that we have created to accomplish one of the most basic goals of a good story, allowing the viewer to relate with the story's characters. With a 350-ft screen, spanking new 3-D technology complete with goggles and advanced surround sound, it’s difficult to not feel as if you’re sitting in the very wheelchair of the film’s protagonist (don’t get mad at me, disabled readers, I couldn’t help taking that cheap shot).

Since the initial beginnings of film, we have seen technology increase the believability of films. First sound, then color, these additions have made film seem closer and closer to real-life, transporting viewers from their mundane lives into the colorful and adventurous films that have graced the silver screen. Film is my favorite medium for a story because of its combination of sound and visuals, outdoing both audio recordings and written material. Although the technology has made the experience much more realistic to the viewers, the basic plot lines have stayed the same. Shit, I don’t even want to attempt to count the number of similarly imperialist-themed tales that Cameron has ripped off with Avatar (Apocalypse Now, District 9, Heart of Darkness, the arrival of Europeans in America, etc).

In conclusion, Avatar suffers from its predictability, poor acting and recycled plot. I will admit that the technology, when not overdone (ie knife stabbings coming comically close to the viewer in 3-D) is incredibly immersive. However, the film gives me hope that someday, a real artist will combine the technology that Cameron has pioneered with all of the other elements that have traditionally made a film so admirable such as a creative plot and good acting.

Endnote: Just saying, I thought it was pretty lulz that all the actors and actresses who played the indigenous Navi of Pandora were either black or Native-American. And if Cameron had used this song during the initial flyover scenes of lushly detailed Pandora, I probably wouldn’t have complained about anything.