Veganism and the media

[rogerjolly]

I recall a time when if we vegans managed to get a mention at all in the media then it was almost bound to be derisory.

We have just watched the 2018 film “Puzzle” which is about Agnes who so far has led a very closed life concentrating almost entirely on caring for her family and who knows little of the world about her.

One of her sons has attempted to explain veganism to her because his vegan girlfriend is about to be introduced to the family. The meal Agnes provides is chicken because it is not considered to be meat. When her son explains to Agnes she apologises and says she could have provided fish instead. When this is also explained she asks the inevitable, “So where do you get your protein?”

I have many times seen this scenario described for real in these forums. My point is that the butt of the joke is not the vegan visitor but is the well-meaning Agnes who just does not understand what it is all about.

For me this scene from the film is yet another very healthy sign that veganism is really on the move.

Roger.

 

[Nekodaiden]

I carefully share your optimism, Roger - but only with free, or relatively free media. I grew up in a time when there was no internet, and the only
media I was exposed to was the corporate kind pushing meat, dairy and eggs through television, movies (through product placement/normalization) in magazines etc.

I had heard of vegetarians but didn't know any - to me they were a outlying minority who somehow "got by" because they drank cow's milk and some ate eggs. I never even heard of a vegan until I met one in my early 20's through employment.

I do believe free/relatively free media can be on our side - because it allows for the truth to be told and certain individuals to positively influence others. It also allows for the opposite, but this is to be expected.

I do not believe corporate/State and controlled media can be on our side. Either through advertising or propaganda or both, they depend on enslaving humanity by robbing us of truth, robbing us of healthy food, and replacing it with things they can monopolize to keep their investors happy.

 

[Lou]

I recall a time when if we vegans managed to get a mention at all in the media then it was almost bound to be derisory.
We have just watched the 1918 film “Puzzle” which is about Agnes who so far has led a very closed life concentrating almost entirely on caring for her family and who knows little of the world about her.

1918?

 

[Lou]

Yep. I agree with Roger.
the image of Vegans and Vegetarians in films and television is making improvements.

However this reminds me of the scene where a musician gets called an overnight success story, and he replies with. "well, if you can call 10 years of music lessons, 10,000 hours of practice, 400 auditions, 100 performances in small venues and 2 tours as the opening act, overnight?"

I think the image improvement of vegans and vegetarians is long and incremental.

Hasn't it been almost 20 years since Phoebe on friends became vegetarian? She was the goofy kooky friend so maybe not the best endorsement, but everyone liked her.

Lisa Simpson became a vegetarian in 1995. And she was the best Simpson.

Dr. Temperance Brennan aka “Bones”, is a vegetarian on the show. She might be nerdy but she IS the star of the show. I never watched the show but I'm assuming she was vegetarian from the beginning, 2005. (BTW, the actress IRL is vegan).

Sara Sidle on CSI became a vegetarian after a case involving a pig. I never watched this show either but it must be 10 or 15 years ago.

I did watch the TV show Grimm. And Monroe was a major character and a vegan. This was just a few years ago, and Portland. So it probably was an easy thing for the writers to throw in. Although Monroe was a werewolf that used to hunt people but reformed and swore off meat. But his veganism was part of his character. I got a big kick out of the episode where he had to go to the Portland's Farmer's Market to pick up some vegan salmon for a special dinner.

Anyway, it has been a long slow haul but there I agree that progress is being made.

Having some dialog explaining veganism seriously is a big milestone. So big kudos for Puzzle.

 

[rogerjolly]

1918?

Yeah. I’ve just corrected that. Perhaps it is just another example of living in the past.

And think of this. There is now a huge percentage of the population who have never seen the twentieth century and who could never make the mistake I made.
They might have, in January, out of sheer habit, dated a cheque as 2018 instead of 2019. Except that cheques themselves are now a rarity.

Roger.

 

[Lou]

Years back I saw a study that investigated how far into the new year people still dated their checks with the previous year.
I think the first week of February was the average. I just did it a few weeks ago.

But mixing up centuries? I hope it was just a typo.

Meanwhile, remember how last century it was totally accepted and commonplace to shorten 1999 to '99. or write on your check 1/1/98 99. If you were shopping for sports cars you might want a '64 Stingray. No one says an '11 Corvette.

Now it's all 2019. How far into this century to we have to get before its acceptable to drop the 20? Or is this some kind of collateral damage from the Y2K bug? Has anyone looked into this? What did the passengers of the Titanic write on their checks?

 

[Celibataire]

The first vegetarian character I ever saw on television was Sandra, played by Nerys Hughes in the 1970's BBC sitcom The Liver Birds. She was portrayed as being a bit snobby and stuck-up. But then the series, hence the character, was created by Carla Lane, who was a long-time vegetarian. Perhaps she modelled the character on herself. I struggle to think of any vegan character I've ever seen in any television programme or film.

Incidentally, as far as the new century is concerned I find myself dropping the initial 'twenty' when talking about years from 'thirteen' onwards.

 

[Lou]

@Celibataire
If you scroll up to my post you can see a list of vegetarian characters on American TV. And even one Vegan.

--
I finished Stranger Things Season 3 and was interested in the actress that plays Max. I was so pleased to learn that Sadie Sink (born April 16, 2002), is vegan. She credits Woody Harelson as an inspiration.