Hi, I just finished watching the new movie with Will Smith "Seven Pounds" and in there a few times they poke fun at veganism.

In the first instance a vegan man is working at a meat company and makes it seem that veganism is so screwed up that our morals just dont make much sense. In another part of the movie a character's dog is vegetarian and the owner freaks out that Will Smith feeds it some meat. Obviously dogs are primarily carnivores, and so the idea of a dog being fed only "steamed broccoli" makes vegetarianism/veganism (to the general public) seem like a crack pot ideology. I hate when movies make light of veganism. These kind of "jokes" are what prompt society at large to ridicule and dismiss animal rights.

If seen similair comments in other movies.



Have you seen Seven Pounds? what do you think? Have you seen any other movie that you feel diminished vegan/vegetarianism?

I haven't seen Seven Pounds, but I was wondering if there are any movies that make Veganism sound cool?

It's interesting how these things are perceived. I recently started a thread about how some reviewers are saying it has a pro-veg agenda.



https://www.veggieboards.com/boards/s...ad.php?t=98284



Also, there are people who feed their pets a veg diet. I don't think it makes us seem kooky at all. Those omnis who are so inclined to think us kooks already do that without the help of Hollywood.



ETA: I do long for the day that we aren't viewed as if we have 2 heads (in Hollywood and beyond).

I haven't seen anything pro-veg yet. In just about any movie or show that I've seen that has a vegetarian in it, they are made out to be a wierdo.



Now as far as the dog being fed a vegetarian diet, as long as it is done properly with the right nutrition and such, then it can be an ok diet. Obligate carnivores like cats and ferrets should NEVER be fed a vegetarian or vegan diet.



Sorry a little off track there. Anyone in film school here? Maybe we can make a movie that is pro-veg.

I have not seen this movie yet (it is in my Netflix queue) however someone was telling me about a Molly Shannon movie called The Year of the Dog where I guess that she becomes a vegan. This could go one of two ways....I'll let you know after I see it.



Also I know that Joaquin Phoenix is an avid vegan and I have heard (however, not researched/proved it) that he wore all fake leather in Walk The Line and while that isn't blatantly making a statement...I think that it is a pretty good thing.



Other than that I haven't seen too much where vegetarianism/veganism is treated as 'normal' in movies. Pity.



I generally find myself laughing at the inaccurate-ness of most movies that attempt veganism because as anything else they are basing it off of a stereotype that I don't (believe that I) fit into.



Hollywood is going to go what it is going to do. Often I hate having to weed through the misconceptions that it creates around MY lifestyle--but all I can do is try to make sure that I am being a good example of what a vegan is to me.



I'd love to hear of some other movies.

I liked Year of the Dog for what it was, a satirical comedy. I am a fan of Molly Shannon and thought it was disturbingly funny. There are some parts that I have heard other vegans take offense from, and i did cry at some parts, but I would for sure recommend any vegan to watch it.

*waits for an insane shania twain fan to show up*

Yeah Will Smith's character was a total a**hole towards Woody Harrelson's character by basically saying it was f'd up that he was vegan and yet selling meat and had no knowledge whatsoever of the product he was selling. But I don't think the overall message of that was that vegan's morals are all screwed up. He was trying to attack the guy in every way he could and used that as an example as well as many other things about him.



Yes Rosario Dawson's character flipped out when he fed the dog meat because her dog and herself were both vegetarian. But then she made him a vegetarian meal and he commented on how it was good.



I didn't perceive the whole thing has anti vegetarian/vegan at all.

It's been a while since I've seen it, but Doc Hollywood has a character who is vegetarian (not sure about vegan), and if I remember right, she rescues a pig that would have been slaughtered. She does do something audiences would consider "kooky" (or worse) about halfway through the movie, but she's a generally positive character, so I don't think any harm was done by that particular "kooky" scene.

I haven't seen Seven Pounds yet, but I plan to. Just from what I've read here though, really, a vegan working at a meat company? I have to admit it doesn't make much sense to me either. I understand that everyone needs a job (or most of us anyway), and I get that waiters/waitresses have to serve meat dishes at restaurants, but working at a place that is specifically JUST meat products? I wouldn't think most veg*ns would have any interest at all in working at a place like that.

Well, a friend of mine grew up in a vegetarian family. And the reason his family is vegetarian is apparently because his grandfather worked in a slaughterhouse.

27 Dresses (with Katherine Heigl) has a good vegetarian character, the main male character is vegetarian, which is think is a positive association.

Yeah I couldn't do it. That isn't me just saying that I wouldn't do it...I really could not do it.

I think most of the time its funny.

Has anyone seen Grandma's Boy?

The Part With David Spade is Hilarious.



IMO movies make fun of everyone.

I don't really mind it unless the whole point is anti-vegan.

