for this exact moment of existence i disassociate myself from humanity
this time right now i am unable to fathom the hoops human beings jump through to cause madness in anothers life
the Earth is dying people are starving beaten, battered then murdered
human rights are non existent
Utopia is not so bad, not really complete absence of natural sunlight genetically harvested food domed cities and Big Brother reincarnated as a new prophet
(the polar bear is not so damned)
i disassociate myself from humans although i am just that i am unable to identify with this new breed of hatred
i simply wish to finish my own existence in an absinthe fog or pill induced slumber
maybe a fall down a rabbit hole is not so insane and insanity is not as crazy as perceived
maybe Alice was a lesson maybe I need a new pill to cause me to speak differently for it seems my voice no longer reaches anyone speaking any "known" language
maybe the polar bear might understand me as we roam together both barefoot clad in fur thirsting for a new land pads of feet drying beneath a poisoned sun
maybe he has secrets to tell me and i shall ride bareback seeking solace in wilderness upon such majestic beast where there is no speech
Take a walk in the woods with acclaimed Irish-Canadian scientist and author, Diana Beresford-Kroeger, as she reveals our profound human connection to the ancient & sacred northern forests and the essential role that they play in sustaining the health of our planet.
“It will start with a shovel and an acorn, but we might just change the world.”
WHAT: Film Screening, The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees,Call of the Forest hosted by Burning Books, Susan Marie and Linda Abrams
WHEN: Wednesday, January 10th, 2018, 7pm-9pm, Free admission, family friendly, in kind donations accepted and appreciated.
WHY: We cut down billions of trees every year. 5% of the world’s old growth forests remain intact. Yet trees are one of this planet’s most significant creators of food, new medicines, and oxygen. Forests hold the answer to many of the world’s problems; from climate change to human health and well-being.Call of the Forest tells the amazing stories behind the history and legacy of these ancient forests while also explaining the science of trees and the irreplaceable roles they play in protecting and feeding the planet.
- Diana’s call to action - to protect the native forests of the world and for every person to plant one tree a year for the next six years - provides us with a simple and powerful solution for climate change. As she travels across the globe to tell the story of the life and the science of the global forest, she presents us with a revolutionary conception of their value to all life and a message that could, literally, save mankind from itself.
***
This film represents the effort to make visible the invisible, by bringing the viewer into the healing environment of a pine forest as it releases its medicinal aerosols, to share the complex science of a sacred ecosystem that feeds and protects the planet, and to explore the history of our human community as it has grown in symbiosis with the forests that wreath our planet.
This film is Diana's love letter to nature - it is hope that this film will offer a sense of hope and a path forward for those of us who seek to protect and preserve our forests.
Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a world recognized author, medical biochemist and botanist. She has a unique combination of western scientific knowledge and the traditional concepts of the ancient world. Orphaned in Ireland in her youth, Beresford-Kroeger was educated by elders who instructed her in the Brehon knowledge of plants and nature.
“It will start with a shovel and an acorn - and we might just change the world.” - DBK
Director Jeff McKay
Executive Producer, Merit Jensen Carr
2017 / 85 minute / 52 minute / In English / Not Rated
In a 1998 PBS interview with sociologist Michael
Kimmel, No Safe Place, Violence Against
Women, Michael outlines views on masculinity in the United States. Kimmel
discusses that traditional models of masculinity have been around for a long
time and that men are expected to follow traditional rules of manhood by
stating that one, “You can never do
anything that even remotely hints of femininity.” (PBS, No Safe Place,
Violence Against Women). Michael
continues to describe male roles within society in three points to follow.
One,
a male is expected to be a “big wheel” meaning measuring masculinity by a
paycheck, wealth and power, that a male is expected to be a “sturdy oak”
meaning never showing emotion, and three, a male is to always “Give “Em Hell”
meaning being forthright and aggressive, showing power and control. These are examples
of how
capitalism and economic development have differential effects on women due to
outdated gender models within society that affect gender relations within all
areas of the workforce and global development.
As a sociologist, Kimmel continues to explain that
not everyone can be a “big wheel” and that having to keep one’s emotions in
check affects male relationships with women and that the idea that being consistently
aggressive is an immense pressure on men. This is where the "Women’s
Movement” challenges the traditional male models of society. Although Kimmel
outlines difficulties with male gender roles, a rise in men that support
feminism and violence against women has risen, simultaneously. However, there is
a split within Western society.
