Morgan Spurlock's 30 days?

Discussion in 'General chat' started by heuristics, Nov 17, 2005.

  1. heuristics

    heuristics Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2005
    Messages:
    519
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Caught the second episode in this series. Spurlock of “Super Size Me” fame takes two Bronx residents to Dancing Rabbit Eco Village in Missouri to live for 30 days.
    Typical "gross out” reactions of these two city-based “planet-exploiters” to the idea of humanure, solar power and showering without using “products”.
    “Gotta have my products, (toiletries and cosmetics) gotta have my products", she whinges and whines. He, he's gotta have his meat. He takes to shooting the dancing rabbits, which, of course, goes down a treat among the eco-village permanent residents.
    Looking beyond the “made for television” and therefore made to entertain with use of extreme contrasts, ... beneath all that, the program gave a good look at an eco-village functioning by reduction of an individual's ecological footprint, and reusing, recycling.
    I enjoyed the segment where the “rabbits” went “dumpster dumping” (where they find useful and salvagable items) and Product Lady got all excited cause she found a brand-new hair-dryer, still in its sealed plastic packaging, in the dumpster.
    Anyone else see this? Or see the other episodes?
     
  2. earthbound

    earthbound Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2005
    Messages:
    603
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I was about to come and post about the same thing heuristics.... :D :D The show wasn't to bad at all I thought, what a great thing, they got to convert a car to veggie oil, collect waste oil, set up a solar system, plant veggies... And the local residents were extremely polite, even when 'meato' sat down at the vegan table with a plate full of rare beef..

    I think the male participants statements towards the end summed up the most worrying factor that reflects the attitudes of so many in society. "I can see that these are all good things for the earth, but I'm a consumer, I love it, and I'm just going to ride this thing till the wheels fall off..."

    Lucky we don't all feel the same way....
     
  3. christopher

    christopher Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2005
    Messages:
    1,536
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    38
    I don't own a telly, just my computer for watching DVDs (and I BUY ALL of them, Franceyne, from Amazon.com!!!!!), so I missed that.

    Your last coment on the meato and his wheels falling off, Joel, makes me unhappy :cry: , because if after all of the wonderfulness he was exposed to, hhe STILL didn't get it, (or worse, got it and decided to be an idiot anyway) we, all of us on the planet, are f**ked.

    It all boils down to the lowest common denominator, which is someone like this guy, whose destructive capacity for the earth is limited by his income. All of anyones virtuous low energy consumption gets negated by some idiot, oooh, I'm pissed just thinking about it....

    Grrrrrr. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: If it wasn't for folks like all'o'y'all who post here, I would be utterly depressed. Of course I read it here from you, Dr Joel, and that makes my life feel better, knowing that YOU exist, out there, making aquaponics :wav: , a veritable monument to all that is innovative, intelligent, forward thinking and down right CLEVER about human beings, and you balance out three of those guys.

    In Collapse, Jarred Diamonds book, he worries about China and India rising up to first world consumption rates, which IS worrying, because add a billion people with the capability to be a yahoo like the one you write about, and we-are-toast.

    We need more aquaponics ( :wav: ), I think....

    C
     
  4. heuristics

    heuristics Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2005
    Messages:
    519
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Morton Spurlock

    Hi Christoper,

    This is going to really p you off, but "meat-o" was even MORE of a meat-head than you realise.
    Before he and "product lady" went to Dancing Rabbit Spurling got someone to do an "ecological footprint" on them both.
    Earthbound, how many "planets" were they consuming? - ie/ if EVERYONE on earth consumed at the same rate as these two we'd need - was it 12? - planets to accommodate them?
    So they had this info BEFORE they went to the Rabbits. The idea, I think, was that if people understood what they were doing to the planet, and were shown practices and a lifestyle that left a softer ecological print, then people would want to support the Rabbits in their quest.

