Review of Fast Food Nation (2006) by Brendan N — 26 Apr 2012

I love Richard Linklater but this is shit. A nice looking spoonful of lard being shoved down the viewer's throat. It's just propaganda bullshit. For the moment I'll ignore the fact that its a film made by vegetarians... The construction of the film seemed to be messy. With so many separate stories going on, it seemed that Linklater had too many characters to fit in and so various people have single scenes only while others drop out of the film after being established firmly with the audience. The film was obviously designed as an attack on the growing concern about the fast food industry... but it had absolutely no effect on me in those terms. Perhaps thats because of the film's satirical nature... im guessing it would have been more potent as a doco (which apparently the book is non-fiction). I just wasn't convinced that the fast food industry is THAT unsanitary. I know it very well may be, but this film didn't help convince me. If the food was so contaminated, why did the people who knew this fact keep eating it!?? And then there's the slaughter house. Yes, there is some very detailed and graphic scenes of animal slaughter, but this almost seemed like a desperate final attempt to ween the viewer off meat. It didn't succeed with me. I eat meat and I know that animals are slaughtered. Where else does meat come from? The animals in the film were killed humanely and quick and at no time did I feel guilty.

Animal slaughter is not pleasant but its a fact of life. The same meat they are telling us ends up in greasy and grotty burgers also ends up in the butcher shop and supermarkets. All the while I kept thinking of Sam Neill dancing the Chicken Dance... "We like to boogie" (that's an Aussie reference).