Unique

 

My film is unique in many ways but the thing that makes it most unique is the idea and the story.  My film shows the audience a new prospective of what it would be like to live in slavery. The lives cows lead is very dismal and full of cruelty but humans are quite selfish and find it hard to see past the suffering, as they believe if it is legal it must be fine. However my film offers people a role reversal and a new approach to looking at the issue. The sapiens put humans in the shoes of those in slavery and they show the main character Leah and the audience that just because they look a bit different or aren’t able to talk, it doesn’t mean they aren’t like us and they don’t have feelings. I hope people will second think about how they treat others and try to make a difference. My film doesn't just have to symbolise the dairy farm cruelty but it also represents all the Jews in the concentration camps, the refugee camps and the slavery in the world that keeps repeating itself throughout history. I hope one day more people start to think less about themselves and more about how others feel. This links also to another unique aspect of my film, how it is a documentary drama, even though the story isn’t real and neither are the characters, the truth behind the story is fact and educational for people who are unaware about the cruelty in the world.

 

Themes

 

There are multiple themes linked throughout my film. The theme of animal cruelty is one of my main themes that I am passionate about and what made my think of the idea. I want my film to make people second think about how the world works and what is right and wrong. Another theme in my film is naivety; people are unaware of some of the suffering that goes on in the world even though some of it might be ‘right in front of them’. Dairy farms are a well-known practice and I’m sure most people have seen cows in a field before or heard about the Syrian refugee camps, but they presume it is acceptable because it’s legal. This naivety is shown through Leah’s surprise when she finds out what is happening on the farm and when Millie says she wants to live on a farm when she’s older, like it is a good thing for the animals. As she is a child her attitude towards farms emphasises her naivety but it isn’t just children that share these types of similar opinions. Another theme is society’s normality, in my film the audience would be shocked to see humans being farmed, but in the film it is normal as that's the society they live in. I want people to realise that if another type of society saw how we live and treat animals and other people they would be just as shocked. This idea of an alternative society is another theme within my film. The two main big themes are slavery and human behaviour. Slavery has been apart of our history as humans since the beginning and as soon as one form of slavery becomes illegal another takes over, until people face the facts and realise what is happening slavery is only going to continue especially if people can’t see that certain practices that humans do is slavery. This idea of questioning human behaviour and why we do things just because another living thing may seem different is the psychological theme to my film.

 

Topical

 

The two main reasons why my film is topical is because vegetarians and vegans are increasing, as more and more people are becoming aware of the cruelty they are cutting meat and other animals products out their lives completely. Some 12 per cent now follow vegetarian or vegan diets – rising to 20 per cent of those aged between 16 and 24 (2014). Making a film about the issue is also a unique point, instead of making an advert about the issues that is done over and over; making a film will hopefully grab people’s attention more and bring a new platform of increasing awareness further of cruelty.

 

In recent news the Syrian refugees have been topical. Refugee camps have been set up to help the refugees, however the way they are treated and their living conditions is no better than how animals are kept. Lebanon is now home to approximately one million Syrians. Some house up to twelve people, but in reality the two-by-two canvas tent, on a normal camping trip, is best for three people. They are now not allowed on the streets from seven in the evening until nine in the morning and again from one until three in the afternoon. They are imprisoned by iron fences and live in the most insanitary conditions. They are being treated like farm animals enclosed in muddy conditions with no rights.