    I saw meat-o say he was going to "ride this thing till the wheels fell off". From there Spurlock took us "to where the wheels have already fallen off" - some nasty industrial Calif/Mexico border town where health data shows people are dying young and dying fast from the effects of exhaust fumes and other crud in the putrid air.
    About then I got an interuption and missed the final moments.....
    But yeah, it was good for its genre (entertain/infotain TV).
    Spurlock certainly didnt patronise the Rabbits, even if the two Bronx hyper-consumers remained unconverted.
     
  5. earthbound

    earthbound Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2005
    Messages:
    603
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    And the strange thing is that we still can't seem to get beyond that twisted mentality... "The people in China, India etc deserve to have the luxuries we have. The poor things don't have X, or Y."

    Still, yeah, it gets depressing just to think about it... I have more important things to think about , like where the hell am I going to put this barrell-ponics system that I'm halfway through constructing, yet still don't have anywhere to put it......... :? :?
     
  6. christopher

    christopher Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2005
    Messages:
    1,536
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    38
    I'm glad/sad I missed this. It would certainly mess my eveing right up to watch someone exposed to the type of forward thinking he was and reject it because he simply liked consuming, but......

    Perhaps he will absorb some of it later, and will make changes.

    Part if the problem with the "shock" exposure to alternatives to stupid consumption and business as usual, is that huimans tend to entrench when challenged, so his reaction is about par for the course. If his experiences while with the Rabbitts soak in, then, removed from the camera and the untenable damn-the-torpedos rigidness of being cast as the shameless consumer for sensational TV land, he may recognize the value of not consuming, and make some changes.

    My friend used to live on Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of NYC, and the tallest hill in NYC, even higher than Fort Washington in upper Manhattan, was a land fill called Fresh Kills, after a body of water now buried a couple hundred feet deep in garbage...

    I lived in an expirimental housing project (a housing project for white people :lol: ) on an island under the 59th street bridge called Roosevelt Island, and we could watch the trash barges float by on the East River, loaded with garbage, with a flying entourage of seagulls, swooping down, eating garbage...

    On the south end of the island was an abandoned building, which we called the Building, and about 30 acres of empty land, with trees, and water on three sides, and a serious cyclone fence between our building and the rest of the world. I spent half of my 10th grade year living in that building when my folx kicked me out for being a stoned snot, with my home boys, Scott, Tim and Corby. We used to sit on top of this large building, watching the boats float by, looking at the UN, the various bridges, beautiful skyline lit up at night, the city humming and buzzing with energy, over there, across the river, and we sat there quietly, in our little acreage of paradise, enjoying being young and feral, etc. One day I saw the city as a giant cancer cell, consuming the resources of the planet, and dumping garbage and shit into the river. That day was, in retrospect, pivotal in my life, though there were other pvotal days, and other fulcrums that pushed me towards other things.

    (The Building, as we called it, was an old hospital from the late 19th century with walls three meters thick, five floors tall at the center, 6 meter tall ceilings, and we lived in a bathroom tower on the second floor, with a door, lock and key, which Tim Lonnegan built from "botrrowed materials" and we used a fire hydrant for water, kerosene for cooking. It was fine until fall came around and things got, well, chilly! The Building was featured in several movies, including Prince of NY (they killed someone in that movie in a staircase of that building) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the building where the delinquents hung out, the exterior shots were done on the building, right near our place...)

    I suggest they take this guy, Meato, down from the Bronx over to Fresh Kills and look at all the garbage. That should help him alot in understanding his environmental footprint in a way that is irrefutable. In fact, have him live across the street from the largest land fill in the US for a month, betcha he'll really start to miss the Ecovillage!

    (Bronx accent) "Whaddaya want? Me, live here across the street from the largest f**king garbage heap in America? Fugghedaboudit! Take me back to the Ecovillage! I'll eat tofu and like it!"
     
  7. christopher

    christopher Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2005
    Messages:
    1,536
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    38
    I just looked up Freshkills land fill on google, and it is now touted as a wonderful thing, with 24 inches of dirt and a thick pond liner on top of 50 years worth of accelerating garbage disposal, its now ecologically OKAY! Land fills are good for birds! Yay! (not.)

