Earthlings (2005)

Why so much hype?

Just perfect...

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This must be one of the hardest documentaries I've ever watched. Loving animals and a meat-eater, I've been ignorant in this part of the meat-production, as I guess most other meat-eaters are. The video clips in this documentary aren't easy to watch. They show unsencored clips of what human beings are capable of doing to defenceless animals. I must say I had to pause and take a break from watching a few times during it due to strong scenes. Although the strong scenes, they give a perspective noone want to talk about.I hope it's gotten better since 2005, and I hope this sort of animal cruelty is a part of the past. One thing is certain, I will eat alot less meat from now on, all thanks to this documentary, and I think we all might be better off doing the same.10/10 because this is a good documentary, lifechanging, and one I will remember for years to come. Also mindblowing what the human race is capable of doing to animals.

Early on, Earthlings, a documentary film by Shaun Monson, presents striking images of Nazi genocidal atrocities towards Jews, which elicit a curious cognitive dissonance in the viewer's mind - certainly the Jews were cruelly "treated like animals", but on this occasion we are moved to ask a different question: should even animals be treated this way? Or did the Nazi treatment of Jews stem in fact from the socially accepted reduction of animals to mere objects? From there on, it goes on to discuss the extent of modern society's pervasive speciesism, successively covering five expanses: Pets, Food, Clothes, Entertainment and Science. The ordering of this sequence is cunning and effective, and it helps Monson make his case about the endemic nature of speciesism in our society.Earthlings speaks to our innate sense of compassion. Something that is there inside all of us, but needs a reawakening. It is a movie that examines our spiritual conscience, personal evolution and so much more. I did have to prepare myself before I watched it mentally not to cry through the entire movie. I managed to get by with tears welling up in my eyes, and some trickling down my face, but that was unavoidable. If you have at least a bit of a heart within you, this movie is going to make you cringe at times and evoke some serious emotion, but that is not a good enough reason not to see it. I'm not going to attempt to describe the ghastly scenes in Earthlings. There were parts I missed because I had to turn away. At other times I acted like a little kid watching a horror film, covering my face with my hands, only watching what could slip through the cracks between my fingers. But this is no horror movie. Earthlings is real. Yes, it is inconvenient to find this out. Yes, it is going to make you rethink your ways, and yes, it may lead you to make some major changes in your life, but that is what evolution of the human being and spirit is all about.As a production, Monson's Earthlings is a meticulously crafted work, featuring narration by Joaquin Phoenix, a moodily effective musical score by Moby, and rare footage from inside the animal factory farming industry that must have been difficult to acquire, giving it the right atmosphere and the right facts to really drive the message home.Earthlings forcefully, sometimes disturbingly, reminds us of an essential character of our consciousness, something about ourselves that our culture often dismisses: compassion and empathy. Along the way it shows and tells some inconvenient truths that most of us would probably prefer to avoid, laying bare a mass hypocrisy that we mindlessly accept. Earthlings shows us what is right there to see, if we would only look directly and honestly.

This documentary has both good things and bad things to it. On the plus side, it represents a lot of realities that you may not be aware of. Even though I had previously regarded videos about animal farms, this was the first time that I have went through the subject of animals for human consumption in all of its span. The fact that this documentary goes beyond food, into the topic of entertainment, clothing, etc. will let you come face to face with realities that you were ignorant of, and give you a lot of food for thought. On the negative side, this documentary is highly biased. The author is intentionally focusing on the worst case scenarios and, due to his own ignorance, spreads some ignorance and common misconceptions. The point were this was more noticeable to me, was when he was discussing scientific testing on animals, were he shows that he does not comprehend what is the purpose of animal testing. One simple example of that is vaccines, as the first vaccine was developed thanks to animal testing. Also, animal testing is carried with very strict regulations when it comes to causing pain or discomfort, and is not used to replace human testing, but rather to complement it. Similarly to this bias, you have biases on the topic of food, were he only covers mass production farms; leather production, were he focuses only on the worst case scenario that is the Indian market of leather; on the fur farms in China; etc.In the end I recommend this video, as it will give you a lot to think about, and it will show you a lot of things you might be ignorant of.

I used to eat meat. I still do, but I used to too.Okay, I can sum up this film up as such: shocking vegan propaganda.Yeah, it shows a lot of awful true events that happen to animals in this world. Unfortunately when talking about this it withholds all logic and reason, instead relying on pure emotion.It makes it seem like the only way to help the animals is to go vegan. Unfortunately, we have evolved in such a way that our diet really does require meat. There are other issues with global veganism as well, but let's stick with that one. We need meat. We won't stop eating meat. Do we have any other solutions? According to the video, no.According to facts, yes! Many people would rather know where their meat comes from. For example, I buy my meat from a few local farms where one can plainly see how humanely the animals are treated. Why not support places like that? Because it won't shock. We'd rather show you these horrors that happen in Turkey. Great.Oh, and we get no benefit from animal research? Yeah, scientists are surely just a bunch of sadists. I do agree though that we would learn more about a substance's effects on humans if it were tested on humans, so! Here's the sign-up list, which chemical would you like to test, sir?Animal testing is necessary, but it CAN be done humanely. We have people come into the lab on occasion to make sure the mice are in the proper cages with proper comfort and everything. But that won't shock either.As the top species, humans require far more resources, and we should be allowed to sacrifice other creatures for the sake of our advancement. However, as the top species, I think we also have a moral duty to make those animals' stay on this planet as pleasant as possible. But that might be too logical for some people.If you're an emotional thinker and want to be shocked and disturbed, watch this. If you'd like to see sound arguments and logical solutions, don't bother.