Has anyone seen "Fast Food Nation"?

[CoffeeCat]

I caught at least half of it on HBO the other night.

I'm so mortified by what I saw--and how all of the dots connect.

I haven't gotten over that movie.

The meat-packing plant scenes are worse than anything I've seen in a horror movie.

Just awful.

Anyone else moved by this movie?

[Big Blue Marble]

1. I read the book.

I had already quit eating meat, but found it very informative.
Decided that watching the movie would be too painful.

[mnhtnbb]

2. I read it, too. I'd like to see the movie.

[Hoof Hearted]

5. Same here. n/t

[tired_old_fireman]

3. I was just watching it.

I got half way through and had to take a break because I felt like I was going to vomit. I have a feeling this movie will haunt me for a long time.

[Hippo_Tron]

4. Saw it on HBO the other day, kind of a modern day version of The Jungle

I suppose I have a strong stomach because while it was gross, I could tolerate it and still eat meat. I definitely could not work in one of those places, though.

[and-justice-for-all]

6. I can not watch animal cruelty...

I just can not handle it, that's why I do not eat meat.

I have not seen the that film and I do not think I could get through the animal cruelty parts of it. It's something that just destroys me on the inside.

[fed-up]

7. the book is much better than the movie-it was "book in common" for Chico State and local junior

college 5 years ago when my son was homeschooled and taking classes at the JC. It was required reading for both his health class and sociology class.

He was 13 at the time and very impressionable. It was the key for both of us to stop eating fast food and non-organic meat. That is also the age when teenagers hang out with friends and frequent fast food places... He would describe in graphic detail parts of the book while his friends chowed down on garbage "food".

Just for fun I reread The Jungle by Upton SInclair and it seems that some things never change....

[cgrindley]

8. It was pretty stupid

whoever came up with the script ought to be ashamed. It should have been a proper documentary not some halfwit piece of crap.

[chelaque liberal]

11. I think it reaches a bigger audience this way and hopefully a few

unsuspecting people will learn something. Generally speaking, the people who watch "proper documentaries" have already read the book and are familiar with the issues raised. I doubt the same can be said for Bruce Willis' fan base.

I also think the movie was fairly well done. Some characters were a little caricature-ish but the Mexicans, the teenage girl, and Greg Kinnear's characters seemed very real to me. I loved Ethan Hawke and Kris Kristofferson's characters (they are the type of people I am drawn to, I guess). I found the portrayal of the Mexican's plight very moving.

I saw it the other night on HBO and still can't get some images out of my mind.

[cgrindley]

12. I saw it in the theater and read the book

it was a huge disappointment. Just because a film's politics appeal to you, doesn't mean that it was any good. EG An Inconvenient Truth was perhaps the worst documentary ever made.

[Atman]

16. LOL.

You're certainly entitled to your opinions. Just because you have them doesn't mean that they're any good, though.

;)

.

[cgrindley]

19. Actually, that's where you're wrong

My opinions are actually valid and good in the field of film studies. My opinion on the merits of Inconvenient Truth as a flawed documentary is actually the dominant opinion in film studies. As a documentary, the thing was reviled, you know. It wasn't very good.

But perhaps you are mistaking "important" for "good". Let me briefly outline the difference. "Young Sherlock Holmes" was IMPORTANT for its groundbreaking use of CGI... on the other hand, 8 1/2 was GOOD.

An Inconvenient Truth was IMPORTANT because it raised people's awareness of anthrogenic climate change, whereas Roger and Me was GOOD (actually, it was GOOD and IMPORTANT). Likewise, Supersize Me was both GOOD and IMPORTANT.

[Sugar Smack]

35. Whoo, that's a lot of "actuallies"

;)

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

21. What aspects of the film did you particularly dislike, as a person

who knows film?

[Atman]

9. I thought it was pretty powerful stuff, but most DUers poo-poo'd my rec.

I got lots of "That movie sucked! The book is better!" responses, as you've already started to get. But that's crap...it the movie opens some eyes and gets some people thinking, that can't be a bad thing. Besides, I think the graphic nature of the meat packing scenes have to be much more powerful visually than in type.

You're right, though...it puts so many issues into perspective. Namely the "jobs Americans won't do" meme. These are the jobs, not housekeeper or nanny or gardener. But BushCo doesn't want us thinking about that. If people really saw what we were importing Mexican slave labor for, the entire industry could collapse.

.

[cgrindley]

13. No. Films have to "work" as films first and foremost

the politics of it have to take a backseat to its attributes as a film.

[Atman]

15. Really?

Who says? It's one of the rules I guess I've never seen written anywhere. Thanks for sharing, even if your assertions is generally without merit.

