Category: Editorial

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History on Screen: Selma

Paramount’s Selma is the historic drama about one man who shook the south and changed the world with his dream of equality. Starring David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King and Carmen Ejogo as his wife, Coretta King, the acting was spot on. It cleverly showed the determination and drive of African Americans in the 60’s who fought for voting rights as they marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama as well as ultimately to the White house. The clever mix of real life footage made the acting that much more believable and for history buffs, Selma is definitely a classic to watch again and again.

Selma opened on Christmas Day in a limited selection of theaters and it’s opening day total showed, bringing in just over half a million. Currently as of January 12, it’s brought in over 14 million, and came in second at the last weekend box office. It’s still in theaters worldwide and features familiar faces such as Opera Winfrey, Common, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Martin Sheen.

See it now, before it marches off for good. You won’t be disappointed.

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Animals stars or Animal Exploitation? Should animals really be working or is it cruel to keep them from being a “Regular” animal?

It’s been debated since animals first started being used in movies in the early 1900’s.

Peta (or People for the Ethical Treatment of animals) is an animal rights organization, dedicated to investigating the unfair practices and abuse of animals.

This includes the use of animals for…

One of the forms of entertainment is in the circus.  An investigation by Peta was done on Ringling Brothers, and found the elephants were repeated beaten with bullhooks prior to performing.  Additionally Peta is also against Animals being used for entertainment, such as Greyhound Racing.  The Greyhound Racing Association of America says the breed loves to run and thus are breed at a early age.  They say the dogs are well taken care of and most live to the typical age of 12.

But The ASPCA argues.  They say “each year thousands of young, healthy greyhounds are killed due to lack of racing potential or being injured or no longer competitive.  ASPCA say, the living conditions of a typical greyhound is massively small, with little or no social contact.

Other less conspicuous groups like Animal Actors of Hollywood are more responsible and actually adopt most of the animals that are used for work in the TV and Entertainment Industry.  The Trainers say, all of the animals are placed in loving homes, both during the animals work schedule as well as upon retirement.

Just the same, no matter how well their intentions are, there are always Peta groups to insure that all animals are treated right and justly so.  According to a petition done on change.org, the following findings were reported.

  • 10 billion domesticated land animal are slaughtered a day for food, including 250 million chicks and five and a half million calves
  • Between 25 and one hundred million animals are used in testing in the U.S. each year
  • Six to eight million dogs and cats enter shelters and half never leave alive
  • 80 percent of purebred, AKC puppies are born in puppy mills and sold at local pet shops
  • And one hundred percent of all circuses have been cited for animal cruelty