DOG WAR is the story of Jon Barocas who seeks to free the dogs being kept in illegal farms producing dog meat in South Korea.
This is a very good look at the dog meat industry in Korea and elsewhere is Asia. The film is set up so that it follows Barocas as he and his friends track down the people who are keeping dogs so that they can be used for meat. Unexpectedly the film is even handed. The film takes the time to interview lawmakers, people who enjoy dog meat., and other involved in the industry. The result is a film that gives us a great deal to think about.
I should state that I had the above two paragraphs sitting in my draft file for the better part of a week as I pondered what I wanted to say about the film. Largely I have been pondering the various points and trying to filter the fact that the film is looking at how eating dogs is shocking because they are pets but that other animals which don't share our homes are viewed differently by most people. It's a point I haven't quite resolved.
My inability to really discuss some of the themes and ideas in the film, I need to say that this is a great documentary. Playing at times like a thriller, the film is going to grab you and give a great deal to think about.
Recommended.
Thank you for the positive review. I appreciate you bringing the plight of pups to light. I'd like to respond to the question of "how eating dogs is shocking because they are pets but that other animals which don't share our homes are viewed differently by most people". First and foremost humans domesticated dogs throughout history. In the beginning humans trained them as guards for cattle and self protection which led to bringing them into the home as domesticated family members and best friends. I don't save animals to kill and eat them. I don't force my views on others but feel that the mass slaughter of any animal is wrong. We, as humans, have a responsibility to dogs and cats since we domesticated them. The dog and cat meat trade has never been regulated. These beautiful animals are not slaughtered in the usual way. They are torched alive, drowned, paws chopped off and the dog thrown to the floor, hung and beaten while spinning, heads bashed in and skinned alive and left in shock to die, only to name a few ways they are murdered. No other "food" industry exists at this level. The significance of this is that most black hearted killers believe that the more torture the dog endures the greater amount of sexual enhancement or medicinal benefits it provides. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like horns of Rhinos and other animals killed for "medicinal" purposes, science has proven that there is no correlation at all between any degree of medicinal remedy or sexual enhancement. To see or hear the cries of pain and agony pups endure would change anyone's point of view, except those we call "Black Hearts" who laugh and joke their way through the murder. We concentrate on dogs, but we will save all without a voice. This is a generational division in most countries with the younger generations actively advocating for their country to stop and dispel the myth surrounding this horrific trade.
ReplyDeleteAgain, thank you for your review.
Jon Barocas