the turtle scene
-
rooprect — 19 years ago(June 14, 2006 07:05 AM)
if you are against animal cruelty there is no logical solution other than to become vegan or to hunt and prepare your own food in a humane way. how many of you are that dedicated to your moral position?
Actually lots. There are 5 million in India alone.
But you make some good points; obviously if people (or an entire culture) see nothing shocking about their behaviour, you can't change them overnight. But that doesn't mean you should throw your hands up and ignore the problem, especially with regard to your own behaviour.
I notice the biggest response to allegations of animal cruelty is "well it happens every day in slaughterhouses". Of course it does, but does that mean that we should condone it? Just because there's ethnic cleansing in parts of the world, does that give us the right to be racists ourselves?
This is known as a
tu quoque
fallacy.
Tu quoque
means "you too", and it implies that one immoral act is pardoned by pointing out another. Absurd, right?
I love what the American Humane Association has been doing since the late 70s, monitoring animal abuse in the [American] film industry. As a result, we no longer have gratuitous snuff films like
Cannibal Holocaust
and crap like that. Unfortunately the rest of the world hasn't caught on yet, so anything goes.
Like most Americans, I go to the movies assuming that I won't see real animals (or people for that matter!) killed on screen. That's why it's rather shocking when I get blindsided by a foreign film that has no such restraints. Just like food products must announce if they contain animal products, I wish movies would do so as well. Then we can all be happy, vegetarians and meat eaters alike! -
Nephilim-6 — 19 years ago(September 13, 2006 07:58 PM)
you do realise Cannibal Holocaust isn't an american movie. And it's NOT crap.
As for animal abuse.. As long as the animal is eaten I can't object to it because yes it also happens in slaughterhouses. And no I'm not going against my nature and become a vegan. Humans are omnivores not herbivores.
Ofcourse I respect those that are. But for me personally it's unnatural not to eat meat.
Did you ever notice that people who believe in creationism look realy un-evolved? - Bill Hicks -
rooprect — 19 years ago(September 13, 2006 09:36 PM)
Ofcourse I respect those that are. But for me personally it's unnatural not to eat meat.
We could go way off on a philosophical tangent here. Of course it's not "natural" for humans to be selective about diet. After all, we have 4 million years of flesh-ripping, crap-eating gluttony dictating how we behave. But the point of evolutionif you believe in evolutionis that a creature pushes the limits of what is "natural" and in so doing it excels and becomes something different.
Imagine prehistoric tadpole #1 telling prehistoric tadpole #2:
"It's not natural to crawl out of the ocean and live on dry land!"
Instead, prehistoric tadpole #2 decided to act
unnaturally
, and that's how we got amphibians and eventually mammals. Again, if you believe in evolution.
So what I'm saying is that we should disregard our brutish ancestors. Look into your own soul yearning for spiritual ascension. You have to admit there's something in there saying "The perfect creature is one that doesn't consumer others."
So, why not try to become that perfect creature? It'll probably take another 4 million years, but I'm proud to say that I'm doing my part.
-
vesna-14 — 18 years ago(October 15, 2007 04:12 PM)
why are you being so defensive?! I agree that the woman who posted the negative comments about hte japanese culture is wrong but that does not make the animal cruelty that is very common in exquisite japanese cousine (and i've studies it for 3 years) acceptable.
calm down a little.
thank you thank you thank you for proposing veganism - albeit passively. I'm vegan and hate the "i don't agree with killing an animal, but it tastes so good!" beep and i don't hink the initial comment was meant in america is better about food culture/animal cruelty than japan - simply that the turtle scene was a bit harsh. -
spyretto — 15 years ago(June 07, 2010 06:39 PM)
the natural order of things in the world we live in can be quite 'gross' considering its the law of bigger fish eats smaller fish but moreover different people and cultures have different sensibilities of what is gross and what isn't.
-
trog-oz — 20 years ago(January 13, 2006 01:23 PM)
It's no worse that when you go into a restaurant, select your live lobster from a tank and the chef drops in into boiling water to kill it and cook it. This is a common practice is many high class restaurants in the West.
-
none909 — 19 years ago(April 30, 2006 10:15 PM)
If the whole of America consumed 10% less beef, enough grain would be salvaged from cow factories to feed the 22 million people who die annually from hunger. Its not just animal cruelty, its got implications that affect everyone.
