The Beauty of Mundania

    This week I chose Mortified Nation from a Netflix suggestion and I was pleasantly surprised.
    This is possibly one of the most inane documentaries that Hannah and I have watched so far. It details a current fad of everyday people getting up on stage and reading extremely embarrassing (and hilarious)  portions of their diaries and journals from decades before. I posted a video of this from YouTube below the trailer.  This movement has become popular in several cities including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin and several others.
    My favorite thing about this documentary is that it showed a great perspective of the big picture of life. Through the experiences of these teenagers the audience vicariously relives the emotional turmoil that comes with adolescence and we can all see how temporary even seemingly insurmountable problems can be.  I was left wondering what things in my life now seem like a really big deal but will turn out to be completely inconsequential. It also left me with a feeling of appreciation for the now, an appreciation of the beauty of the mundane.
     Those who journal regularly will tell you that this is the joy that is found in keeping a journal.  Many of us, myself included, are simply trying to get through life and on to the next big thing. The next paycheck. The next holiday. The next new purchase. The next orgasm. In the end we end up missing much of the beauty in life. We miss the beauty in the daily alarm clock, the routine breakfast, the traffic on the way to work, the regular lunch, and forced relationships with coworkers.  Without these things our lives would be void and meaningless. As much as we would like to deny it, we are going to be remembered by the mundane and banal things we do, at least by those closest to us. In my own life I need to remember that my life will not finally "start" when I get a better job. It won't begin when I get married or pay off my school loans. My life is now and I need to live it now and appreciate it for what it is now.
     Hannah and I enjoyed this film so much that we immediately went online and got tickets for the next show. This is definitely a film y'all should check out. I must warn you however, that while this documentary may seem like it is perfect to show your teenagers, it is actually extremely explicit. You were warned.



                                             
                     


     

Burn (2012) or The Fate of the Twentieth Century Motor Company

    This week we saw Burn,  a fascinating documentary about the Detroit Fire Department and the almost fantastical obstacles with which they must struggle on a daily basis. This film is an excellent snapshot of the consequences of our current system of American politics, and is something that everyone should see.
     This film brings to the surface one particular issue; What can and  must be done about the city of Detroit and similar cities such as Chicago Il., Honolulu, Hi., and Cincinnati, Oh., that are also on the edge of bankruptcy?  One of my favorite things about this documentary is that the filmmakers follow people on both sides of the issue, allowing the audience to understand the viewpoints of all sides, to sympathize with the struggles of all, and most importantly to make an informed decision for themselves. According to the documentary, in the city of Detroit, with a population of 713,000 there were 30,000 fire calls in the year 2011. That's almost 100 a day. To put this in perspective, all of Los Angeles County,  with a population of almost 10 million, had 7,549 fire calls in 2011. The reason there were so many fires is because of arson. The citizens of Detroit are literally burning down their own city. There were approximately 5100 fires that were intentionally set in the city of Detroit in 2011. That is almost 9 times the national average. To make matters worse the number of firefighters has halved. In 1954 there were 1900 firefighters in the city, in 2010 there were 919, meanwhile fires per capita has risen 300%.
     The firefighters in this film seem to have a sense of defeat before they even get the call. Their trucks don't run, their safety equipment is shoddy at best and every year they are laying off more employees and closing more stations.
 
These closures are correlated with the population decline of the city. In 1950, Detroit had a population of 1.8 million. In 2010, the population is down to 713,000. This exodus is leaving over 50,000 abandoned homes in the city, homes which quickly become fuel for arson and other kinds of crime.

Things have become so bad that the Fire Commissioner, Donald Austin (who is featured in the documentary but afterwards resigned in 2013 due to "changes in City administration") created a very controversial policy that said that abandoned homes that posed no threat to nearby structures would be monitored by the FD but would be otherwise allowed to burn. This policy was put in place to prevent firefighter injury or death battling conflagrations in unwanted structures.