The film had some serious flaws, imho, but I don't know if those were carried over from the book or just a poor screenplay. But it DID work. It has caused several people to open their eyes, it has been the subject of many threads here on DU...it worked politically, even if it was not high cinema. Not every film has to be a Cannes winner.

.

[cgrindley]

18. Do you know anything about film?

because I sure as shit do. Matter of fact, I'm pretty willing to believe that you don't know jack shit about film studies, so... Take this as gospel: films ARE judged for their technical and dramatic merits before any other considerations are taken into account. ALL films, whether they are video game adaptations or masterpieces by dour and sophisticated dead Russians, ARE to be judged based on their ability to function effectively as films first and foremost. Period. Not every film has to be a Cannes winner, but ALL films are evaluated by the same critical process.

PS it's not my fault that you are entirely unfamiliar with basic film studies. Perhaps go on Amazon or Abebooks and get a used copy of Barsam's Looking at Movies or Bordwell and Thompson's Film Art.

[kimmylavin]

23. Um, I do.

Studied film for years, even read those holy textbooks.
I even work in film.

And just because film study classes say so, doesn't mean the rest of the movie lovers/film students/movie-going public agrees. Nor should they have to. And no, sorry - ALL films are not evaluated by the same critical process. That's why a movie like Independence Day can get good ratings all around just for being damn good fun, and a movie like Brokeback Mountain can get good ratings all around for being so damn good.

Every field's got a group who sit on their high horses and bemoan the unwashed masses who just DON'T GET IT. At least you have each other...

[Atman]

26. Oh, man...I wrote my reply before reading yours...

Interesting that we both used the "high horse" reference. I guess it really was that obvious.

I bet this guy wears a little French beret and smokes clove cigarettes while belittling the masses. LOL!

.

[Atman]

25. I'm sorry, I can't hear you way up there on your high horse.

I'm a mere mortal. Please...bless us with your presence here on earth so that you might better tell us all how full of shit we are.

BTW, Mr. Devoid of Humor..."Your opinion is wrong" is a total joke. Opinions, by there very nature, cannot be "wrong." They're merely opinions.

Yours might be self-centered and arrogant, but I'd never say they're "wrong."

.

[cgrindley]

34. Opinions can be wrong

if you are of the opinion that god created the earth in 7 days (or at all for that matter), you are wrong. If you are of the opinion that the CIA assassinated Kennedy, you are wrong. If you are of the opinion that MIHOP is possible, you are wrong. If you are of the opinion that An Inconvenient truth is a great documentary, you are wrong. Sorry if that's elitist to you, but so the fuck what. It's no different than a layperson's opinion of a dental or medical procedure being invalid. The arts is a technical field. The opinions of laypeople are worthless.

[JBoy]

27. Holy crap, could you be any more condescending and full of yourself?

Movies are like wine. If you like it, it's good.

(Edited for spelling, because I'm sure you're an expert at that too).

[Atman]

30. Movies are like wine...sex is like pizza

I'm not a big wine connoisseur, but I can speak to the other...

"Sex is like pizza; when it's good it's great. When it's bad it's still pretty good."

.

[JBoy]

31. Pizza's pretty good the next morning, too.

:toast:

[Atman]

33. Morning sex...with pizza.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

.

[Ignis]

29. To which university are you attached? (nt)

[ThomWV]

10. I saw it in its entirety 2 or 3 nights ago. Stunning.

I recommend it to everyone. If other movies showing you the effects of junk food don't get to you maybe this one will.

[formerrepuke]

14. Read the book and saw the film.. I thought it was a very clever adaptation

of a non-fiction work into a dramatic feature film. And those meat-packing scenes -which were so graphically described from the author's visit to a packing plant in Colorado- were filmed in a real meat packing plant in Mexico. Apparenlty, in the meat packing finale, the blood splattering onto Catalina Maria Sandino's face (and mixing with her tears) was unintentional.. but soooooo poignant.
**Great film**

[AlCzervik]

17. Read the book, the movie was ok but the book is better and different.

[Gormy Cuss]

22. That's about my take on it too.

The film felt a bit scattered to me although there were moments that were quite powerful. The book is more consistent.

[blogslut]

20. It was a brave choice,

turning it into a plot-driven film as opposed to documentary-like format of the book. The book is more a collection of personal stories interspersed with factual histories of the American food industry. I can't say I would have done it that way but I think the filmmakers pulled it off.

They took the truths in the book and told them though the personal stories of the characters. The result was a more emotional experience, often effective when one wants to convey an complicated notion to the masses.

[JCMach1]

24. I also enjoyed Spurlock's show 30 Days

on F/X

[cynatnite]

28. I quit watching after half an hour...

didn't care for it.

[Name removed]

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