Review: Un-Natural Causes Video

Un-Natural Causes
…is inequality making us sick?

This video presentation was the first episode of a seven episode series. Episode one is called “In Sickness and in Wealth” (56 minutes). The production company of this film is the California News Reel, with Vital Pictures Inc., and in association with the National Minority Consortia. With this video the class was introduced to the notion that healthy people are “wealthy” people in the literal sense that the more money you have the healthier and longer life you are going to live. This is the synopses of the video presented on PBS (Public Broadcasting Systems).

EPISODE ONE: In Sickness and In Wealth (56 min.)
The hour-long opening episode paints the big picture. Set in Louisville, Kentucky, it is a story about health, but it's not about doctors or drugs. It's about why some of us get sicker more often and die sooner in the first place. What are the connections between healthy bodies and healthy bank accounts and skin color? How do social policies and the way we organize work and society affect health? Solutions, the show suggests, lie not in more pills but in more equality. "In Sickness and In Wealth" sets out the series' main themes: that health and longevity are correlated with socio-economic status, that people of color face an additional health burden, and that our health and well-being are tied to policies that promote economic and social justice.(newsreel.org)

A review of the episode from a Minnesotan critic
"Dramatic and powerful. It provides a new framework for viewing health [which] shifts from holding individuals solely responsible to recognizing that the policies that affect health are too large for individuals to tackle on their own. The series offers hope and shows that we can make different policy choices that lead to better health for all members of our communities." Joan Cleary, Minnesota Post

Notes that I wrote down while I was watching the movie that are “New concepts that challenged my thinking”

*The United States of America ranks 30th in the world in life expectancy, but yet we rank number one in annual costs spent on health care per year with 2 trillion dollars spent. That 2 trillion is nearly half of the world’s cost of healthcare.

*We have a horrible infant mortality rate, we rank 29th in the world. From the World Socialist Website that commented on the CDC’s 2008 report on US infant mortality rate being ranked 29th in the world, "Infant mortality is a critical indicator of social progress. As the CDC report explains, "Infant mortality is one of the most important indicators of the health of a nation, as it is associated with a variety of factors such as maternal health, quality and access to medical care, socioeconomic conditions, and public health practices." This decline in world rankings is another expression of US capitalism's decay. The gutting of social programs by successive Democrat and Republican administrations over the last four decades has led to an extraordinary social reversion. A tiny layer at the top has enriched itself through the dismantling of all impediments to the accumulation of private wealth and corporate profit, supported by tax cuts and the slashing of investment in critical social infrastructure. That infant mortality rates are now stagnating for the first time in five decades underscores the accelerating character of the social crisis." (O’Connor, 2008)

*Working Class (Idea of how it effects health- constantly under uncontrolled stress over extent of lifetime)
versus
Professional Class (Idea of how it effects health- less stress on the body, more vacation time and ability to care for one’s self)

Comments from the movie that caught my attention.

“Power is a public health issue” stated by the Louisville Director of Public Health Dr. Adewale Troutman
“Being a CEO is a high demand job, but Taylor usually has the power, resources and control to
manage that pressure. Tondra Young (a clinical lab supervisor) has a high demand job, but less power and control.”

What this means (Power is a public health issue) is that the people whom are constantly under a lot of stress are releasing cortisol into their bloodstream. This should only be a short term action of release, but if it is going on for too long (like for example the lab supervisor cannot take as many days off from work as the CEO due to power of position and control of work hours) it will cause damage to the body as it is a harmful hormone. What cortisal does is it heightens the senses and causes the body to become at a more hyper and tense state to try and get ready for stressful activity. If cortisal is released into the bloodstream for too long it causes damaging effects to the body.

The list of new terms:
Cortisol

Infant mortality rate

Life Expectancy

Working Class

Professional Class

To view the transcript of the movie click here


Reference
O’Connor, P. (2008) US infant mortality rate now worse than 28 other countries. World Socialist Web Site, Retrieved April 9 2009 from http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/oct2008/mort-o18.shtml

Reflection weeks 3 and 4

Week 3 Reflection

I was able to write my first Review post, which was on Reading 27 "Seeing Green: Knowing and Saving the Environment on film." This reading was a very in depth on how film media has been used to show the natural world, as used in both a way to educate and a way to entertain through the use of film media. One such discussion is on Marty Stouffer's "Wild America" video series and how the film crew would ruin the land with their equipment, and they would also make the natural world look dangerous and exciting with non of the "real thing" presented to the audience. The Wild America videos were all about exciting hunting shots with none of the real world nature presented.

There are films that show more of a political side to the use of film media to show the environment getting destroyed by logging companies. With many scenes that show "doom and glom" many of these films try and show only the dark side of the situation. In the case of logging companies often times the people whom live in that area have no other source of income, so this is their only choice for a job. What could be brought up in the film other than sticking to straight "doom and gloom" is to try and discuss how the logging company should be held to higher environmental standards.



Week 4 Review

We all did the Ecological Footprint quiz this week in class. I scored 4.1 earths if everyone lived like me. The quiz took into account your food intake, mode of transportation, miles traveled, and home living.

Also this week we watched the movie "An inconvenient Truth" of which is tailored towards the issue of global warming. It is good to see that such a high powered individual like former Vice President of the United States Al Gore to be working on such an important issue. Global warming effects everyone.