     A thinking person would ask, why nothing is being done to help these departments. On the surface the answer turns out to be very simple. The city of Detroit needs to budget more money for the Fire Department. The answer becomes much more complicated when we see that Detroit and many other American cities for that matter, are dying, both financially and spiritually. The American people are losing a confidence in their own nation.

   It used to be that people took pride in their work and created products that were valuable when compared to those created by competitors, as a result Americans were paid well for their hard work. Americans bought American products. The world strove to equal our economic prowess. Since that time, in which Detroit had its highest population and was thriving economically (That's probably a coincidence right?)  we, the American people, quite literally you and I, have become complacent with what we are and what we have and as a result are no longer leaders in the world. We are no longer satisfied with well paying jobs like plumbing, or roofing and are instead doing anything to get rich quick by any means necessary. As a millennial, I must unfortunately admit that this is most true of my generation.  As a result our work ethic has become almost non-existent, the quality of our products has become terrible and our wages have decreased and our whole economy has declined. We have become the laughing stock of the world and ourselves to the point that we quite literally burn down our own cities.
    Now, that is a very dim picture of the United States, but it is not the whole picture. The truth is that many people have begun to see the problem and are trying to become part of the solution. Specifically the Technology sector, the hated and reviled, Silicon Valley, is still trying to create the best products and are largely succeeding. People are again taking pride in their work and are reaping the massive financial benefits. As a result Silicon Valley is one of the most economically thriving areas of the United States, and it's success is slowly beginning to expand to other areas. Everyone wants to work for those companies but very few people are willing to do the hard work required to get the jobs that are desperate to be filled.
    Only when Americans again have a pride in their own work, in the fruits of their own labor, in their own communities, in America and American products will Detroit and other cities like it  be able to survive.
   

Blackfish - The Power of Film

    Hannah chose Blackfish for us this week and I was unenthusiastic. I was expecting a smear campaign against SeaWorld with a complete lack of fact and more heuristic stylings. Then I sat down and watched it. 

    It was an extremely compelling film with interviews from former SeaWorld trainers and Orca Whale Experts. There were expert witnesses from OSHA talking about how unsafe it was for both whales and trainers. Neurologists talking about how male whales in captivity have bent over fins while this never happens in the wild. At the end of the film I was convinced. I was ready to never go to SeaWorld again because they didn't care about the well being of their trainers or their whales and only about their bottom line. For me, this is a big deal as I am very skeptical and cynical about these documentaries in general.

    Blackfish is a documentary about Orca whales in captivity and their interactions with humans. Specifically, those in which a whale trainer was injured or killed. One whale in particular, Tillikum, is a repeat offender with at least three deaths to his name. The film shows, with overwhelming evidence and trainer testimony the danger that the trainers encounter while working with these mammals. They also go so far as to imply that the animals do these things because they have become psychotic from being separated from family members and enclosed in spaces much smaller than they are used to. The documentary ended with a call to free the whales and release them into the wild. 

     I was completely convinced, and I sat down to write a blog with a very different thesis... then I started to do some research. The first thing I did was look for SeaWorld's reaction to the film and needless to say it was not positive. I expected a terse press release about how changes and being implimented etc. etc. However, I was surprised to find  a point by point rebuttal of most of the tenets of the film, each point backed up with hard evidence. Now, lest you believe I just take SeaWorld's word for it, I did my own research and it turns out that quite a bit of the interviews were misleading. Here is just some evidence that casts some serious doubt as to the integrity of this film. 

1. Using Orcas in SeaWorld Shows Constitutes Slavery. 

      Most of the main interviewees were involved in a lawsuit filed against SeaWorld claiming that using the Orca whales in shows was a violation of the 13th Ammendment and that it constituted involuntary servitude. Naturally this lawsuit was thrown out by the judge. I do love however that it was filed in Southern California (As opposed to Florida, where the 'plaintiffs' reside) where such a suit might have a small chance of getting through. 

2. Interviewees were Mislead About the Purpose of the Film. 

      Some people who were interviewed for the film have, after it's release, come forward angry that their thoughts were intentionally edited to show them saying things they did not intend. You can see their thoughts here and here. 

3. "Scientists" give their "Scientific" testimony. 