    It is being touted as a wonderful thing for Staten Island and NYC, but it is going to leach nastiness for the next 4000 years, and the liner will break, the methane may build up and >BOOM
     
  8. Douglas J.E. Barnes

    Douglas J.E. Barnes Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2005
    Messages:
    258
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    It's frightening to think what the advertising industry has done to the human mind in such a short span of time. Just 50 years ago, no one would have dreamed of defining himself or herself as a "consumer," and in those early days of the public relations industry, consumption was still another word for cancer.

    We'll, a quick little biology experient using yeast will reveal what happens to an organism that consumes more than it's environment can sustain. Unfortunately, this deep thinking male will be able to hold on a little longer because he has a very nasty organisation backing up his "right" to comsume.
     
  9. bjgnome

    bjgnome Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2005
    Messages:
    56
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    fresh kills

    Fresh kills isn't just the highest place in New York it's the highest point on the US east coast! Cancer rates among residents close to the dump were astronomical.

    It is a disturbing thought indeed that a person's ability to destroy ecosystems is limited only by their income.

    I also appreciate the observation that meato's defenses were probably exacerbated by the spotlight. I've seen the attitude so many times, and also seen people come around in the end.

    As for the rabbits, I'd probably be after them, too.

    Jonathan
     
  10. bazman

    bazman Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2005
    Messages:
    802
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Well I have worked in advertising and television for close to 16 years, I still work part time in TV, but a lot of that is done from home and is either low IQTV programs or kids shows and a few TV ads (yak). It's one of those things where this is what I know and is how I make money (for the time being and is starting to change.)

    What really scares me is TV stations are full of “planet-exploiters” starting from the top right down to the bottom (where I work but not me :D )

    Most things you see on low IQTV are based on selling something or selling a point of view. My advice is never ever ever ever watch news from a TV station which makes money from ads.

    My family now see me as a little strange as I often argue with whats been said or the point of view being presented on TV, so many years of working with dickhead reporters and those above has burnt most of my respect for this profession.

    Some of the stories I could tell would shock you, but i'm sure I would get my fingers more than I little burnt for talking out loud. :shock:

    Just remember one thing, what ever you see on TV is entertainment and that entertainment is there to sell TV ads which are designed by smart evil thinking people trying to sell shit people don't need. :evil:

    But I still keep a finger in the pie so hopefully I can make a difference somehow with the skills the have learnt over all these years, I see groups like the Greens doing it wrong and failing in how to present to the masses, I have great respect for the greens message and the work that they do but they are seen in such a bad light in main stream points of view.

    People like Michael Moore are doing a better job but still can only be seen on SBS here in Australia (SBS is a not so commercial TV station here in Australia) and is a low rating TV network.

    What can I do? Well I have been talking to a director for some time now about an idea for a TV show which is aimed at the Low IQTV market and will hopefully seed a new positive message of sustainability, but in a format that won't be seen as a tree hugger point of view (i'm a tree hugger by the way :D ), but this has to be done really carefully in this environment as the base income for TV stations is selling shit we don't really need.

    I missed the above show due to reading "introduction to permaculture" :D oh well.
     
  11. SueinWA

    SueinWA Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2005
    Messages:
    1,251
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    0
    "It is a disturbing thought indeed that a person's ability to destroy ecosystems is limited only by their income."

    AAAACK! I don't know about Oz, but you and I, buddy, are Americans! We live among people who are UNLIMITED by their incomes! All those huge SUVs aren't paid for, you know. And all the other crap that Madison Ave. is selling is all put on the credit cards.

    (mutter, mutter....)

    Sue in western Washington State, meth capital of America! (I just learned that from a woman who is training to be a drug counselor -- how depressing!)
     
  12. Peter Clements

    Peter Clements Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2005
    Messages:
    73
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Reply to Meat-o

    After hearing about MrMeato and MsProduct I realise why permaculture mixes one part Hope for the Future with one part Practical Survival. Be prepared for the best scenario, but also be prepared for the worst.
     
