>>REVIEW
BULLSHIT
DIRECTED BY PeA Holmquist and Suzanne Khardalian
Wednesday, September 20
Uptown Screen
With an opening sequence featuring crap oozing out the rear ends of sacred cows in India, the documentary Bullshit certainly grabs one’s attention. It also makes the stomach churn in a most unappealing fashion.
This is intentional, as the filmmakers show us both sides of the raging debate over genetically modified foods, asking us to decide who is full of shit and who is full of grit.
Certainly, grass roots activist and media darling Vandana Shiva makes some compelling arguments against the increasing presence of mega corporations in her native India. The camera captures her tenaciously travelling the globe to World Trade Organization (WTO) summits and lobbying the European patent office. She appears tireless in her defence of the common farmer. In fact, it’s exhausting to watch her trek from conference to demonstration to factory. Shiva is most compelling when advocating for the widows of farmers who have committed suicide after being crushed under mounting debts, which she claims are a direct result of mega companies muscling their way into Indian agribusiness.
At a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa she is presented with a "bullshit award" by fellow Indian lobbyist Barun Mitra who claims globalization is good for farmers and genetically modified wheat will save them from the poverty in which they now wallow. He claims Shiva has become an icon due to her constant lobbying and that she doesn’t have the best interests of farmers at heart.
A face-off between the two ends with no clear winner, but it makes for riveting viewing.
The filmmakers also train the camera, albeit suspiciously, on several corporate spin doctors who come off as slicksters with a very well-managed message.
At the end of the day, they are the ones who look like bullshitters and Shiva comes out smelling like a rose.
Bullshit is part of Arusha’s Action Film Series. There will be a one-day screening on Wednesday, September 20 at the Uptown Screen, 7 p.m. |
Copyright ©2006 FFWD. All rights reserved.