I chose to watch Food Inc., which is a documentary about the food industry, highlighting issues such as the genetic modification of produce, the abusive treatment of animals, and the poor working conditions of employees of big food corporations. I remember watching parts of Food Inc. in a science class in high school, but for some reason, I don’t remember being as repulsed and affected by the documentary.
One of the scenes that made me cringe was toward the beginning of the film, when live baby chicks were being processed on an assembly line. They were thrown down a shoot and handled so roughly. Although I don’t consider myself much of an animal person, I was definitely sympathetic toward the animals in this documentary. To know that they are treated so poorly because they are our food supply was a heartbreaking realization.
I also found it interesting that none of the big companies that control such a large part of the meat industry agreed to be interviewed for this documentary. I think it makes them look guiltier of committing the acts that they were accused of in the film.
One of the differences I noticed between this format of the documentary and feature film is the voiceover. There was tons of b-roll footage in Food Inc., and either the narrator would be talking over it, or parts of interviews with different people would be heard. The most basic difference is that feature films tend to be fictional, while documentaries usually shed light on a real problem on Earth. It doesn’t always have to do with humans. There have been numerous documentaries on the environment, animals, etc.
It was an interesting documentary, and I will try to keep the important information it taught me in mind the next time I eat at certain restaurants or purchase produce and meat from specific companies.
Basic Film & Media Production 