Change Your Image
spamuptheyingyang
Reviews
Forks Over Knives (2011)
Wake-Up Call
Forks Over Knives confirms several things we've all suspected for years, but most of us haven't wanted to face:
- The Standard American Diet and most of its variations are killing us by the millions;
- Several of America's most prevalent diseases can be halted or reversed by changes in diet;
- This fact has been understood for many years, but is avoided by doctors and other health care professionals;
- The diet recommended to us by our government is designed to benefit the food industry, not to benefit people's nutrition;
- The health care and pharmaceutical industries benefit by keeping Americans in a continual state of controlled disease symptoms rather than in a state of optimal health.
In a nutshell, "Forks Over Knives" can be interpreted as "Eat A Great Diet In Order To Avoid Surgery." This isn't some startling new concept; over two thousand years ago Hippocrates, "the father of modern medicine" and writer of the original Hippocratic Oath, said "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." The film explains how some common foods are killing us and how other common foods can cure us.
The film's lesson is staggeringly simple, the scientific evidence is staggering, and the personal stories are compelling. This documentary is entirely about health; the mantra repeated throughout the film is "a whole foods, plant-based diet." Although the word "vegan" was used a few times there is essentially no mention at all of either the environmental or compassion benefits of this diet. The focus is squarely on eliminating disease, primarily heart disease, cancer, and diabetes - three of this country's most urgent health issues.
Most of the people excited about this film have been those already familiar with the issues discussed. For example, my wife and I have copies of The China Study, The Pleasure Trap, and several books by both Neal Barnard and John McDougall, so the film didn't offer new information to us. Happily though the film isn't written for the vegan one percent of America, it's written for the vast majority of Americans eating a poor diet and facing increased risks of a variety of health issues. For them the information presented in this film will be a wake-up call, and let's hope it will be compelling enough that they take appropriate action and change their diet.
Fillmore! (2002)
Brilliant Series, Unfortunately Cancelled
Fillmore was modeled after the 70's detective series that many of us grew up with: Canon, Rockford Files, Charlie's Angels, etc. It does a wonderful job of bringing a fresh but mature young perspective to some moral issues faced by kids today, and its seventies feel makes it watchable by parents or any adult who appreciates animation. The characters are more complex than those in the vast majority of current animation; this is not a typical action or comedy at all, but rather a very enjoyable way to be reminded that doing the right thing is cool and empowering.
Unfortunately Disney / ABC cancelled Fillmore after two series, though re-runs may still be seen on Saturday mornings. No DVDs of this important series have been released, but would be well recommended.