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Vandals On The Side of The Angels: How Far Is Too Far?

It's amazing how sometimes movies come out in bunches. This particular bunch is extremely small (does two count?) but they bring up some interesting questions. For instance, how far can a group go before being considered the "bad guy" and when and how much vandalism can be justified before it morphs into terrorism?Blue Whale

The films in question -- At the Edge of the World and The Cove -- have been playing the film festival circuit for the better part of a year, and are soon getting limited release. Both are really well done, and try to glorify a group called the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a private navy that is currently at war with the Empire of Japan over the issue of whaling.

Now, let's get this straight right now. I am not a fan of whaling and have long supported the ban, but what Sea Shepherd and its friends have been doing has been mostly ineffective and somewhat counterproductive. Part of the reason is international law, which is, with a few exceptions, a total joke. The reason that it is that way is that countries are sovereign and independent, and that means they can do whatever it is they want and the only remedies to this are sanctions and war.

Do sanctions work? No. People who think otherwise generally cite South Africa, but in fact, they didn't work, and the reason they appeared to have is that blacks outnumbered whites in that country by around 10 to one. If sanctions worked, Iran wouldn't be working on nuclear weapons, and Burma would be a democracy.
War works, but only if it's done with a solid plan as to what to do once it is over. It is for this reason that quagmires occur, and why groups like Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace, from whom it seceded, get so little done beyond being annoying.

At The Edge of the World follows two Sea Shepherd vessels as they hunt for and attempt to vandalize Japan's scientific whaling fleet in the Antarctic. The Japanese are, surprisingly, extremely tolerant of these people as Sea Shepherd activists ram their vessels, try to destroy their propellers, and throw poison bombs onto the ships in an attempt to render the catch unusable. In doing so Sea Shepherd loses two of their crew, and spends the better part of the day looking for them with the help of the Japanese whalers. Cute, huh?

The Sea Shepherds think of themselves as an international police force trying to enforce international law, but as the movie clearly shows, they are not, and receive no support from anyone in any government. It's that kind of arrogance that will cause grief to them and not just the whales.

The Cove, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish entirely. This has nothing to do with international law, and everything to do with espionage. It's also better propaganda for the cause.

The film is mostly about former animal trainer Richard O'Barry and his decades'-long quest to end the trade in dolphins for theme parks. It goes on about his change of heart and feelings of guilt, using footage from his work on the old Flipper TV show, before becoming one of the more obnoxious animal rights activists.

But the title is about a cove in the Japanese town of Taiji, where once a year, the local fishermen capture a few thousand dolphins, sell a few to seaquariua around the world, and slaughter the rest for meat. O'Barry and the Sea Shepherds cook up a plan to, not actually stop it, but to document it via film, something the locals, for some reason that I cannot understand, refuse to let them do.

The reason I don't understand why they don't want their activities filmed is that if they don't think what they're doing is wrong, then why hide it?

There have been documentaries on fishing and slaughterhouses before and they can be very graphic, but the people who are being filmed don't mind letting people see what they are doing. Director/ cinematographer Louie Psihoyos shows us a great deal of a number of locals who do.

This makes espionage-like actions necessary for the filmmakers and they carry it off with panache, something previous protesters, who are shown, most certainly didn't.

Both films make fun of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and condemn it as a bunch of lackeys of the evil Japanese. These people aren't nearly as stupid as they seem. Or are they?

But the IWC is the only body there is, and when something takes place in the territorial waters of a country, national law takes precedence. There is nothing that can be done short of sanctions or war, and countries' resistance to these people is going to get stronger.

There has to be something done about this, and what the Sea Shepherds are doing isn't exactly it.

Posted: July 30, 2009

http://www.seashepherd.org/

The Art of Politics, Part Two: Rude Brittania at London's Tate Britain.

So what exactly does America’s alternate national anthem have to do with the latest exhibition at London’s Tate Gallery? (Millbank St) Well, for one thing, you’d understand what the lyrics mean.

When we were all in Nursery school, we’d be taught to sing a little ditty called Yankee Doodle about some weird 18th century dude, who called a feather in his cap “macaroni.” Why did he do that and why did some foreign bands still play the song when American diplomatic delegations stopped by as late as the 1970s?

The answer second question is not exactly germane here, although it probably has to do with the availability of the sheet music for the Star Spangled Banner back then, but the Tate’s exhibition of literally centuries of cartoons, called “Rude Britannia,” makes the meaning of the former crystal clear.

Read more: The Art of Politics, Part Two:...

Last Exit to the Brooklyn Int'l Film Festival

The Brooklyn International Film Festival is back, and this year, one of its two venues is in the middle of nowhere, which totally sucks.

The BIFF had only one last year, the Brooklyn Heights Cinema (70 Henry Street, Brooklyn), which was right between the 2, 3, and A trains and extremely easy to get to. This is New York, and we have one of the best subway systems in the world. Not only that, but they had a bus to get to the big opening party! But that was then…

The festival still has a bunch of screenings at the BHC, but the other venue is indieScreen (285 Kent Avenue), which is over a mile from the nearest station. Allegedly there's a bus, but I didn't see any, and the bus stop looked unused. indieScreen is actually pretty nice for what it is. It's brand new, and is very faux futuristic, that is when you find it, but it's difficult, as from the outside it's rather nondescript and really doesn't look like a theater.

Read more: Last Exit to the Brooklyn Int'l...

Cinco de Mayo Is Not Mexican independence Day!

This week is Cinco de Mayo, what most Americans think is Mexican Independence Day. Well, it's not. It's the anniversary of the victory of the Republican forces over the French on that date in 1862. Yeah, I know, beating the French isn't much of an achievement or an excuse for a holiday, and in Mexico, very few outside the state of Puebla, where it took place, even notice.

It's actually a Mexican-American holiday, which has been, for some reason, very popular in California, and over the years has become the official Mexican ethnic day, as Columbus Day is for the Italians and Polanski Day is for the Poles.

Read more: Cinco de Mayo Is Not Mexican...

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