  13. christopher

    christopher Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2005
    Messages:
    1,536
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Sue,

    Western Wa is also the espreso capitol of the universe, which I think helps people from developing terminal Kurt Cobain syndrome during the long wet miserable winters yo enjoy there (which should have started for you, sorry for bringing it up...)

    Espresso is better tasting, I think (not really informed here) than meth.... "drink espresso, don't smoke or snort or whatever it is, meth", my new ad campaign to get people hooked on organic coffee....,

    And it is true about credit. My brother in law got a USD20,000 credit card as a freshman at a state university, JUST FOR FILLING IN THE APPLICATION! It took him years to pay off the debt he incurred in 6 months!

    Oh, joy!

    We took a mortgage on a house in town, paid it off over 10 years, and sold it, making some money, but some months it was pretty desperate to make the payment. Luckiily my crappy little Belize Bank Visa card has a USD2000 spending limit, a small enough hole I can't really hurt myself with :lol: , I can't even buy all of us airplane tickets with it!

    C.
     
  14. HoneydaleFarm

    HoneydaleFarm Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2005
    Messages:
    120
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Someone quoted from a book the other day that 60 % of kids in AMerica have their first words being a brand name....

    a sobering thought

    now we just need the same ad guys working for permaculture
     
  15. heuristics

    heuristics Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2005
    Messages:
    519
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Morton Spurlock

    Hey, SueinWA, Christopher and other 'flies on the wall' of this post.
    You wanna talk US deficits, emerging Chinese global supremacy, Peak Oil and the end of the financial "end of the world".???

    Another of my fav websites is Nouriel Roubini's RGE Monitor.
    Here's a paper I read earlier this year that frightened the bee-jeez outa me:
    Will the Bretton Woods 2 Regime Unravel Soon? The Risk of a Hard Landing in 2005-2006.
    (Google Roubini - you'll find it)

    In a strange coalescing of forces, it was partly this paper that sent me scrambling to permaculture as a way to survive what is being predicted.

    It took me 2 weeks to read this paper - I had to go back again and again to "get it", but I recommend persevering. Of course, as with most things on this board, it is only giving info to the already “converted”, but it helps reassure that despite Fox-TVs (or Bazman's low IQ TV)'s best efforts to distract us, there is real trouble brewing.
     
  16. Tamandco

    Tamandco Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2004
    Messages:
    915
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I just want to mention a few pros about Meato and Ms Product.

    At the start of the program, Ms Product was, I think, in shock. The members of Dancing Rabbit really took her in and quite early on, she started embracing many of their practices. By the end she was so please to have participated in so many 'good' things. I can't remember exactly what she said, (hubby taped it so could drag it out - might even get it dumped onto dvd for anyone interested) but it finished with her happiness at seeing her vegies growing.

    Re Meato, the comment he made ".... until the wheels fall off" had to do with his desire to ride his motorcycle. Apart from the meat and the motorcycle bit, he wasn't too bad by the end. They both expressed their desire to install solar power, install the compact flourescent light globes, and listed a few other things, (once again, I'll have to look at the video again) that they'd like to do when they get back home.

    Don't be too hard on them. A lot of the problems is the environment people like that grow up in. They don't know any better. It takes someone like the people from Dancing Rabbit to show them that it doesn't all have to be like that, that there are alternatives.

    They stated at the end of the program that they were going to make changes when they got home. This is a good thing.

    The program commentary made a statement on the program that if every household in the US replaced one of their standard incandescent globes with a compact flourescent, they could shut down an entire nuclear power station.

    After reading this thread, I'm going to watch the program again. (Hope hubby hasn't taped over it yet :shock: )

    Tam
     
  17. gargun

    gargun Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2005
    Messages:
    43
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi Tam.

    If you can get it dumped onto DVD, I'd really appreciate a copy. :D

    Regards

    Ray
     
  18. Tamandco

    Tamandco Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2004
    Messages:
    915
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    No worries Gargun,

    I'll let you know when I've got it ready and you can send me your details then.

    Anyone else?

    Tam
     

Share This Page

-->