Fur in Movies
Let us suspend reality for just a moment while we talk about movies and television programs that already, well, suspend reality. We all are aware that movies are fake. We all know that when our beloved hero gets shot, that it's just make-up effects and movie magic, that he really isn't dead, nor bleeding. We all know that the blood used in film is totally fake, and did you know, mouth blood is even edible! (So that means it's not pigs blood. And why would it be? That would be disgusting and full of disease.) Hence why we use fake blood and not real blood.
I know this because I am an actor and I have been thrown in a wood chipper, was dismembered and blood came out of my mouth. Whoa! I am still alive! Wow! No need to really bleed!
Movie Magic.
Now, let's turn our attention to Game of Thrones. The costume designer, Michele Clapton, claims "With the HD cameras, she has found using authentic material is necessary to maintain believability – fake furs, for example, would read poorly on camera, so real furs are used." (Variety, 2013)
Well now, with those HD cameras I am wondering how those dragons look so.. um... what's the word.. REAL?
The White Walkers look so... um.... REAL?
Absolutely not. But we believe them to be real because we are suspending reality while eating popcorn, sitting on our plush couch, watching the television screen.
I am appalled by this because REAL animals are being kept in cages. They are then violently stripped of their skin while they are still breathing.
Costume designers need to take something that is alive and breathing and strip it of it's skin in order to turn it into "clothing" for a completely fictional television show? It's disgusting. We may as well have really gouged out the eyes of the prince because Lord knows we're going for "realism".
Next, let's turn our attention to an environmental activist who does so many big-budget movies that are very wasteful in terms of energy being used, props being thrown away after one use, etc.
-Side Note- As an actor and I have been on a number of movie sets from very small to very large scale productions and the waste is incredible. Styrofoam is everywhere. People use one cup and throw it away and then proceed to get a new cup to fill it up with the same coffee or treats. Water bottles litter every set and none of them are empty, yet all of them get tossed in the can. They're not even recycled, and where does the water go? The landfill. I always do my best to collect those bottles, water the grass with them, and then recycle them. But I am only one person. I hope to set up a recycling program in the industry soon. It is something I am working on. But that's another story for a different blog post. -
Back to the topic at hand. This renowned "activist" and actor is Leonardo DiCaprio. Who, by the way, is wearing real bear skins/fur which apparently weigh 100 lbs and all that weight, plus his weight is atop a horse. Leo even spoke about how cold the weather was.... So... that horse he's on is miserable.
He has made such claims as to being an environmentalist and advocate for the documentary Cowspiracy; however, in his new film The Revenant, he is wearing real bear skin and ate a real cow's liver, all for the sake of... say it with me... REALISM! The movie is fake anyway! Look, I know how hard it is to make a film, and how dedicated actors are to make it real, but if you truly want real, then pull a Shia LaBeouf and pull out your own tooth and cut your face with a blade because otherwise it's just not real enough. I have enough morals not to take advantage of another lifeform for something that is make-believe (even if it is based on a true story). Don't sacrifice your morals for Monet. (Meaning, your morals are far more valuable then what others are going to think, and trust me, half of the population would have had no clue if the meat was real or not, or if the fur is real or not. These day's it's so hard to tell the difference).
Animals needlessly suffer for "art" or "fashion" yet it is cruel and needs to end.
If we are suspending reality already by making a movie, then we can suspend reality by wearing fake furs. The suffering that our animal brethren go through, for something that is fake anyway, is atrocious. Humans are not meant to be this cruel.
My argument is that we already suspend reality when watching movies because we know they're not real, so why use real meat and real fur? You might as well use real bullets when you want to kill someone or real dragons, if you can find one.
Leo would be admired more if he kept to his belief that animals are not ours and that our environment is worth more than an Oscar.
Stay tuned for the petition to end the use of real fur in film.
