Documentaries are designed to educate, and that is the stated purpose of Liz Marshall's film. Two years in production, Marshall chooses to tell the story of the treatment of animals are through the eyes of activist Jo-Anne McCarthur. McArthur, a self professed animal-lover, beds down with cows, sheep, and pigs in her quest to demonstrate that animals are humans (www.torontopigsave.org). Marshall's film has a number of problems, but the main one is she became too close to her subject. In the credits, the Vancouver Aquarium is condemned as they refused to be interviewed. Perhaps they figured out in advance that her film was anything but balanced? Marshall also deliberately confuses the issues of animals raised for human consumption versus animal research and factory farms. Temple Grandin, who favours humane slaughter methods, is one of the only talking heads who doesn't buy McCarthur's party line "we love all animals"). Marshall is an accomplished film maker, and there can be no excuse for such a one-sided portrayal of a complex issue.
Review of The Ghosts in Our Machine
The Ghosts in Our Machine
(2013)
Ghosts in Our Machine offers a one-sided perspective on the ethical treatment of animals
1 May 2013
Warning: Spoilers