If you’re vegan it’s likely that you’ve found yourself, at one time or another, in a conversation with someone who isn’t vegan, and wonders why you are. You may have even found yourself in the middle of antagonistic or uncomfortable conversations, wondering how you got there. Or maybe you are someone who loves to talk vegan to non-vegans, to challenge the way others eat and live.
The new dialogue film Living Things: A Vegan Vs. Meat Debate is about these conversations. Though it is set in one room, it’s full of tension, and you will likely find yourself holding your breath on more than one occasion. Living Things captures the situation many vegans dread – and some of us crave – being “locked up” in a small room with someone we feel we need to maintain a respectful relationship with, who has a completely different world view from us, and offends some of our most basic values.
But this is an interesting film because it’s not one-sided. It holds a mirror up to both vegans and meat eaters, and asks them to question the way they deal with difficult conversations. It’s likely you will find yourself in some part of this film.
“The initial seed for LIVING THINGS,” says Writer/Director Eric Shapiro, “was planted when I saw a friend post a link on Facebook about how plants have feelings. This is the one of the standard arguments used by meat-eaters who are interested in invalidating vegans or vegetarians. It was interesting to see how the discussion unfolded: vegans and vegetarians were tagged as self-righteous and deluded, and the argument got very heated and vitriolic. You see this a lot online, underneath vegetarian/vegan articles or posts: The talk-backers shred the diet from all directions, and the anger is usually real intense. Since raising money’s always an issue in indie film, I felt the emotion of the conflict and the simplicity of having two people together for dinner – along with my passion about vegetarianism – made for an irresistible combo. There was nothing that could stop us from shooting it.”
We recently had the opportunity to chat with Shapiro about the film; here’s what he had to say:
Vegan Mainstream (VM): This is a very interesting conversation/debate we get to listen in to – how did you decide what the two parties were going to argue?
Eric Shapiro (ES): There were a few talking points I felt were important from the non-vegan side. There’s kind of a standard set of questions and arguments that commonly get thrown at vegans, and I wanted as many of them as possible to come from Leo [the father-in-law’s] mouth. So he brings up the question of how vegans get their protein, the point that plants have feelings too, the point that animals eat each other, and humans are of course animals, etc. There were dozens of other angles I could have included — like the argument that animal lovers care more about animals than they do about people (which showed up in an earlier draft but got cut), or any number of points that were more scientific than ethical — but at a certain point during the writing, I let the characters take over and do their own talking.
VM: Despite the fact that you are obviously trying to promote veganism with this film, the character of Rhona is far from perfect; was it important to you that both parties showed flaws, and why?
ES: It was definitely important. I wanted both characters to be imperfect so the debate became nuanced and emotional. That way the audience isn’t only reacting to each character’s arguments, but the way each character comes off as a person. For example, Leo’s conservative, which means about 50 percent of the population will agree with him politically, but he’s also a meat-eater, which puts him with 95 percent of the population! So how will liberal meat-eaters who watch the film feel about being on the side of someone they’d stand against politically? Playing with those complexities is a way, I hope, to stimulate thought and emotion in the viewer. I never factored in the size of the audience; I just felt if either character was one-note, the movie would hit a false note. Audience-wise, I always felt vegans and vegetarians would seek out the film first, since it has the first vegan main character in a movie that I’m aware of…
VM: Who is the audience you are hoping to reach with this film, and what are you hoping they will take away from it?
ES: I think the central demographic will be vegans and vegetarians, but I’d hope for any socially conscious person to watch it, and I hope it stimulates emotion and conversation. It’s taboo and uncomfortable to discuss dietary choices relating to meat or the lack thereof, so to shed any light in that direction and help loosen the taboo is a plus, whether a given viewer loves or hates the film.
VM: The end of the film takes an interesting turn. I don’t want to be a spoiler for viewers, but did you feel that this was the inevitable outcome of the conversation?
ES: For these characters, yes. The tragedy of their relationship is that they each bring the other to a place where ambiguous thought isn’t an option. They’re both essentially good and thoughtful people, but each one represents an intolerable state of reality to the other. Word by word and moment by moment, despite their best intentions, they can’t stop clashing. It’s a nightmare (for them — though amusing at times for us!).
VM: Do you think/hope this film will promote more conversation between vegans and non-vegans? If so, in your opinion, would that be a positive thing (and do you think this film demonstrates that)?
ES: Absolutely. The film’s premise alone is something that’s tricky to approach talking about. The fact that the movie exists can alleviate the taboo around going there. And I think more vegan and non-vegan dialogue would be a great thing. These are two groups that generally avoid communicating, for reasons shown in the film! But even though the movie’s uncomfortable, it’s also playful. By making their conflict so menacing, it kind of exposes how silly it is to take this stuff so seriously. Vegans and non-vegans can get FURIOUS with each other. The movie holds up a mirror, which might be uncomfortable for some but which I think is positive because it avoids the alternative of silence.
VM: What is the easiest way for people interested in this film to see it?
ES: As of now, it’s available on DVD wherever movies are sold, and it’s due out soon on Video On Demand (VOD) platforms (including Hulu and Amazon Instant).
Find out more about Living Things here:
Store: http://store.cinemalibrestore.com/living-things-dvd.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/livingthingsfilm
Website: http://www.cinemalibrestudio.com/living-things-a-vegan-and-meat-debate/watch-now.html