The American agenda is promoting the rights of homosexuals … I am not against freedom of expression, but this abnormal phenomenon should not be presented as natural. Even if it has roots here, it is rejected by society. And by Islam.

— Mostafa Bakry, an Egyptian newspaper editor and member of parliament, quoted in today’s New York Times Magazine article about homosexuality in Egypt. The Queen Boat incident, in which police raided a floating nightclub on May 11, 2001, and subsequently detained and tortured 52 men, attracted attention in the western press about general human rights — and specifically gay rights — abuses in Egypt. Since campaigning for gay rights can be dismissed as yet another aspect of the West’s agenda of cultural imperialism, human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, have couched discussion of gay rights abuses in the broader context of human rights abuses. Despite local and international attention, raids, attempts at censorship (of scenes, for example, in the recent production of “The Yacoubian Building,”), and social trauma seem undiminished.

Mimi Hanaoka

Some movies are pure entertainment designed entirely for escapism, and others attempt to send a message to the audience about something important, be it political, personal, or societal.  In the tradition of Traffic and Syriana, the film of Eric Schlosser’s non-fiction exposé Fast Food Nation, adapted by himself and director Richard Linklater, is definitely the latter but it is a message, I believe, the audience isn’t willing to stomach.

In these types of films you have to review two different sides.  You have to critique it as a piece of art and entertainment and then separately on its ability to communicate its message.  First I’ll tackle Fast Food Nation as a film.  The challenge for Linklater was to adapt a best-selling, non-fiction, investigative book about the meatpacking and fast food industries — showing the realities of how a Big Mac becomes your lunch. In doing this he created a bevy of different characters, some with long arcs and others simply representing a “type” of person within these industries.  I believe he concocted some credible storylines that act as a conduit to showing us the rather down-and-dirty means to which hamburgers are made and distributed.  But I think he tried to be too ambitious and created too many characters that preclude enough time to get a full sense of their essence — we simply don’t get inside their heads, and this results in us not really caring too much about them.  

Standouts are the marketing director for Mickey’s, a rather obvious stand-in for McDonald’s, played by Greg Kinnear (As Good As It Gets) in an understated but effective performance.  His character represents the everyman seeking answers and not finding them, or at least not to his satisfaction or finding them and ignoring them, however you want to interpret his actions.  Wilmer Valderrama (That ’70s Show) also gives an excellent performance as a Mexican illegal trying to make the system work for his survival.

Unfortunately, it is with the female characters that the film falls apart.  Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace) and Ashley Johnson (Growing Pains) give credible performances, but the script doesn’t allow them to fully explore their characters’ psychological and emotional sides.  

As for the message, Linklater successfully paints a bloody picture of the process with which beef gets to our tables, and it ain’t pretty.  But I was left with more questions than answers by the end of the film. While I appreciate films that pose questions to inspire dialogue, I was more perplexed by what should be done, if anything, rather than wanting to stand up and fight the big corporate baddies.  Films like Silkwood and The China Syndrome did a much better job in that regard and also worked better as entertainment than Fast Food Nation because they focused on one set of characters and one “bad guy.”  Fortunately, nuclear power is a less accessible villain than the local burger joint — and more easily hated.

Fast Food Nation isn’t for the squeamish or for those who prefer their entertainment on the lite side.  Some of the scenes are worthy of the best slasher films, and the effect does accomplish its mission, but unlike China Syndrome — which made me scared to death of nuclear power plants, especially after Three Mile Island confirmed its message — Fast Food Nation didn’t preclude me one bit from stopping by the nearest Burger King after the screening for a Whopper with cheese.  Whether that’s a testament to our society’s dependency on eating at fast food restaurants or to a film that doesn’t quite stir up the crowd enough to cause a revolution, I don’t really know.  And that’s how I left the screening room.  I just don’t know.

Distributed by Fox Searchlight, Fast Food Nation is playing nationwide in select theaters.

