arts & entertainment
Diet Documentary Advocates Vegetables
by kam Williams,
special to The Skanner News
Why is that most Americans are overweight nowadays?
And why are we sicker and spending more on healthcare
than ever before? It’s all in the diet, according to Dr. T.
Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, medical pio-
neers who have staked their careers studying the skyrock-
eting increase in the so-called “Diseases of Affluence.”
These iconoclastic physicians find themselves at odds
with the bulk of their colleagues because they believe that
most of the degenerative diseases afflicting humanity are a
consequence of our eating animals and processed foods.
This is the proposition which they set about proving in
Forks over Knives, a documentary indicting agribusiness
for the aforementioned sorry state of affairs.
Directed by Lee Fulkerson, this incendiary expose’
shows how corporations have successfully exploited our
biological urges for generations, often with the help of
government-sponsored propaganda. For example, the film
features clips from an old newsreel where it is suggested
that cow’s milk is better for a baby than mother’s milk.
Similar approaches have been employed to dupe the
populace into believing in everything from having eggs
and bacon for breakfast daily to the notion that meat is the
Research doctors explain the
rise in disease compared to
meat consumption
only way to get enough protein. Fundamental to such
mind control is the ensnaring of consumers in “The
Pleasure Trap” whereby advertisers cleverly leverage the
natural instinct for food and sex.
Fortunately, reversing the trend simply involves reeduca-
tion and opting to step off the self-destructive treadmill
which has most of us on a diet dominated by meats, salt,
fat, sugar and refined foods of little nutritional value.
Judging by the glowing testimonials of Dr. Campell’s and
Dr. Esselstyn’s patients here, apparently all it takes is
merely adopting a whole foods, plant-based regimen not
only to see the pounds come off but to end one’s depend-
ency on pills for blood pressure, hypertension, diabetes
and many other medical maladies.
Back to nature and rejuvenation just by refusing to be
brainwashed by Madison Avenue any longer!
Excellent(4 stars)
Rated PG for smoking and mature themes.
Running time: 96 Minutes
Distributor: Monica Beach Media
To see a trailer for Forks over Knives, visit the Skanner’s
YouTube Channel
Monopoly Movie Celebrates
Popular Board Game
by kam Williams,
special to The Skanner News
I
n 1935, Charles Darrow, au unemployed salesman from
Philadelphia, got a patent on Monopoly, a board game
ostensibly inspired by another named The Landlord.
The original had been invented over three decades earlier
by a Quaker named Lizzie Phillips as a means of illustrat-
ing capitalism’s tendency to enrich property owners at the
expense of impoverishing renters.
But Darrow’s version of the game was more a celebration
than an indictment of an evil economic system. It even fea-
tured Rich Uncle Pennybags as is mascot, an exuberant,
tuxedoed character sporting a top hat, cane and handlebar
mustache reportedly modeled on filthy-rich financier J.P.
Morgan.
The rights to Monopoly were acquired by Parker Brothers
which started mass producing the game. Soon thereafter,
the game caught fire among millions of the discouraged
desperate to rekindle the American Dream as they struggled
to survive the Great Depression. Its popularity has persist-
ed uninterrupted over the intervening years to the point
where it has been translated into dozens of languages and is
presently being distributed in over a hundred countries
around the world.
Furthermore, Monopoly today is as much a brand as it is
a game, with the name being licensed for use by
McDonald’s, gambling casinos, lotteries and so forth.
Meanwhile, it has also become a part of the nation’s very
cultural fabric, as witnessed by the countless references to
the game made in movies and on television shows.
All of the above is chronicled in Under the Boardwalk, a
delightful documentary directed by Kevin Tostado which is
certain to delight any Monopoly fan. For besides dissemi-
nating some fascinating historical info, the movie is kept
lively by chronicling the goings-on at both the United States
and World Monopoly Championships of 2009.
Coming from all walks of life, the only thing the colorful
entrants have in common is an obsession with playing the
endlessly-entertaining board game that has captured their
imaginations since childhood. As for the key to winning, the
participants seem to agree that despite the incredible
amount of strategy necessary for a serious shot at the title,
a lucky roll of the dice might ultimately decide the out-
come.
Advance token to Boardwalk!
Very Good (3 stars)
Rated G
Running time: 88 minutes
Distributor: Rhino Films
Page 6 The Portland and Seattle Skanner may 18, 2011