Okja

Okja is an action-adventure film co-produced by Netflix and Plan B Entertainment. It was the first time for me to watch a foreign movie without a subscript, however it is very easy to understand what is going. This movie is about a group of self-defined environmentalists who created super pigs by a series of technique like gene mutation, hybridization. These super pigs were sent to different countries and grown by the local farmers. Mija is a young girl who lives with her grandpa in a mountain area of South Korea raising their super pig Koja.  Koja is Mija’s only friend who saved her life. Koja was sent to New York and focused to breed a new pig, and suffered from cruel treatment. Mija started her trip of rescuing her friend Koja.   

There was a lot chaos between Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the company which created transgenosis super pig. Okja was focused to breed a new pig and suffered a lot cruel treatment. The ALF posted the company’s inhuman behavior on the super pig in the company’s event of announcing the winner of super pig, which of course caused a much bigger chaos. At the end of the movie, Mija brought Okja from the company with her gold pig from her grandpa. When Okja and Mija left the slaughter, a couple of super pigs pushed their offspring out from the fence. Okja hid this small super big in her mouth, and took the small pig back to South Korea. Animal liberation is a very controversial topic, however, this movie did not promote either of the stands.

Mija was not depicted as an animal liberation supporter, and she saved only Okja and only because Okja is her only friend and Okja has saved her life. In the scene of buying Okja, the producer conveyed the idea that no matter what you believe and what you have experienced, you should respect other people’s legal property. The composition of the is very interesting in the end of the movie. Mija and her grandpa were having their meal within the square door frame, while Okja was looking at them from the square window frame behind them. People’s activities are limited within these squares which is also true in our real world.

The topic of animal liberation is also a topic of my other class which is more focused on the animal testing. There are many animal liberation extremists who burn the laboratory and threat the researcher’s own life or their family safety. It is hard to believe that a person who doesn’t care the human life would care about the other animal’s life. Due to the extremist, there only very few people stand out to talk about the benefit of the animal testing. People have their right to believe what is right for them, but they have no right to control other people’s believe and they should also respect each other’s believe. In this film, Mija respected the rule of the market. If she wants the pig, she has to buy it.

To be honest, I skipped some of this movie, but I still like this movie. The producers know animal liberation is a very controversial topic, so they just avoided to talk about this topic directly but promote the friendship between animal and human, which I enjoy most in this movie.

Okja: From farm to table

If you’ve ever lived on a farm, then you understand the importance behind never getting attached to the livestock. They are raised for a purpose and that purpose is to provide. Okja ties that in with the traditional ideas behind providing for a large society and the love a young girl feels for her pet. Many aspects of the film have a seemingly political air and it also addresses the rougher side of animal production for human consumption. With no clue what I was in for, I sat myself down in a pizza onesie with Bandit and began the film.

                The opening scenes and credits are very high in energy and almost have a brainwashing vibe to them. The press conference sets the precedent for the rest of the movie and in a whirlwind of excitement you as the viewer is transported across the globe to Korea. The first scenes in the jungle brought about this sense of serenity and I couldn’t help but feel at peace with my decision to watch this movie. Much of the first half of the script features the movie only spoken in Korean. I tend to watch many of my movies with closed captioning on anyways, so this wasn’t a big deal for me, especially since they added the English subtitles, however it was an interesting choice on the half of the director. Our first glimpse of Okja is confusing. The indecisiveness as to what she actually is can be visually distracting, however the plot does a fair job of keeping you entertained and on your toes. While she is classified as a “super pig”, she has many physical attributes and mannerisms that reminded me remarkably of a hippo. Mija, her caretaker and best friend, views her less as an animal for a competition and even more as her pet as the movie progresses. As it continues on, it begins to take a darker turn. Around the time the A. L. F. comes into play, you begin to get an idea behind the message that the movie is trying to get across. Pursuing this idea down the rabbit hole gives you a glimpse into what is potentially a portrayal of the current food industry, only with fictional animals. The vulgar and violent scenes often want to make you look away yet you fear to miss another gruesome detail that showcases the horror of American slaughterhouses. While the mass production of animals for food is no new concept, the conditions in which it can be done are demonstrated in an abhorrent manner. In an effort to not spoil anything I shall not go into further detail. Just know that this film is not for the faint of heart.

                While intentionally depressing and heart-wrenching, Okja stands apart from films and documentaries in its portrayal of the more crude aspects beyond your initial thought in the production of food. The unconditional love Mija feels for Okja provides an easy way for the audience to connect to her. This movie makes more of a political statement as to our meat production as a country more than anything else. With an open mind and a prepared mental constitution, you can make it through this movie and perhaps think about the journey it takes for your meat to make it to your table.