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Earthlings (documentary)
Encyclopedia
EARTHLINGS is a 2005 movie about humanity's use of animals as pets
, food
, clothing
, entertainment
, and for scientific research. The film is narrated by Joaquin Phoenix
features music by Moby
, directed by Shaun Monson
and co-produced by Maggie Q
, all of whom are practicing vegans.
, sexism
, and speciesism
, and advocates veganism
.
, best known for his book Animal Liberation
states, "If I could make everyone in the world see one film, I'd make them see Earthlings" and Tom Regan
, "For those who watch Earthlings, the world will never be the same."
, (where it won the Best Content Award), and at the San Diego Film Festival, (where it won Best Documentary Film, as well as the Humanitarian Award to Joaquin Phoenix for his work on the film).
PETS
PETS may be an acronym for:* Pet Travel Scheme, which allows animals to travel internationally without quarantine* Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act...
, food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
, clothing
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
, entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
, and for scientific research. The film is narrated by Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...
features music by Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
, directed by Shaun Monson
Shaun Monson
Shaun Monson is an animal, human and environmental rights activist. He is best known for writing, directing and producing the 2005 documentary Earthlings, which covers major animal rights issues within industries such as pets, food, fashion, and science....
and co-produced by Maggie Q
Maggie Q
Margaret Denise Quigley , professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American-born actress and former fashion model. She currently stars as the titular character on the action-thriller TV series Nikita.-Early life:...
, all of whom are practicing vegans.
Synopsis
Covering pet stores, puppy mills and animal shelters, as well as factory farms, the leather and fur trades, sports and entertainment industries, and finally the medical and scientific profession, EARTHLINGS includes footage obtained through the use of hidden cameras to chronicle the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely on animals. It draws parallels between racismRacism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, and speciesism
Speciesism
Speciesism is the assigning of different values or rights to beings on the basis of their species membership. The term was created by British psychologist Richard D...
, and advocates veganism
Veganism
Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...
.
Promotion
Joaquin Phoenix commented on the documentary that, "Of all the films I have ever made, this is the one that gets people talking the most. For every one person who sees EARTHLINGS, they will tell three." Peter SingerPeter Singer
Peter Albert David Singer is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne...
, best known for his book Animal Liberation
Animal Liberation (book)
Animal Liberation is a book by Australian philosopher Peter Singer, published in 1975.The book is widely considered within the animal liberation movement to be the founding philosophical statement of its ideas...
states, "If I could make everyone in the world see one film, I'd make them see Earthlings" and Tom Regan
Tom Regan
Tom Regan is an American philosopher who specializes in animal rights theory. He is professor emeritus of philosophy at North Carolina State University, where he taught from 1967 until his retirement in 2001....
, "For those who watch Earthlings, the world will never be the same."
Awards
In 2005, EARTHLINGS premiered at the Artivist Film Festival, (where it won Best Documentary Feature), followed by the Boston International Film FestivalBoston International Film Festival
The Boston International Film Festival is a film festival in the United States held in Boston, Massachusetts which showcases over 90 films annually....
, (where it won the Best Content Award), and at the San Diego Film Festival, (where it won Best Documentary Film, as well as the Humanitarian Award to Joaquin Phoenix for his work on the film).
See also
- Abolitionism (animal rights)Abolitionism (animal rights)Abolitionism within the animal rights movement is the idea that focusing on animal welfare reform not only fails to challenge animal suffering, but may prolong it by making the exercise of property rights over animals appear acceptable. The abolitionists' objective is to secure a moral and legal...
- Animal welfareAnimal welfareAnimal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
- Animal testingAnimal testingAnimal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments. Worldwide it is estimated that the number of vertebrate animals—from zebrafish to non-human primates—ranges from the tens of millions to more than 100 million...
- Cruelty to animalsCruelty to animalsCruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur, although opinions differ with...
- Animal rightsAnimal rightsAnimal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
- Animal rights and the HolocaustAnimal rights and the HolocaustSeveral writers, including Jewish Nobel Prize laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer, and animal rights groups have drawn a comparison between the treatment of animals and the Holocaust...
External links
- Official site (Video)
- Nation Earth - Organization responsible for Earthlings