our first video

oh boy….

“We are conducting a vast toxicological experiment in which our children and our children’s children are the experimental subjects.” Dr. Herbert Needleman

That is taken from a Canadian documentary called “The Disappearing Male”. Unfortunately, footage is not available in the United States, so I cannot share what looks to be a good movie. Below I have taken excerpts from one article, found HERE:

The last few decades have seen steady and dramatic increases in the incidence of boys and young men suffering from genital deformities, low sperm count, sperm abnormalities and testicular cancer. At the same time, boys are now far more at risk of suffering from ADHD, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, and dyslexia.

And, from another article, which you can find HERE:

Although the link between pollutants and human reproduction has not been firmly established, there is growing evidence that the birth sex ratio can be altered by exposure to certain chemicals, such as dioxin, PCBs and pesticides. Brophy said studies done in the United States, Japan and Europe seem to support the theory that the so-called endocrine disrupting chemicals have a particular effect on males.

Some of these chemicals are found in commonly used products such as baby bottles and cosmetics. They can also cause miscarriages and a “whole host” of disorders in a male child, Brophy said.

I have emailed some resources I found to see how we might be able to get the movie in the states. I will let you know if anything does become available.

beasts or gods

Last night, I watched a fantastic documentary. (Actually, I started it during the day, realized I wanted to really concentrate and take notes, so I finished it in the evening.) It is called “Radiant City”.

It is a movie examining suburbia. And, four pages of notes later, I am going to share with you some of the more memorable quotes. I don’t want my summary to be a reason to NOT see it, because it really deserves your time and attention.

Mark Kingwell, University of Toronto, Philosophy
- Communities are what define us and helped us evolve to where we are.
- We historically have seeked communities out for the diversity that close proximity to other humans offers us.
- The development of suburban areas is the reverse movement. People come together only to flee from each other, seeking isolation.
- It’s a paradox where we find ourselves seeking some kind of “idol”, which is impossible, and then find ourselves stranded there in these awful situations.

Mark Boutin, architect
- We have created a society where you can get in your car in your garage, travel to work, get out of your car in the office garage, take the elevator up to your office and never once have a one-on-one interaction with a person.
- Suburbia propagates pure private space without any notion of a public space.
- Suburbia advocates a notion where people cannot stand to tolerate one another, because you don’t understand each others views. Should be called an “intolerant city”.
- There is a deteriorating sense of citizenship when people are living so isolated.

The tragic element is that the creation of suburbia is it is the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world and in the energy scarce future they’re not going to work very well.

Each home has become it’s own container of what you can find in the world, ex. the media room. What faces the public are the non-social spaces like the garage. Therefore, the families are turning their backs on what is public, there is no one engaging in the public sphere.

This really was one of the most fascinating documentaries I have seen in a very long time and I highly recommend it. There is so much more than what I have briefly shared here. They follow a family that moved to suburbia which is an interesting study on culture, in itself.

I hope you find it as enjoyable and educational as I have.

ego

I love documentaries. I cannot get enough of them. I watch them and take notes. There is no documentary I will not watch. So, imagine my excitement when I found a website dedicated to FREE on-line documentaries. Needless to say, I spent four hours on my computer watching some, and took five pages of notes.

The one I am obsessed with is called the Century of the Self, produced by the BBC. The website is called Best Online Documentaries. You can find the Self documentaries under the Anthropology section.

At least from the first two hours, if you have any interest in understanding policy, corporate America, consumerism and manipulation through media… you will find this very compelling.

Here is a quote from the documentary:
We must shift America from a needs to a desire country. People must be trained to desire. To want new things before the old had been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man’s desire MUST overshadow his needs. – Paul Mazur, 1920′s