An Inconvenient Truth: Food, Inc.

Today in health class I was faced with the inconvenient truth of the practices of our agrarian society. The movie, Food, Inc. is a documentary that takes viewers behind the scenes of today's food manufacturers and their treatment of animals as well as poor production methods. As I watched merely the first 45 minutes of the film, I was horrified, disgusted, and deeply saddened all at once.

Food, Inc. took me back to the ideals of Ishmael and humanity in the rest of the world. The Fall marked the beginning of man's grasp on the earth; the ability to bend the environment to suit our own needs. We tilled the land to feed a growing population that would only keep growing, rationalizing our actions as sustaining the population. We as humans gave ourselves permission to tamper with lifeforms and form them to support our populations with the help of science, technology, and the might of the human race. And what are we left with? Now we genetically modify chickens and cows and plants to be bigger, better, and less susceptible to disease and we mass produce them. Animals aren't born. They're manufactured to our needs. They're manufactured to make money. This is what has become of the hunter-gatherer societies of the Stone Age. Well done.

Another angle to this situation is that our new agrarian practices make us richer. Food is made cheaply and efficiently and is engineered to give utmost satisfaction. The fast food industry is now booming and more and more people have grown to rely on it. Also, science has helped us make our food safer and more nutrient rich so that we may receive vital vitamins and minerals.

Although it is difficult to accept our current food situation, it is important to realize that the progression of our society has led to increases in population, and we must feed this population cheaply. However, I don't have to accept the horrors of this situation, but I can accept that maybe green and organic initiatives will continue to grow and hopefully our newly developed food technologies will be used for the better.

Connection: Heart of Darkness and the East India Company

During our Heart of Darkness discussion on Thursday, we talked about the relationship between government and economics with the main question being: "To what extent should government be involved in businesses?" I connected this idea to the English East India Company and their involvement in the colonization of other countries.

The East India Company (EIC) established especially close relations with India after the 1757 Battle of Plassey when troops defended the weak Mughal empire from rebellious warlords. This resulted in a peace treaty making the commander of the EIC troops the official tax collector for Bengal. From 1757-1858, the EIC progressed to become the de facto government of India, illustrating the mesh of government and business.

This is along the lines of Heart of Darkness as Europeans scramble to exploit African commodities and African society suffers European enroachment and brutal power. This is visible as Africans are enslaved to work in mines and businessmen from European nations travel to Africa seeking ivory.

This connection sheds light on the relationship between government and business because at one point, business organizations or companies became the government and ruling body of these nations. It shows their political weakness but also the changing times and the modernist/post-modernist development of Heart of Darkness. The connection further illustrates the post-modernist worldview that globalization leads to more complicated representations of society and the way people live and relate to one another, for example.

Metacognition: 1000 Word Essay

Word count FAIL: Before writing the 1000 word essay, Mr. Allen made it seem as though the word count would be easily fulfilled and even surpassed. However, while writing the essay I found that this word count wasn't as easily attainable as I thought it would be. I found myself tossing in words just to reach the goal of 850 words, throwing the desired succinctness down the drain.

Structure/organization FAIL: I had conformed to the age-old 5 paragraph essay format taught as early as 3rd grade. For a reason unbeknown to me, I had assumed that it was part of the assignment to follow the lovely formatting, but after turning in the essay I quickly learned that this wasn't the case.

Quality FAIL: My essay lacked deep insight and perspective as well as voice.

As is quite visible, I did not like my essay very much.

But, to preserve optimism, found that I was able to piece together many philosophers' perspectives and find underlying commonalities. I also found that I enjoyed delving into this question and hunting for the answer within the lines of Sophie's World.

While writing the essay I pondered creation and evolution and their conflicting roles in society. Science has taken a new stand in today's world and religion isn't very welcoming of its growing power.

Throughout the semester I had gained a lot of insight into various philosophies that will prove to be very helpful in my essay writing and thinking. It is mode of thought that is foundational to many fields of study, no matter how contradictory they may be.

Blogging Around: Rebekah and Anna

In her blog post, Rebekah gave us a 360 degree perspective of rock and roll music. From a bad influence and the cause of druggies and rebels to the greatest thing ever heard, rock music has been a ground for change.

My comment on Rebekah's post:

Rebekah, Being a rock and roll lover myself, I really enjoyed reading your post. I have also experienced others' varying opinions of rock music, but this post raises many interesting questions. Music is a very very powerful form of expression, and I think that it was the driving force behind many of the revolutions of thought and societal values in the 60s and 70s. It became a strong foundation for many people and propelled their causes forward. With so many effects associated with it, maybe rock and roll did change the world.

