Food Inc

I watched the documentary "Food, Inc" tonight and it certainly made me think.  I tend to read/watch a lot of information about our food production systems; I think it's probably the most important thing in modern society, yet the vast majority of people don't really give a fuck about it as long as it's 'cheap'.  Whilst I'm not based in the US, with the global market being what it is, I'm sure these practises exist to a certain extent everywhere and we eat a lot of imported food in the UK.

Now, this isn't an in-depth review of the film, I would need to watch it again as it's a bit of a blur just now.  But I would definitely recommend that you watch it and/or give serious thought to where your food is coming from and what it's been exposed to.

Boy I am/ Feminism

I just watched this documentary, Boy I Am from 2006. It followed these 3 transguys as they were getting top surgery, but a bit part of it was discussing the attitude of feminism towards transgender and ftms in particular.

Now, the top surgery aspect of it really interested me, especially Nicco because he said that he's never really had much of a dysphoria problem with his genitals, but his chest has been a huge problem for him.  I totally related with that because that's my situation as well, so it was great to see someone talking about that. Often the guys in the vlogs I follow talk more about lower dysphoria, though obviously their chests affect them greatly as well.

But the feminism side of it really pissed me off. Now, lots of things about feminism does. Sometimes it seems to me that feminists just want to over-analyse, over-classify and moan about everything; I find myself just wanting to tell them to lighten up and get a fucking grip!

Now, I know that there are many great things about feminism: educating women about themselves and their bodies; working to empower women; create safe spaces for women and so on.  I am not knocking the wonderful things that feminists do; I'm grateful for them.  But so often, in feminist documentaries and at feminist events, feminism is used as a descriptor for some of the most reactionary, narrow-minded, off-putting points of view.

In the context of this documentary, they were talking about how cis-women and feminists in particular feel threatened by ftm transgenderism because they see it as a rejection of womanhood.  Yet, feminism has fought for years for women to have control over their bodies, thus enabling ftms the freedom and ability to pursue the path they feel is right for them.  It just baffles and infuriates me that people can see life like this and live in such a rigid way.  I'm being far less eloquent than I would like, but this side of feminism just stupefies me, I mean, just, aaarghhh!!! wtf!!!

Anyway, rant over and despite my reaction to the feminist aspect of the film, I think it was a really good thing to watch.  I'd really recommend it. :)

I finished reading this book about a week ago, and throughout the time I was reading it, I really made me think and challenge what I think about brands. First a brief description taken from the amazon entry:-

"What do you do when you wake up and realise that your life has been an empty pursuit of the superficial and the trend-driven? That your identity and value systems are based upon a brand hierarchy of your own creation? On 17th September 2006, in Finsbury Square, East London, Neil Boorman burnt all his branded items. The ones that wouldn't burn, he destroyed with a sledgehammer. The event was the culmination of a long process of self-examination, and of the brand-dominated world in which we live, recorded in a popular and controversial blog online. As a product of a generation that has been sold to since birth Neil examines the social, historical, economic and psychological ways in which brands have gripped our society, as well as documenting his personal trials and tribulations as he tries to live a life without brands.How will he cope without a hit of his Crackberry? Will he feel naked without his Nike, Gucci, and, of course, Marlboro?How do you make our own toothpaste?"

The book is basically the blog that Neil kept in the run-up to the bonfire and the issues he faced as he tried to replace the branded goods and also the criticism that he received. A lot of the criticism was about the waste of burning good quality clothes and equipment when he could have given it away to charity. This is an extremely good point, and ultimately that's a better way of dealing with stuff you no longer want (motto for life - reduce, reuse, recycle) but I get his point of the cathartic nature of fire. Plus, reading this, you've got to remember that sending stuff to a charity shop isn't as good as story as a bloody big bonfire.

When I first started reading the book, I was kinda looking down on him for being so influenced by branding and adverts. But as I read on, I began to realise that even though I don't care about what brand my clothes are, I am affected by adverts and branding, especially in the sense of avoiding certain brands (I hate starbucks for instance).

I think there are two sides to branding: the more traditional side is that a brand tells us who made the product and we can therefore be reassured as to the quality of it (e.g. I've got a pair of keen sandals which I love, the most comfortable shoes I've had for years, so if I see a pair of keen shoes in a shop, I'm more likely to buy them than another brand because I'm confident they're a quality product). On the other hand, brands can be a status symbol (he's wearing an armani suit, he must be successful and intelligent).

The reason that brands cause a problem in our society is that they encourage people to buy things they don't need, keeping them in a cycle of working harder than necessary so that they can buy things. This is not sustainable or particularly healthy.

I don't think it's healthy to go to the extreme that Neil went to, to remove all brands from our lives (Neil talks about his addiction to brands, but in a sense, avoiding them at all costs gives brands even more power); but I do think we need to step back and realise the control that brands can have over our lives.  This book is a great read and quite an eye-opener.

We need to move to a situation where the only purpose of a brand is to convey quality, not confer status.

http://www.bonfireofthebrands.com