Customer Reviews

The Botany of Desire [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This documentary was well produced and the subject matter was fascinating. I never knew that apples and potatoes had such variety or deep histories. This film was an eye opener into the world of human plant use that should be seen by all horticulturists.

Michael Pollan--it just occurred to me how close his name is to "pollen--garners five stars from me for this excellent PBS documentary based on his book, "Botany of Desire". This program was produced by Pollan's long-time friend Michael Schwartz, and their collaboration gives us a little work of art that's way greater than the sum of its parts.

Congrats to both Michaels. Buy this video and learn its many lessons.

Although the movie itself was great I was very disappointed that it was not closed captioned as it claimed to be. As a deaf person who relies on closed captioning nothing is more frustrating....

I saw this documentary on netflix after i read about it in eating well magazine. Very intriguing. I checked out the website for the show (very nice for teachers and educators). On there, you can find 4 lesson plans to teach most ages about these wonderful plants (yes all of them :)

I really enjoyed the author's take on who ia the superior species living on this planet, plants make themselves attractive to animals and insects in order to propagate themselves around the world. It has been documented that plants anticipate and show reaction to being cut, sung to, primped and pampered - leads us to wonder who really rules the earth. Great book, actually my favorite Pollan writing.

This is a very interesting movie that shows how we, as man, perpetuate species to our own ends, while the plant exploits us for its survival. It is beautifully filmed and interesting to watch. Of the many points made, the issue of genetically modified plants being included in our food without our knowledge is very eye opening and scarey. The movie also gives hope that we do not have to bow down to agribusiness and let them serve us whatever garbage they want us to believe (or eat). Very good film.

Based on the book by Michael Pollan.

Right from the front of this documentary or speculative paradigm change, "When we use these metaphors and we talk about plants having a strategy to do this or wanting this or desiring this, we are being metaphorical obviously. I mean that plants do not have consciousness but this is the fault of our own vocabulary."

What if plants to serve their purpose were manipulating us?

We select four plants to demonstrate the premise.
The four plants used to promote this viewpoint are:
tulips (beauty)
marijuana (intoxication)
apple (sweetness)
Potato (control).

We follow each plant through its history and interaction with people.


Michael Pollan's bottom line warning is to get away from monoculture.
"We are not simply standing outside the web of life. But that we are part of that web of life."

I only saw the Blu-ray version. The Aspect Ratio is 1.33:1 but you can tell that they squeezed some wider views down as many people and objects were very vertical. There are a few DVD extras that include deleted scenes, More of Michael Pollan's Interview and Perspectives form artists, humanities, and sciences.

The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World
Green cargoes
A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire
The Day of the Triffids

Botany of desire takes an original angle on the relationshin between us and plants. Highly recommended.

Botany of Desire is best-selling author and Berkley journalism professor Michael Pollan's film version of the same-titled book. The pretext that some plants "manipulate" us to their own ends (rather than having profited by meeting our needs) is best taken in philosophical rather than scientific fashion. The four plants used to promote this view point are tulips (beauty), marijuana (intoxication), apple (sweetness), and potato (control). Exploring the interesting natural and unnatural history of these plants takes Pollan to Holland, California, Kazakhstan, Peru, and Idaho, where he interviews growers and other authors. Taking "the plant's point of view," though, is solely Pollan's conceit. Anthropomorphizing as a means of explaining animal behavior has long (and at times wrongly) been considered one of the carnal sins of the life sciences. But this anthropomorphic romp through the plant world is just silly. The documentary is lavishly filmed and beautiful to watch, but without support for the founding premise the it eventually feels a bit random. My take: plants may not be able to manipulate people but I felt manipulated by Pollan.

If you are concerned at all about where our food system is headed, you must read Michael Pollen's books. He is the best and this book is very educational. Read all his books. Oh, always read the book before you watch the movie.