     This is my personal favorite. I did some research on the scientists giving their thoughts in this film and turns out that they literally do not have the expertise that is claimed by the film. One gentleman in particular, Dave Duffus, is given considerable screen time and gives some of the most heart wrenching information/performance. In the film he is subtitled as "OSHA Expert Witness - Whale Researcher" In reality, he is the associate professor of geography (GEOGRAPHY!!!!) at the University of Victoria. I double checked this because I didn't believe it at first. You can see his faculty listing here and read some rather hilarious Rate My Professor reviews here.

    As I said before these are only some of the evidence that can show how fallacious this film is. Perhaps the strongest evidence is given by Dawn Brancheau's family (The woman who was killed most recently by Tillikum) and can be read here. 

    Now, I do think that SeaWorld has some serious questions to answer. The most blatant of which is why was Tillikum, or any orca that threatens the life of a trainer, not put down? This would put pressure on Sea World to protect both their trainers and their animals that are worth millions of dollars. This would occur with any other animal that kills a human, so why not with Orcas? 

   The story of Blackfish is not yet over. Of course the supporters of Blackfish have denied any sort of journalistic dishonesty.  Just this week a law was proposed in California to ban Orca shows and captive breeding. For me, all I learned was that I am kind of gullible. 

You can find out more about the science behind Blackfish at this link.

Pink Ribbon, Inc. - What you need to know about Cause Marketing

      This week Hannah chose to watch Pink Ribbon, Inc. A 2011 film put out with support from Breast Cancer Action, a group that has stood up in vocal protest of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (SGKRftC) charity.
      This film was actually pretty interesting although Breast Cancer Action seem to have lost sight of their goal. A pure assumption of mine is that Breast Cancer Action, also known as BCAction would be most concerned with finding a cure for breast cancer or at least a reliable way of preventing it. However, as you can see from their wikipedia page their actions are more to put down SGKRftC and their Pink Ribbon campaign than anything else.

     This documentary makes some excellent points about cause marketing, which more people should be aware of in my opinion. Cause marketing is where companies or corporations will join forces with a charitable organization. The company will generally give a portion of profits to the charity and will be able to use trademarks and logos on products. This does two things for the companies; First it effectively markets their product in that people will be more likely to choose a product that supports a charity that they also support. Second, it also associates a positive idea with the company and what they might stand for. On the other hand, many people often forget that the charity is also benefiting handsomely in such an exchange. The charities often receive millions of dollars that they might not otherwise. They also piggyback on corporations' advertising, essentially receiving free publicity that would otherwise be extremely expensive.

     This brings us to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Arguably, this is one of the most successful charities in history. They have raised awareness of Breast Cancer in an extremely effective way and have encouraged millions of women to get screened for Breast Cancer. Since it's founding in 1982 they have given over 1.5 billion dollars to research, advocacy, education and other things. It is continually rated as one of the best breast cancer charities. This is especially interesting considering how many breast cancer organizations are on the list of worst charities as rated by the Center for Investigative Reporting. In my opinion, SGKRftC has done more for breast cancer than any charity I can name. I certainly had not heard of any of these other charities.
    BCAction and this documentary would have us stop supporting SGKRftC because some of the companies they ally themselves with also sell products that contain carcinogens. In addition, this film also suggests that we stop buying products from companies regardless of whether they contain carcinogens. Yoplait, for example, is dragged through the mud for their campaign "Save Lids to Save Lives" where they would donate 10 cents for every yogurt lid sent in. BCAction wants us to stop buying Yoplait products because their dairy products at times included milk from cows that had been given rBGH. This is despite numerous studies that have failed to show a link between rBGH and any kind of cancer. These studies are even done by groups such as the American Cancer Society, lest anyone believe, based upon what the documentary propagated, that corporations fund the research in such a way as to prevent their products from being besmirched.

    I think this is an important documentary for people to see so that they can understand what cause marketing is and how it has an effect on their behavior. Other than that, this documentary is one you can skip.