I know this wasn't a movie, but the show "30 Days" had a very vegan-friendly episode, which may be viewed here: http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/07/16/h...-show-30-days/

In How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, Kate Hudson's character pretends she's a vegetarian which is supposed to make her seem like an annoying girlfriend. They go to a vegetarian restaurant and she sneaks in the back to eat a burger



There's another movie where there is a scene in a food court and this girl says she's vegan and she's pale and sickly and it looks like she's eating a bowl of water with a spoon Can't remember what movie...

Dude, 7 Pounds was the most boring movie EVER!! DO NOT waste your money on going to see it. If you MUST see that movie wait till it comes out on video, seriously.

It isn't a movie, but the show True Blood had a vegan character named Amy.



There were quotes like "I'm an organic vegan and my carbonic footprint is minuscule."



And there was the first part when she explained that she only ate organic (& that it helped the V experience). They were having a picnic outside with a bunch of organic foods sitting on the blanket. She fed him an almond (I think).. and he was all *orgasm face* xD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWbLkXhGEmo



Not Hollywood, but in this video/ song Katy Perry sings about a boy who is isn't gay, but fits all many gay stereotypes. The gay stereotypes amount to liking myspace, being indie, driving a hybrid, and not eating meat.



Check out 1:30- 1:40 for some vegan references. It's a shame that this song equates being vegan with being a sappy, depressed dude. It's also a shame that the song equates being sappy and depresses with being homosexual...

That chick is a TERRIBLE character though!



Have y'all seen "K-Pax?" Kind of weird film, but Kevin Spacey's character is vegan (or at least vegetarian) and he is painted in a pretty positive light.

So I saw Seven Pounds. I didn't think it was a big deal as far as the veg issues were concerned. I was expecting something much worse after reading this thread.

However, the movie was quite a downer. Not the "feel good" movie I thought it would be. I can't say I recommend it.

That scene in Grandma's Boy is great. "Red-shirted ass" is one of the best insults ever.

I loved "K-Pax"!!



Also, I just saw an episode of "Eureka" last night... bit of a weird show... but in THIS episode the crazy person was the woman farming poultry. She grew the chicken parts independently from the rest of the chicken, so she'd never have to kill chickens for meat again.



Problem: the way she grew them basically caused the meat to block this chemical in the brains of everyone who ate the chicken, giving them a kind of dementia! The only people who were unaffected were the vegetarians! ^_^ Oh, and the Sheriff, but that's because he got an anti-chicken rant before dinner from a veg character that put him off his supper.



Long story short: Only the smartest people in Eureka abstain from chowing down on flesh.

Futurama - The problem with popplers.



Their making fun of PETA (they use MEAT, Mankind for Ethical Animal Threatment, instead of PETA - I think that's pretty funny), but when you watch/listen carefully you'll find some sentences which criticise the relationship between humans and animals - like: If they're able to speak they're not for food, otherwise it's ok to eat them.

That movie is awesome! Spacey's character was formerly a knocker at a meat plant. I cry every time I see that film. The real question is: is he really an alien? My buds and I have stayed awake many a night debating this.

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

To turn the question around; what would be a good depiction of a vegan in a movie? Someone who is "normal" aside from scenes with food where they eat vegan but don't make a big deal about it, or someone who is upfront about the issues?



I'm more drawn to the first option. What do you think?

The part in Grandma's Boy made me laugh so hard! I thought it was funny. I was in the room with several meat-eaters, who all knew I was vegan (and are super cool about it.) We all laughed for a long time over that scene and then I was able to jokingly play up the 'odd' vegan thing, when they know that I am not that weird. =P



I saw The Year of the Dog. I enjoyed it mostly because she got ALL of the questions that I have gotten as a vegan. So I laughed for ever! I am not sure how I feel about the portrayal of vegans though. I wont give it away, so I wont say more. I think that if you are vegan you should see it because no one will get a bigger kick out of the questions that she gets than a vegan. (Because we have all had them.)



In the movie TransAmerica there is a scene with a hippie-vegan guy. He only makes a short comment, but really works off the whole, 'All vegans are hippies and marginally off' stereotype. The rest of the movie was fantastic though and I would HIGHLY recommend it!



Finally,

In the teen-flick John Tucker Must Die one of the girls that he dates is a vegan. I don't think that anyone associated with the movie had ever actually been around a vegan or even heard the stereotypes of a vegan because she would make a few anti-meat comments and a few peace and love comments, but I did not believe for a second that she was a vegan. I even think she had a leather bag in one scene. (Granted it could have been fake.) If it had not been for the few comments that she made about the subject, I would have been glad that they portrayed her as a normal girl...like most vegan females are.

Yeah I thought that was sad. I LOVE that movie, but they are eating food that could potentially be very good, but they are making it look so bad. The place that they were in actually looked like a fun place to go--different stroke for different folks I guess. It is also weird because vegetarians can eat just about anywhere...so in reality thy probably would not have had to end up there (even if she was claiming to be a vegan..)



Oh and I thought of another one. My Best Friend's Girl. Jason Biggs character is supposed to be a vegan. They mention it once or twice.