Anna's iMedia blog post reflected a new Levi's commercial that went against the norm, was artfully done, and very grasping. The commercial had the underlying idea of rebelliousness that also had historical relevance.

My comment on Anna's post:

Anna, First off, I totally agree with everything you said. Upon seeing these commercials, I was completely captivated. I experienced the same exact thoughts: "artistic; historically relevant, yet refreshingly modern; frightening, yet optimistic." Basically, it was the coolest Levi's commercial I had ever seen. Ever. Also, Anna, stop stealing my thoughts. This post addressed every thought in my head and you even brought attention to the ones that were elusively unaddressable (great minds think alike!) I was so happy to see a thought-provoking commercial with meaning and not a superficial figment of the modern world.

iMedia: Apocalypse Please

The song, "Apocalypse Please" by the band, Muse, addresses issues within our society and human responses to these issues.

When confronted by a difficult situation or a dramatic event, it is natural for humans to turn to a leader for guidance. The lyrics,"Declare this an emergency/ come on and spread a sense of urgency/ and pull us through.../ this is the end of the world," demonstrate this dependence on leadership in dire situations.

Another reaction is for humans to turn to a higher, "other" power or spiritual being as is illustrated in the following lyrics, "It's time we saw a miracle/ come on it's time for something biblical/ to pull us through.../ this is the end of the world." There is a commonality throughout history for religions to expand and flourish during times of crisis, which could be due to loss of hope in any other guiding force.

I chose this song because of the recent buzz about the Mayan theory of the apocalypse on December 21, 2012. Recently, movies, such as "2012," TV shows, and books regarding the apocalypse have been spewing from every direction.

Not only does this song address recent concerns of the end of the world, but it also addresses human philosophy and responses to these situations.

"Apocalypse Please" by Muse

Poor Tom and the Ghosts of Christmas

A Christmas Carol tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a greedy man who is confronted by three Christmas spirits that help him achieve redemption and embody the Christmas spirit.

Edgar's disguise as Poor Tom relates to the Christmas spirits in the novel, A Christmas Carol. During his first appearance, to King Lear, Poor Tom catches Lear's attention because they share the feeling of misery. However, Poor Tom gives Lear a new perspective on his situation and calms some of his rage as he tells Lear that he had no daughters to drive him mad and that his insanity was caused by his own actions. Poor Tom sheds light on Lear's situation as Lear recognizes that others have it worse than him.

Lear echoes Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol as the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Christmas Yet to Come confront Scrooge concerning his way of life. These ghosts present varying perspectives on Scrooge's life and force him to realize his ways and change them for the better.

Hopefully Poor Tom's warnings will reshape Lear's thinking and force him to re-evaluate the immature treatment of his daughters as he refuses to talk to them like Scrooge changed his way of life.

360 degrees: The Pink Cow

The Pink Cow. What an interesting work of art. Andy Warhol strikes again with a display of dual vibrant colors that turn ordinary into extraordinary.

But not all see it the same way.

Some say, "The cow isn't even pink. It's red. And why would anyone make a cow red? Cows definitely aren't red. When was the last time you saw a red cow?

While others reflect, "I think Mr. Warhol's clashing colors present a deeper, underlying thought. The cow is clearly the subject of the piece as it is the darker color against the brighter yellow background. The sharp division in the pink and yellow illustrate the debated issue of animal rights."

Another perspective says, "This is pretty awesome. I like the vibrant colors and the random cow. It's even kinda comic-bookie. Andy Warhol was a cool guy."

A few others:

"I like the colors, but the cow doesn't fit."

"I like the cow, but the colors don't fit."

"What was this guy thinking?"

The last question seems to remain true in all of the perspectives: What was Andy Warhol thinking? We don't really know for sure, but he took a cow and made it "WOW" (I know, I'm so funny). This ignorance is present in all of these views, but it also makes each point of view question more.

Why did Warhol choose a cow as his main attraction? Was he actually trying to prove a point? Was he just trying to be funny? Personally, I think Warhol chose the cow for a number of reasons. Warhol's art revolved around American culture with subjects such as a Campbell's tomato soup can and Marilyn Monroe. The cow represents America's acres of farms and dependence on agriculture. Cows are also simple and, well, random.

What if Andy chose different colors? What if he didn't change the original color of the cow at all? What if he added a few more colors to the spectrum? The colors of a work of art lend great meaning and understanding. In any situation, a different palette would change the outlook entirely. Whether outrageous or conservative, the colors shape the perspective of the beholder.