Source
r/vegan•
booleanlogicgate

Recommendations for non-/anti-speciesist entertainment?

Discussion

Last weekend, I was having a bout of sadness over how my friends continue to treat animals in spite of all the evidence and arguments I've presented about why they should stop. Eventually I was so sad that I just wanted to curl up with tea and a blanket and watch one of my favorite movies - the problem is, all of my favorite movies tend to have people eating animals, wearing animal skins, or verbally degrading animals (speciesist slurs and such). In those moods, I get really sensitive to those things and I have trouble blocking it out and deriving enjoyment from those sources. So I'm just wondering if there are any novels and movies out there that don't include overt animal abuse! I know it's probably unreasonable to expect strong animal rights messages, but at the least, movies without corpses being consumed would be awesome.

I got to thinking about this more after watching the indie vampire movie 'Only Lovers Left Alive,' which seemed to me to have no overt speciesism in it, and it was the first time I watched a movie all the way through since becoming vegan without having my internal monitor going 'That's offensive to animals, I don't know why it needed to be in here.' I'd like to watch more movies like that, so I thought I'd ask you all, and if anyone has any suggestions, it would be much appreciated. Thanks, r/vegan!

By the way, I haven't made an original post in here since I first became vegan last January (edit: last January as in a year ago) but this place has been a source of encouragement and sanity for me all through my journey so far. Thanks very much for being such a great community in general!

(EDIT: Tagged this with the Discussion flair because it doesn't seem quite like 'newbie advice' per se, but if people think that's a better category, I'll change it.)

EDIT 2: TL;DR: Any books and movies out there that are animal-friendly?

EDIT 3: This is tangential, but I also just remembered that a vegan author is kickstarting the second book in her fantasy series and she's ~$1000 away from her goal with 8 days to go. The first book, The Banished Craft, was enjoyable. Messages about veganism/animal rights aren't exactly central to the story, but the portrayal of vegan characters is a positive step! Consider taking a look:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/the-fettered-flame

Posted Feb 24, 2016, 6:03 PM UTC · edited

812
PumpkinMommavegan sXe•

My husband and I always go to the science center and watch the imax documentaries about animals. There are also lots of good ones on Netflix about national parks and wildlife. I tend to watch the ones targeted at kids though, as they don't usually show graphic hunting scenes that I don't want to see.

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booleanlogicgateOPveganarchist•

This is a very good idea, I can't believe I never thought to look at the ones aimed at kids. I like nature documentaries...right up until an animal dies a violent death... so I almost never watch them. Thanks!

2
morrisisthebestratfriends, not food•

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, it's pretty much assumed that most characters (aside from perhaps Worf) are technically vegan, as their food is artificially created by matter replicators. It's alluded to in one episode where "enslaving animals for food purposes" is a part of Earth's bygone past.

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booleanlogicgateOPveganarchist•

Wow, I entirely forget about Star Trek. I grew up with it because my mom loves it but I could just never, ever get into it. I guess it's time to force myself to watch it!

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morrisisthebestratfriends, not food•

I used to watch it a bit about a decade ago in my early teens, but I just rediscovered it and I love it. There is a lot of not-so-subtle social commentary, haha. I can see now how it was probably pretty ahead of its time in a lot of ways.

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booleanlogicgateOPveganarchist•

Yes, my roommate in college always thought I would enjoy it for those reasons. I really wanted to like it, but I tried to watch it with her and for some reason I was just bored. I tried again semi-recently because my partner is a pretty big fan of it, but I wasn't paying too much attention, so I should probably give it another honest attempt. :)

But on another note, it's so awesome that there was a show that progressive that long ago. I think if a new show like that came around, it could do wonders for a lot of society's attitudes toward various societal issues.

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jbrs_•

I'd advise you not to focus too much on the negatives when it's something you can't change-- it is a choice, and you can either help yourself or hurt yourself. Also, people come to veganism on their own time. Trying to force them to see it is generally counter-productive. Give them info when they are open to it, but otherwise put your energy into being a positive example would be my advice.

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booleanlogicgateOPveganarchist•

Heh, I know, after being vegan a year you can't help but learn that. That doesn't stop me getting sad about what humans are doing to animals 24/7 every day of the year sometimes, though. One way I deal with it is through escapism, which is why I'm asking for new forms of entertainment that don't reinforce the negative feelings (edit: and not for advice about dealing with people, but thanks anyway).

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jbrs_•

I'd say escapism isn't really dealing with it though... instead of avoiding everything that contains even a slight bit of it, why don't you learn to see past it when it's only a very minor component of whatever it is you're watching/doing? It'd be different if you were 'supporting' these things by participating in them, but you're not. You do have a good amount of control over how you respond/react to things.

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booleanlogicgateOPveganarchist•

...Okay, wow. Nowhere did I say I was avoiding everything that contains a slight bit of it. I said I'd like to have some options for when I'm in a sensitive mood. I don't think that's unreasonable. Most of the time it's fine and it doesn't bother me that much.

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jbrs_•

Sorry if my tone came across as aggressive, I really wasn't attacking you. I would call people eating animals in movies a minor thing though. I don't know of any movies or novels off-hand that would fit what you're asking for.

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