Rich Burlingham

To much fanfare and publicity, on November 14 South Africa became the first country in Africa to legalize same-sex marriage.  While the future for same-sex couples in South Africa is bright, their prospects elsewhere on the continent are grim. The Independent catalogues some of the statutes against homosexual rights in African countries, which includes up to 14 years imprisonment for homosexual activity in Kenya (although lesbianism is not banned), three years for the same offense in Ethiopia (for gay men and lesbians), and a sentence of up to a decade in prison in Zimbabwe for unnatural sex acts.”

While South Africa certainly is the vanguard for gay rights on the African continent, it faces precious little competition from its neighbors.

Mimi Hanaoka

In this world of rat races, keeping up with the Joneses in pursuit of the mighty dollar, and achieving the American Dream, there isn’t much time for inner reflection. To maintain a homeostasis of mind, body, and spirit, to feed ourselves the sustenance needed to be successful at being human, we need a guide.

Richard Singer’s new book, Your Daily Walk with the Great Minds, does the job. Singer breaks down a year into a day-by-day-like calendar. Each day is broken into subcategories and assignments.  A book is suggested for each month. In March, the suggested book is As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. In June, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is recommended.

One of the subcategories is “A quote from a great mind in history.” On March 13 a quote from St. Augustine reads “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page.” In response, Singer writes, “Life, the Universe, and the world, consist of infinite pages, eternal chapters, and inexhaustible ‘stories’ of growth, triumph, and love. Plan to move forward on your reading and adventure, get out, experience, see, love, dream, and succeed. Read the book of life intensely and create your tale of success. Take a voyage inside your being, into novel situations, into new cultures, and discover the connection of humanity and the oneness of the Universe.”

Another subcategory is called “Personal Journaling.” For example, Singer asks, “What is the title of your next chapter?” He closes with a positive affirmation:

Today, I will notice the sacred in all of life and honor the divinity of existence.

Yes, it does sound a bit preachy and New-Age-ish, tossing around esoteric words like ‘sacred,’ ‘divinity,’ and ‘oneness,’ but Singer’s book is not enabling to the reader. Instead, Singer shows readers how to empower themselves and convinces them to be accountable for their own actions and consequences. Supporting his ideas with quotes from truly great minds, Singer doesn’t have a get-rich-quick scheme and doesn’t expect the reader to join a cause, tithe, or give up all their worldly possessions. He doesn’t want to be praised or be known as a guru with all the answers. Singer doesn’t expect the reader to believe or seek forgiveness from an entity that sits on a golden throne and judges all humanity. Singer only wants readers to believe in themselves and offers Your Daily Walk with the Great Minds as a tool or reference book — like a dictionary, atlas, or encyclopedia — to be used at the reader’s leisure.

Your Daily Walk with the Great Minds: Wisdom and Enlightenment of the Past and Present
By Richard A. Singer Jr.
Loving Healing Press, 2007

Lee Gooden

Wherever communities believe they face persistent discrimination, humiliation, or  marginalization based on ethnic, religious, or other identity markers, they are likely to  assert their identity more aggressively. As long as the source of resentment persists, and  particularly when it is aggravated by increased humiliation or by despair in the normal  political process, moderate leaders will always struggle to match the allure of those who  stoke feelings of collective anger and offer fellowship and redress through exclusivist  ideologies, adversarial politics and violence. Effective counter-measures cannot rely  solely on attacking adherents of such ideologies — in fact such tactics are likely to inflame  the very sentiments they seek to eradicate.

— An excerpt from the Alliance of Civilizations report, which was presented today to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at a ceremony in Istanbul. The report argues against a notion of a clash of civilizations and claims that politics, and not religion, lie at the source of conflicts which are sometimes couched in religious discourse. The report was written by the Alliance of Civilizations, which consists of international dignitaries — including Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami — drawn from a variety of faiths, who have met over the past year.

A full copy of the report can be found here.

Mimi Hanaoka