Dog

I am a dog lover - fiercely protective and dedicated to my awesome dog who gives me so much joy and love. So, imagine how excited I was to hear about an upcoming PBS doc and catch a few other ones recently on the wonderful waggies who enrich our lives. Pretty darn excited.

Tomorrow night, PBS is airing Through the Eyes of a Dog, about service dogs for people with special needs. Based on the book with the same name, the film takes a look at the incredible bonds that form between canines and humans, and the work of an exemplary national service dog organization. If you don't feel anything after this one, you may want to check your pulse.

I also recently watched Mine, about the animals that were left behind in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. At times both heartbreaking and heartwarming, the film chronicles the stories of several frantic owners who are trying to track down the dogs and other pets they abandoned in the wake of the storm - either out of necessity, understandable thinking that they would quickly return, or due to possible negligence. The number of animals that ultimately perished from the disaster are too large to think about. Many other animals were heroically rescued by dedicated volunteers and adopted out to new owners. This sets up some complex and compelling custody battles for people still trying to rebuild their lives from the storm - leading to the inevitable ethical and legal questions of what constitutes pet ownership. Love is not always enough. Check it out on PBS Independent Lens.

Finally, I watched War Dogs of the Pacific on the Military Channel in preparation for watching The Pacific miniseries on HBO. The documentary tells the true story of the brave dog soldiers that faithfully served alongside U.S. Marine platoons in WWII. This one tugs at the heartstrings too, as it documents the stories of the bonds between these amazing dogs and their handlers in the fury of combat.

Now go hug a dog today.

Life

It has been a while since I've stopped by the ol' blog - I have been consumed by the Discovery Channel's Life documentary series. It's AWESOME!

This 11-part nature series from the networks that brought us Planet Earth (you know how I loved that one, too) captures the various life forms that inhabit the planet. It's narrated by Oprah Winfrey (my main, if petty complaint about the project; her voice doesn't quite seem to fit and I'm a bit distracted by the fact that it's Ms. Winfrey) and explores how the various species survive, interact with each other, and procreate.

Last night, I watched the episode on insects, and the filmmakers somehow captured grass-cutter ant colonies chew apart grass, carry it back to their ant hills and use it to fertizlize the fungus that is their food supply. It's like the real Antz or A Bug's Life without Hollywood recasting. Crazy! There is more where that came from: hunting chase sequences that are more nail-biting than any big budget thriller, delicate mating rituals and emotional family moments, all enveloped in bar-raising cinematography. I got my new HD tv just in time.

Check it out - I am sure Discovery will play it many times over as it has garnered its best debut ratings in a decade with this series; this weekend features the final installments and a "making of" episode, where I hope to learn more about the production of this incredible doc series.

Burma

I had Burma on the brain recently, and all thoughts pointed to documentaries (shocking, I know).

A comic book connoisseur acquaintance was determined to find a comic that could be my entry point into fandom of this genre. I had my doubts, tearing through several options unsuccessfully until he presented me with Guy DeLisle's graphic comic, "Burma Chronicles". I quickly discovered that it was essentially a documentary in comic book form, and boy was I hooked!

The book details via black and white drawings the cartoonist's experience in Burma (officially known as the Union of Myanmar, located in SE Asia), working and caring for his young son while his wife was working with Doctors Without Borders. The country is under authoritative control of the ruling military junta, whose censorship and curtailment of free speech is ongoing and oppressive. So, under challenging circumstances for an artist, he manages to describe the life there in a dry but revealing tone. It's a deeply interesting way to delve into the story of what is happening there, since Burma rarely seems to make the cut with our sorry U.S. news outlets.

I can't wait to dive into his similar chronicles of North Korea and China.

I also attended a screening of the Oscar®-nominated Burma VJ documentary. Having read "Burma Chronicles", I was at least somewhat familiar with the state of this closed country, where video crews are banned. It was still shocking to see many of the horrors captured. This gripping film presents footage shot by an underground troupe of reporters, who manage to capture video of atrocities surrounding a 2007 march by Buddhist monks. These intrepid VJs smuggle the footage out of the country and broadcast it back into Burma and around the world via the internet, knowing they will likely be tortured, imprisoned or killed if discovered. Their footage stands in stark contrast to the propaganda being spread by the ruling military regime.

I'm glad once again that through documentaries - in all their forms - I have a better understanding of what the heck is going on around the globe.

Oy.