Review of Chapter 27- Seeing Green: Knowing and Saving the Environment on Film

The Fantasies of Natural History Film



The use of film as a source of media to spread the word about environmental concerns can be very useful as you get a visual picture of what is happening to the natural world. The destruction of the natual world can be viewed and heard throuhg the use of film. I remember when I was growing up that I would watch the "Wild America" film series, and would be amazed at how animals fight for surrvival. If they (animals) do not put in effort to find food, they will not eat. The natural world is a tough and unforegiving place. Marty Stouffer is the director of the "Wild America" series http://shopping.discovery.com/DiscoveryStore/images/products/largenew/775270_lg.jpg . According to the text he would damage the natural world with his film crew destroying the land as they filmed on location in the animal of topic's natural realm, and they would torture animals to make them perform on video. Apparently it is very hard to find animals performing exciting hunting manuvers, and to film it in a graceful pleasurable way is also very difficult as animals do not cater to the film crew and performing within the frame of the picture being recorded. So, are nature films about documenting animals for scientific research, or are they about entertainment?



On page 108 of the text it refers to nature films as origanally being shot for "scientific records that preserve a natural heritage being lost to the forces of modernity (Mitman 1999:60)." When we "stage nature" for the excitment of the film we risk the validity of the scientific record of the film.



My favorite quote from the book

Author of the book Reel Nature: America's Romance with Wildlife on Film by Greg Mitman (1999). "Nature is not all action...Conditioned by nature on screen, we may fail to develop the patience, perseverance, and passion required to participate in the natural world with all its mundanity as well as splendor." In the time that I was a young boy I would watch wild nature documentaries all of the time, so much so that I thought if you were to step foot outside eventually an animal is going to attack you. This notion of wild animals is not true, because animals will only attack you if you if you fall into a certain category such as, Are you endangering the animal's offspring? Do you look like their natural prey? Is the animal suffering from a dibilitating disease? For more answers



When we watch too many fictional shows as uneducated children or adults, we generally will believe what we see as a constant truth. For example, many believe that seeing a wolf in the wild means they will attack you immediatly with no hesitation. This notion is untrue as animals generally only attack humans out of extreme hunger. If the ecosystem is in balance then the predators will not always attack the prey in that ecosystem. The predators will only eat the sick and dead. The balance of an ecosystem is very important to maintain this is why killing off species is so detrimental to the planet and its ecosytems.









New Concepts


The bias of the filmmaker. "Since the Company Came" (Hawkins, 2000) Does the film only involve one side of the story? If so, then does that bias show a certain side to make money off of the issue to use scare tatitics to elicit more sales of their video as it brings on the issue of what is a bigger concern. Save the environment or make some money?

What I took from this reading

It is very hard to understand those people (Hafori) in another area of the world, and how their economy is so dependant on the logging industry. It would be hard to tell a big buisness to not give your people jobs as it hurts the environment. Some areas of the world are not as econmically diverse as the United States. The situation would be a delicate one as there is so much to be gained (economic), and so much to be lost (ecosystem).

The use of film in media can give its audience a first hand look at every situation you maybe only glance at in the newspaper. Film can bring to light many parts, some not so well known, and some very well known topics. It is important to remember when you are watching the movie that you try and decipher all of the sides of the story. Who and what effect each other and remember for every action there is a re-action/result.

Additional Resources






Logging the forrest, everything you need to know about how, what, and why

For the environmentally friendly Tree Hugger, this website shows every angle of how we can save the environment from food, to business and politics.

Definitions


Ecosystems- An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (bioitc factors) in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical (abiotic) factors of the environment



Haforai- The Haforai people live in a very remote part of the world, Rendova in the Solomon Islands. Location of Solomon Islands the archipelago of Solomon Islands is located in the southern region of the Pacific Ocean. Papua New Guinea is the nearest big land mass northwest of it. The Solomon Islands are a part of the group of islands better known as Oceania. The continent of Australia lies a little further off, south west of it. The water bodies, aside of the South Pacific Ocean that surrounds the Solomon Islands are the Solomon Sea, the Coral Sea and the Arafura Sea.


Shamanism- Shamanism is a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world.


Ecotourism- is a form of tourism, that appeals to ecologically and socially conscious individuals. Generally speaking, ecotourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth and learning new ways to live on the planet. It typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Ecotourism is a conceptual experience, enriching those who delve into researching and understanding the environment around them. It gives us insight into our impacts, as human beings and also a greater appreciation of our own natural habitats.

Wheather you feel it or not; The earth's climate is changing.

Welcome, my name is Kevin and I am a student at the University of Minnesota Duluth. One of my biggest concerns is global climate changes, especially that of global warming at the polar ice caps. With the melting of huge glaciers and long stretches of ice covered water many arctic animals such as penguins, arctic foxes, and polar bears are without a means of travel as their icy habitat has melted away. So, I would like to raise awareness about how we need to cut down on green house gas emissions. Doing this should help prevent the polar ice caps from melting.

My members of my web group are:

1. Sara
2. Randy
3. Derek
4. Jayme

My Personal Signature




There are five possible types of posts on my blog

-Advocay Project
-Eye Openers
-Reflections
-Reviews
-Share and Voice


You can subscribe to my blog by clicking the subscribe gadget in the gadget column. You can also follow my blog by clicking "Follow this Blog" in the gadget column. I am subscribed to all the blogs in my blog list gadget. You can see my complete profile and all the blogs I am following by clicking on "See Complete Profile."