Extreme?... Carnage (It needs to be watched!)
Over the last few years I have had many weird, insensitive and stupid things said to me relating to veganism, and one of the many descriptions i have been tarnished with is "Extreme".
Isn’t it strange to think that someone who lives a Vegan lifestyle is often called extreme?
Whilst watching Simon Amstell’s new mockumentary “Carnage”, I was reminded of this thought.
The definition of the word extreme -
- You use extreme to describe opinions, beliefs, or political movements which you disapprove of because they are very different from those that most people would accept as reasonable or normal.
You can use the word in a number of ways, but it is not usually used in a particulary good sense, and a better example of it's meaning may be -
- far from what is usual or conventional
Is calling someone Extreme the same as calling them as an Extremist? -
- a person who holds extreme political or religious views, especially one who advocates illegal, violent, or other extreme action
However, when compassion for animals
is at the forefront of most vegans’ ethics, how can that lifestyle
be labelled as violent, surely it is anything but that?
I suppose i can see why, through some people's eyes Veganism may appear extreme, as most people simply do things out of habit. As “Carnage” says, your parents feed you animals as their parents fed it to them, the cycle continues, and it becomes a horrible normality.
I suppose i can see why, through some people's eyes Veganism may appear extreme, as most people simply do things out of habit. As “Carnage” says, your parents feed you animals as their parents fed it to them, the cycle continues, and it becomes a horrible normality.
So, anything outside of that normality,
anything which seems to go against the upbringing of past generations
must seem like an extreme thing to do.
The continuous addition of cow’s
milk in our food and drinks, the Sunday roasts, trips to fast-food
burger chains and people’s obsession over cheese has somehow become the
expected and acceptable.
For me “Carnage” is so clever in
showing us that actually the non-vegans, or the carnists as they are
described as, are the ones who are extreme. Since when did the murdering, raping and
torturing of sentient beings become so normal, so routine.
I have seen “Carnage” twice now
and both times I laughed out loud A LOT! I certainly
chuckled away more than I winced or felt distressed, and I think that is a good
sign. I feel if I can howl hysterically at this clever mockumentary
then hopefully a “carnist” will also find it funny and engaging too.
The first time I watched it was with
my husband, he was also really impressed by the film and thought it was very witty and original.
The second time round I watched it
with my Mum and Dad (non-vegans), and they both said they really
enjoyed it, and they both laughed to the point of tears on a couple
of occasions! Even though there isn’t much overly graphic footage in
the film, my Mum flinched and sighed at seeing pigs having their
throats slit and she was saddened to hear more horrific and truthful
details about the dairy industry. Interestingly my Dad said he was impressed with
how the film managed to be humorous yet still add in enough
information to be informative and to make you think about things in a
different light.
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| Future times - 2067 |
Though I did laugh a lot whilst watching this (even to the point of not being able to breath!), I also cried too. I felt such a mix of emotions, I felt happy because the dry, sarcastic humour was so spot-on, I felt entertained by the actors and the content, but I also felt upset. The documentary guides you through various film footage from the 1940’s up until the futuristic present day of 2067, and near the end of the film new animal laws are put in place, all of the farmed animals are released and animal cruelty is nearly non-existent. I got caught up in the moment (as I often do with films) and I felt so pleased at the happy ending and that the world was starting to become a more peaceful place… but then when the credits started rolling I was thrown back into reality and realised we are still stuck in the gloomy zombie society of 2017.
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| Still enslaved... |
So, whether you are vegan, veggie or a carnist, you should watch Carnage, as it is a fresh experience and I think an amazingly imaginative yet simple way to entertain and inform the viewer about the choices we can make for our future.
Even though I have been Vegan for nearly three years I still want to watch documentaries or films on the subject. Some of the films explain things in different ways or show us another perspective. Not only can this help to refresh my thoughts on the matter, it can also help me when I am speaking about veganism to other people.
However, if you fancy watching something less tongue in cheek and a little more on the serious side then check out any of the below documentaries:
There are a lot more documentaries out there about veganism and/or the environment but these are just the ones I have seen so far. At some point I will do more posts about one or two of the above films, but for now I will leave you with the links and hope that someone decides to take a look.
Thanks for reading :)
(Any comments, questions or constructive criticism welcome)
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