This is Spinal Tap

As much as I enjoyed the other documentaries that we've watched this semester, it's nice to have something a bit more lighthearted this time around. I'll admit that while I'd never seen This is Spinal Tap before, I had heard a few things about it (mainly just the "Up to 11" bit and the fact that it was about a fictional band). Unfortunately for me, I don't really follow the history of any rock bands (or any band in general really), so I feel like I'm missing out on most of the jokes that directly parody those bands. However, from what I've heard many other bands at the time the film was apparently so "realistic" that they actually couldn't see it as a comedy. With that said, I still found the film to be pretty funny. I think that my favorite parts would have to be whenever they screwed up onstage, my personal favorites being them needing the stage hand's help in order to move around on the floor, when one of them got stuck in the pod, and when they somehow got lost backstage. I also found their pretentious little "end" speech to be pretty amusing.

Restrepo

         I'll admit, my knowledge on the U.S. military (and most other militaries for that matter) is rather lacking. After watching the film, I can say that Restrepo does a wonderful job of humanizing these soldiers fighting in Afghanistan. It does this especially well in how it shows the grief the soldiers go through, how it affects them, and how they have to cope with it in order to continue the fight. To me, some of the most moving scenes are when one soldier is being recounting his experiences and just then just blanks out for a few moments, saying that "I need a time out". Another moment is when the soldiers talk about how they had felt terrible about the civilian deaths from Rock Avalanche. Another is when one soldier just breaks down in the battlefield after the death of Sergeant Rougle. Another sad thing is just how they apparently have it so bad that there has to be new research into PTSD and other conditions because of how long it's been since was a war like this.

Food Inc.

         After the shocker that was The Cove, the acts depicted in this film didn't seem quite as disturbing. However, that doesn't mean that there wasn't a lot of disturbing moments. One of the main things that creeped me out were just the horrible conditions that the chickens and cows were living in while in the slaughterhouses. I mean, living knee-deep in their own waste to the point that it's caused more outbreaks of e coli in the past decade than ever? That's a almost as disturbing as the great lengths that they go through to stop people from finding out about what goes on, as well as the other things they do (granted, not quite as bad as The Cove). The worst would either have to be the horrible conditions that the workers have to work with in the factories, or the whole story about how Monsanto just relentlessly tries to ruin anybody who is even suspected of using their seeds. I also liked the film's comparison of the meat factories with those in the early 19th century.

         With that said though, the film still managed to have more moments of hope than I thought it was going to have. It showed that there are still actual farms that are able to thrive in spite of the huge companies running the food market. It also shows that these farms are still able to stick to their morals such as with the Polyface farm. It also states that the organic market has not only been able to start up, but has actually been growing to a phenomenal level while still being very profitable.

       

          On a  side note, was anyone else really disgusted by that one scene where they just reach into the cow's stomach and take out its food, possibly more-so than any other image from the film? I'm not sure if the fact that it apparently can't feel a giant, gaping hole it its stomach makes it more sickening or more bearable.