If you like you can view the full documentary on Netflix or on YouTube here:

Sons of Perdition or How to Surivive a Cult

       I have always been fascinated with cults and am very curious as to what makes someone believe so strongly that they will hold their belief to the very literal death, even against overwhelming evidence that their religion is a fraud. As frightening and sad as a cult can be, someone who has no beliefs is even more frightening. This idea is dealt with in a very interesting way in our documentary for this week, Sons of Perdition.

    Sons of Perdition is a film about the children who are excommunicated from an offshoot of the Mormon church called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints or FLDS. This group is led by a man named Warren Jeffs who is infamous for promoting polygamy and underage marriage/rape.

 Even though Jeffs was sent to prison in Texas in 2008, the FLDS is still alive and well in many states including Colorado, Utah, South Dakotah and Arizona. In addition, according to a documentary put out by CNN in 2012, Jeffs is still leading the FLDS from prison. Jeffs and other leaders of FLDS hold the community to a very strict standard. They hold their power through property and especially by using women as property. If they feel that a particular male in the community is doing what they believe he should they will reward him with a wife. If he continues to do well they will give him another wife, but if he fights any of the teachings of the leaders, they will remove that wife and any children she may have and give them to another man. Further, most of the property that these families live on is owned by Jeffs and the FLDS. It is leased/given to them, but can be taken back at any time if the men of the household do not toe the line. The children are given no privileges whatsoever. Many of them do not receive a good education and cannot read or do basic math. They are prevented from dating or even being in the same room as a member of the opposite sex that is not a family member. Similarly they are not allowed any form of entertainment. No music. No movies. No books. If you are caught repeatedly doing any of these things you will be excommunicated at a very young age (usually 13 - 17) and are banned from seeing your family. If your family (Often 20+ people in your immediate family) does not force you to leave they can lose their livelihoods and their homes. Over 100 children are excommunicated every year.

     This documentary follows the lives and tribulations of these children as they attempt to navigate the outside world. The sad thing is that they really want to try and live a responsible life, but they're so confused about what to believe. They have had every one of their beliefs destroyed and now they have no sense of moral guidance. They want to work or go to school but they have no place to live. Many of them believe they are going to hell and since there is no longer any redemption for them they become very hedonistic.   They often end up on drugs and on the street. Many of them die of overdose.
     I would definitely suggest this documentary to anyone who is interested in cults and to those who are looking to help these unfortunate kids.
 
    For those who are interested I am adding a few links on further information about FLDS.

Warren Jeffs says that FLDS couples are no longer to have sex. 15 "chosen" men will father all the children in the community.

Reddit AMA: FLDS 'Lost Boy'

YouTube: Some of Jeff's Teachings

The Black Blizzards

     So for this week's documentary I chose The Dust Bowl made by Ken Burns. If you haven't seen it, this documentary is absolutely a must see. It tells the story of the people who lived in the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas during the 1930s and is both harrowing and moving. 
    Rather than attempt to poorly summarize this amazing documentary I will simply share what I learned. There were two main ideas that I took away from seeing this film; First history seems to be repeating itself.
    In 1929, the Stock Market crashed beginning one of the greatest periods of economic hardship in modern time. Among other things, crop prices, particularly wheat fell over 60% which proved disastrous for the millions of people who had moved west to farm. As a result of the drop in prices the farmers chose to attempt to sell more by plowing up tens of millions of acres in the middle west. Then came a ten year drought and and along with it high winds that blew up dust storms. These dust storms were so extreme that they actually choked people and livestock if they were left outside. 

    We have just gone through what is now being called The Great Recession when among other things unemployment reached a high of 10% in 2009 (although this is not even half of the rate reached in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression). Many people, particularly farmers in the midwest and California are struggling financially. This problem is being further compounded by what is now a three year drought. Just this last Friday, California Governor Jerry Brown declared a a state of emergency because of the lack of rainfall saying, "perhaps the worst drought California has ever seen since records began being kept about 100 years ago". Meanwhile drought conditions in the midwest are equally troubling with almost half of the country being classified as a D2 Severe Drought. 