-
bjkane — 19 years ago(May 05, 2006 07:41 AM)
What about that scene in Oldboy when he eats the squid alive. It looked pretty real. That was crazy. And this movie was pretty cool. Especially that food fetish yakuza dude who introduced the movie by screaming at the dude in the theatre for eating potato chips loudly.
-
rooprect — 19 years ago(June 14, 2006 06:44 AM)
The squid scene in Oldboy
was
real. Actually they had to do it 4 times (4 squids) before they got it right. There's a pretty intelligent debate about it in the Oldboy imdb board.
http://imdb.com/board/10364569/board/thread/44467978
I'm always interested in hearing peoples' opinions on the matter as long as they can remain level headed and refrain from shouting insults at each other (as is usually the case). -
david-goble — 19 years ago(June 14, 2006 01:35 PM)
If the whole of America consumed 10% less beef, enough grain would be salvaged from cow factories to feed cows in other countries. The industrial grain fed to cows in 'cow factories' is in no way similar to the grain you eat in your bread or prepare in a rice cooker. Regardless, if America consumed 10% less beef a year, do you suggest they replace their beef consumption with nothing? Or should the 22 million people who die every year from hunger continue dying in order to feed the 250 million people in the U.S. who are now 10% hungrier?
Considering this is a discussion (or an attempt at one) about Japanese animal cruelty, you should take a look at the living conditions of Kobe Beef Japanese Black cattle (Tashima-Ushi). In Japan that beef sells for over $100 a pound and quite a bit more in the U.S. They live a more pampered life and eat better grain than most Americans. Every cow dies, whether by man or by nature, so why not treat them really well when they are alive? Is it more humane to give them a good life and the best food and then kill them and sell them to restaurants the world over? Or to set them 'free' to wander about on an island until they die of natural causes? (Natural Causes include starvation, dehydration, being killed by hunters, and in very rare cases, old age.) -
kasiak — 19 years ago(June 24, 2006 05:37 AM)
umm I was literally made to see that movie during my Japanese classes and it was terrible! I just don't get what's so cool about that. I generally like Japanese movies, well, even the old ones, but Tampopo is a total disaster. It makes no sense to me. And, what's worst, I'm vegan and it really hurt me seeing the turtle assassinated! I thought such things where illegal, even in Japan, or at least it should get 21 mark, but apparently no. That's not a movie for sensitive people, not at all.
-
mangajunky — 19 years ago(July 12, 2006 02:13 PM)
The slaughter of the turtle was shown for a number of reasons. First and foremost was to show the origin of this particular dish. Perhaps you were put off by it, but it is what it isthe preparation of a very rare and exclusive dish. You don't have to enjoy what happened, but it is there to show another aspect of food.
The preparation of food from animals is not always pretty, but it is important to know where your food comes from. If it is difficult for you to watch then perhaps you are better off being a vegan like kasiak.
There are many things in life that people are not interested in seeing, however when seeing a film that explores food from multiple points of view you will expect to see some things that are not always pleasant. Isn't it better to see something like that to be exposed to something different - even if it's not something to your taste? - rather than ignore the way different people live? If nothing else it will further cement your opinions.
I love Tampopo - it's one of the films that really got me jazzed about Japanese culture. One of the first things I did when I visited Japan was sit down to a bowl of ramen noodles. There was an awesome shop near where I was staying in Akasaka.
-Franky -
khu — 19 years ago(August 21, 2006 09:02 AM)
" I thought such things where illegal, even in Japan, or at least it should get 21 mark, but apparently no. That's not a movie for sensitive people, not at all."
What the hell? You literally think killing an animal to eat it should be illegal? -
buzzkill1999 — 19 years ago(August 31, 2006 04:07 PM)
My Japanese girlfriend likes to eat her raw sea urchin fresh out of the shell, while the spines are still moving. I don't find it disturbing but not exactly appetizing either. I just file it under "different strokes for different folks."
-
BigBabou — 19 years ago(November 29, 2006 05:12 AM)
"umm I was literally made to see that movie during my Japanese classes and it was terrible! I just don't get what's so cool about that. I generally like Japanese movies, well, even the old ones, but Tampopo is a total disaster. It makes no sense to me."
just because you didn't get it, doesn't make it a disastrous movie.
(this holds for any movie)