matthewcharleshowe

[matthewcharleshowe]

The film "Eating Alabama" really exemplifies eating locally which I enjoy love about the film because I like everything about food that is local from Maine.

Lobster

Wild Blueberries

Potatoes

Maine Root

I also liked the way the film was so personal to the narrator because he was filming during it and you got to know this guy and his wife pretty well by the end of the film. I would not change this because I think it was easy to watch because of that. The film does more than show us how we don't know were our food comes from by showing us how hard it is to find out. I mean that in every sense of the word because in one scene they are slaughtering chickens and that is hard for them and would be hard for me most likely. The stylistic approach was a very personal approach, two honest people trying to accomplish this goal of eating locally grown food for a year. It shows the process, struggles and the overall experience. Finally they have showcased this adventure and start giving us an emotional sense of dissatisfaction that they apparently are experiencing in the scene from there last meal of the experiment. This helps them later convey the message that there is a need for smaller farms because there are people willing to eat there product. I think this film is encouraging farmers that might shy away from entering farming in Alabama as a profession to do so and serve Alabama locals. It is also encouraging Alabama to eat local foods the majority of the film by example i.e. the narrator and his wife engulfing enticing looking plates of organic, locally grown food.

*screen shot from the films trailer located on the "Eating Alabama" website

[matthewcharleshowe]

THE FIRST 36 HOURS: An inside look at Hurricane Sandy

[matthewcharleshowe]

The shore, shore is getting small and it's hot out.

In the first short film we watched, THE FIRST 36 HOURS: An inside look at Hurricane Sandy was a good segway into Shored Up a film about An Island community battling climate change. There was some sweet surfing in the movie and that appealed to me. Shored up showcased footage of the outer banks from the past and present. It had shots from hurricane Isabel and more recently hurricane Irene. It also showed us the Island Community of the outer banks in there battle with the environment. They want to stay there and mother nature doesn't. The film does more than to just make us aware of the problems we already know exist (climate change) by depicting images of this place being just wrecked by the ocean and then finally telling us that it is going to sink due to the rising sea levels anyway. This could also be a stylistic approach to convey the films message by building up all these reasonable claims of why not to live on the outer banks and then dropping a bomb on us that the outer banks are subsiding constantly and the oceans are rising two centimeters a year from ice melt. It kind of makes me want to visit the outer banks before it is gone or destroyed via hurricane.

This is a picture of hurricane Isabel from wikipedia:

[matthewcharleshowe]

"Uranium Drive-in" A Take On Things but Not my review

From what this movie entails, a poor community that has culture that ranges from mostly dark, fantasy loving people to people that seem to be independent, passionate and to live a simpler life. It's call to action was the final interview with the mayor, I sounded like she wanted the people to the east to come spend there money in town there or give them there money. I found this to be the climax of the film because she was crying and there was a mix of distress and disappear. I feel guilty for being a person from the east who has money that is not being spent in Colorado in this town. It was not made apparent to me, from the movie what the name of this town was or even what state this place was in. So, I didn’t really know where this place was. There was a mine 16 miles, I believe from the site where they would break ground in this poverty Stricken town, this was brought to my attention by the film maker and that is to many. From watching this movie you could see that these people could be getting these chemicals into there bodies just from being in the proximity of the mine and uranium. That is how they show us the result of the uranium mine that exists or existed and what will happen if ground is broken for a new mine. I think the people who were against the mine that stayed inside more looked more healthy that the people who were outside more, but there where the in between people which makes me believe there to be no bias in this film. The film maker did a good job. Her style wasn't apparent to me I believe it to be one that starts us off with strong emotion of hatred for these mines and leaves us with the feeling of ok there is hope for this place. If I were the director/editor of this movie I would do something differently but I can't remeber what is was that I would change, ah! Yes, I would change the way the film tells us where this place is not only the state (Colorado) but the name of the town because it was not apparent to me until I asked someone in the audience with me. I spend sometime during the film wondering where it was. This town doesn’t need a mine and I think the whole film does show us that there is hope in the fact that it ends with the restoration of an old drive in movie theater. I think they would benefit more from businesses and the people who have money spending it at those businesses. It seems as though they would really benefit from a venue or hall that plays live hardcore, two-step or death metal music, or something like a skatepark than a mine. The kids and teens would love that. There parents would be happy because of it. That is why we need to learn more about what is happening there. ~Matthew Howe @johnzavodny Everybody watch “Bag It!”