    The second thing I took away from this film was a thought about how tough the people of that generation (my grandparents) must have been. Imagine being born in 1920 in Boise City, Oklahoma. By the time you were 14 years old you were in the heart of the Dust Bowl and suffering through the Great Depression. There would be months at a time when the dust storms did not stop. When you could not go outside for fear of never being able to find your way back to shelter and literally choking to death on the dust.

 Not just you and your family but your entire community would be starving to death. This went on for YEARS, during which all you could do was pray for rain. In 1936, your family could not take it anymore and received a loan from the government and moved to California. In California, you and your family experienced tremendous hardships including homelessness, unemployment, and severe poverty. When everything finally settles down and your family has finally been able to make a living for themselves, World War 2 breaks out in 1941. 
    So, obviously this has been an extreme (and made up) anecdote that no doubt happened to many people. I wonder if the same things were able to happen today how our society would react. That generation went through so much more than I think I ever could. 
    Unfortunately, I do not have enough time to talk about everything that I would like to about this documentary. Please go and see it for yourself (it is on Netflix) and leave any comments or thoughts you have. 

So my girlfriend and I made a joint New Years resolution this year to watch one documentary a week for the entire year. This decision was motivated by the realization that unless I actively educate myself I will be contributing to the apathy of collective knowledge. An apathy which was highlighted by my recent reading of The Fountainhead. I’m sure if you follow this blog you will hear more about this. Think of this as a modern non-fiction version of Jay Gatsby’s resolution to “Read one improving book or magazine per week”.

Anyway, she and I agreed that we would take turns each week selecting the documentary. As of right now there are no further restrictions though we reserve the right to change it later. This blog will document our year doing this, although I will also post on other things.

So this week’s selection (her choice) was Jiro Dreams of Sushi. This film completely surpassed my expectations. It was a very interesting and beautiful story of an 85 year old Japanese native of Tokyo who started a sushi restaurant called Sukiyabashi Jiro. My favorite thing about this documentary is that it is much more than a film about sushi; it documents Japanese work culture, family, and what it takes to (to quote Suits) become a Gladiator of one’s profession. I also learned that I have no idea what makes good sushi.

What I’d really like to talk about though is the idea of what it takes to become a Gladiator of One’s profession. Jiro’s life is completely consumed by everything about Sushi. The opening lines of the documentary talk about how he regularly dreams about Sushi and then gets up in the middle of the night to create a new dish that he literally just dreamt up.

At the age of 9 he began as an apprentice at a Sushi stand and has worked the same job for 76 years! I want to emphasize that when I say work, I mean that he actually only takes a day off when he is forced to by a Japanese National Holiday or a funeral. He expects the same dedication from his staff which is made up of his eldest son and some other apprentices. His youngest son also apprenticed with him but later went to found another Sushi restaurant in Tokyo (though it is not as highly rated).
By all accounts Jiro is the preeminent Sushi Master in the world. His restaurant holds a three star Michelin rating. Which according to the French company which publishes the rating, the food is so superb that it is worth traveling to that country for. Jiro is also in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest working chef with such a rating.

What is beautiful to me about Jiro is that he does not do all this work for money or fame or even success; he does it for his own satisfaction. He is one of those people who is willing to work harder than is maybe good for him to attain a perfection only he believes is possible. While this work ethic is admirable, I would really like to know; Do you think that he is satisfied? Do you think that he is happy with his accomplishments? One of the most interesting moments to me in the documentary is when his sons are talking about what it was like growing up. It was clear that they barely knew who their father was because he was never around. They relate a story where they ran and told their mother that a strange man was sleeping in the house because they did not know who he was. While the anecdote was humorous it was also a hollow laugh. Other than this story there was zero mention of Jiro’s wife and I am left wondering if she left him because he was never around. Is this what being a Gladiator of one’s profession means?

So these are my thoughts on our first documentary of the year. Please leave comments or thoughts concerning these questions or if you have any suggestions on documentaries worth viewing.

One follow up question; What do y’all think? Is it possible for a good chef to smoke? After all one needs such a good sense of smell and taste.