One, there are more men that support equality
presently due to recognizing that outdated models do not work, in part due to
the Women’s Movement that teaches respect, that men can recognize their
emotions, and that violence and aggression must end in order to create equality
within society and the workplace. For example, Kimmel states, “We're sitting in a studio right now where
there's a woman who's interviewing me, a woman sound person, a woman producer.
I mean this was unthinkable 30 years ago in the work place. So it's completely
different. And I think that more and more men are supporting that.” (PBS, No
Safe Place, Violence Against Women).
In addition, there are men that refuse to let go of
traditional models of masculinity and view change as erosion. The male gender
then feels compromised and needs to fight back that results in a rise in violence
towards women. Kimmel includes the importance of the era. For example, what
sexual harassment meant in the 1960’s compared to harassment today is
different. In the 1960’s, men were taught to keep trying, to go for it, to
succeed and to not stop trying. Today, that is stalking and harassment.
The
importance lies in women that are reporting these instances. In this vein, men
are responsible for their behavior and women are protected by laws that did not
previously exist. This split in the West, in addition to outdated models,
specifically in regards to development, are examples of how women are victimized
and empowered as well as the
differences in relationship between gender, sexual ideology, economic development,
and civil and human rights.
The Story of Stuff, a 20-minute short film released in
2007, outlines production and consumption patterns in the United States. The
premise of the short is based upon the question, “Have you ever wondered where all the stuff we buy comes from and where
it goes when we throw
it out?” (The Story
of Stuff, 0:24).
Annie Leonard, one of the writers, spent 10 years
traveling the world and what she found is a system in crisis. In the West, our economic
development and capitalist governance affects the entire world. This nation does business with diverse
cultures, economies and environments and the shortsightedness of the
government affects the balance of all people, some more so than others.
For example, out
of the 100 largest economies on Earth, 51 are corporations. Where is economic
equality for all people? The government pays more attention to corporations as
they grow larger and more powerful, thus all attention paid to the corporation,
not the people. Extraction, or natural resource exploitation, causes the
government to look to other nations for natural resources. “We [The U.S.] have 5% of the world’s
population but we’re consuming 30% of the world’s resources and creating 30% of
the world’s waste.” (The Story of
Stuff, 3:38).
Furthermore, the consumption and production in the U.S not
only takes resources from other nations, but the production of synthetic
chemicals produces toxins. This affects breast milk, a breastfeeding mother and
her newborn infant, the most safe and natural form of nurturing and nutrition.
As this nation
attempts to get rid of toxic chemicals it produces, it looks to other nations
to aid it. Dirty factories are moved overseas. In addition to polluting this
land and people, the United States government, along with corporations, is
polluting other nations, their workers and their people via air pollution, land
waste and dirty factories.
Annie Leonard used buying a radio as an example of
how consumption in the US connects to
the experiences of women in developing countries. “The
metal was probably mined in South Africa, the petroleum was probably drilled in
Iraq, the plastics were probably produced in China, and maybe the whole thing
was assembled by some 15 year old in a maquiladora.”
(The Story of Stuff, 8:50).
Typically, women
and children hold menial labor jobs in other nations and are most affected by
economic development in the West. Furthermore, people in other nations pay for
these developments with natural resources.
“These
people paid with the loss of their clean air, with increasing asthma and cancer
rates. Kids in the Congo paid with their future—30% of the kids in parts of the
Congo now have had to drop out of school to mine coltan, a metal we need for
our disposable electronics. These people even paid, by having to cover their
own health insurance. All along this system, people pitched in so I could get
this radio for $4.99.” (The Story of
Stuff, 9:34).
All of these situations are examples of how women and
children are victimized in other nations by the economic development and capitalist
governance of America.
The Story of Stuff exposes connections between environmental
and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable world. This
film short explores U.S. capitalist development and global economy and the
detrimental effects that has on all people, specifically women and children in
other nations.
The PBS interview focuses on male power and aggression in
traditional gender roles in American society that further affects global
societies due to economic development in the U.S. The more consumers buy into a capitalist world
economy, the more adverse results occur in regards to women and children in
other cultures and nations, as well as our own. The result, if current developments
continue, is dependency, westernization and acculturation.
© Susan Marie 
