Everything Nonfiction

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How to fix climate change and eat healthier all at the same time

Review of Kiss the Ground
Rating *****

What if you could make a serious dent in reversing climate change while at the same time improve the quality of the food we eat? That’s the promise that is explored in the revealing Netflix documentary narrated by Woody Harrelson.

The solution to reducing the ill-effects of climate change lies in not just reducing the amount of carbon we put into the atmosphere but also in improving the quality of our soil. Turns out that quality soil, soil that contains cover vegetation and microbes, captures huge amounts of carbon. The process is known as regenerative agriculture.

History has plenty of examples of societies that have abused their natural resources and faltered as a result. Our own country experienced the devastating consequences of poor land management during the dust bowl. What we have now is not much better. The soil that produces our food is devoid of natural minerals and microbes. Instead, farmers are forced to use ever more pesticides and weed killers to grow anything. The result is dry, arid land; food that is saturated with chemicals; and livestock that is fed unnatural, poor quality feed.

The filmmakers give example after example of the right way to grow food. They give examples of bare landmasses that were transformed into vibrant greenspaces after just a few short years. And they highlight farmers who use the principles of regenerative agriculture to not only improve the soil but their profits as well.

If we continue along the current path of growing the same three subsidized crops of corn, soy, and hay, and continue the inhumane, unhealthy practice of industrialized meat production, we are doomed. We will grow sicker as a society. The planet will continue to warm, costing money and lives in countless ways.

This film shows us what we need to do. We can’t let the big ag companies determine our future. We have to put smart people in charge. We have to change the way we do things. We have to let science, not politics guide us. Watch this film.


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The seven elements of a scene masterclass

A year or two before I started working on my first book project, I decided to read a few books on the craft of writing. One of the books I picked up described the seven elements of a scene. According to the author, every scene has seven elements or stages: goal, conflict, disaster, reaction, reflection, decision, action.

That writing tip has stayed with me. I started noticing the seven elements in books and film. If you watch sports, you’ll see them there as well. But no one writes in such a mechanical way. A frown on an actor’s face is all you might need for a reaction. A character who storms out of a room might be a way of showing a reaction, reflection, decision, and action.

I’m not a big TV fan, but I got hooked on streaming TV from watching the series Breaking Bad. I didn’t realize it at the time, but if you go back and analyze each episode, you will find those seven elements over and over.

I recently came across another series, which, interestingly enough, also stars Bryan Cranston, that uses these seven elements in scene after scene. The series, called Your Honor, is available on Showtime on demand. I’ve only seen three of the ten episodes. If you want to learn how to build a story around conflict and disaster, watch these first three episodes.

The series is expertly written and acted. There is a disaster around every corner. I’ve been trying to predict what was going to happen based on the seven elements. For example, there is a scene early on where Bryan Cranston’s character decides that the best course of action is to go directly to the police and confess to what happened. I was telling my wife before he walked through the doors to the police station, “he’s not going to do it. I guarantee it.” I’ll admit that I didn’t see the disaster that awaited him inside the station.

There was another scene that blew me away. It dealt with the car that was involved in the hit and run accident at the center of this story. Despite Bryan Cranston’s best efforts to get rid of the car, it ends up in police custody (one disaster after another; one lie after another). A detective asks him about the damage to the front end of the car. He’s quick on his feet and comes up with a convincing lie. You just know they’re going to tie the car to the hit and run. But how? I could not predict what took place. I’m not even going to give this one away, but trust me it was ingenious.

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Best of Everything Nonfiction 2020

Being stuck inside for nearly a year has its downside. I miss going to the theatre. I miss live events. At the same time, it was a banner year for reading and streaming content. Below are some of the best books, films, documentaries, docuseries, and docudramas reviewed on EverythingNonfiction this past year.

Books

Evil at Lake Seminole – True crime

Bloodlines – Horse racing, money laundering, and drug cartels

American Prison – A detailed examination of the for profit prison system

The Chain – The industrialization of our food supply with a focus on pork

Mayflower – The story of the Mayflower and the pilgrims who first settled in America

Film

Hillbilly Elegy – An intimate look at the struggles of an Appalachian family

Bad Education – A nuanced look at how greed led well-intentioned people to make bad choices

Ford vs. Ferrari – The story of how Ford, known for its box-like family cars, decided to change its image by building a racecar to compete in the 24 hour Le Mans

Documentaries & Docuseries

Room 2806 – An uneducated immigrant brings down one of the most powerful men in the world.

Murder on Middle Beach – A son tries to solve his mother’s murder

Expedition Happiness – Exploring the world in a refurbished school bus

Trial 4 – A wrongful conviction story

The Last Dance – Michael Jordan’s run with the Chicago Bulls

The Way I See it – President Obama as seen by the Whitehouse official photographer

Immigration Nation – All sides of the immigration issue

I’ll be Gone in the Dark – How to make a serial killer

Outcry – The story of what happens when a teenager is falsely accused of the sexual abuse of a child

The Innocent Files – Stories of wrongful convictions

How to Fix a Drug Scandal – Questionable crime lab work, prosecutorial misconduct, sentencing disparity, and judicial incompetence.

Tiger King – The self-absorbed owner of an Exotic Animal Park and his grandiose dreams

The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez – An investigation into the suspicious circumstances of the death of an eight-year-old boy

The Pharmacist – The search for a murderer and the beginnings of the opioid epidemic

Docudrama and miniseries

Selena – Selena’s rise to fame

The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Organizers of a Vietnam war protest are put on trial

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Review of the Netflix miniseries Selena

Review of Selena: The Series rating *****

What’s it take to go from playing in local venues to selling out arenas? The answer is that it takes talent, determination, luck, and a driving force. In the case of Selena, the driving force is Selena’s father, Abraham.

On the one hand, Abraham is the worst example of a parent taking on the manager’s role for their talented offspring. On the other hand, if it wasn’t for Abraham’s persistence and vision, Selena might not have achieved the heights that she did.

The first season of this nine-episode miniseries covers the period from first inspiration to the point where Selena’s fan base has grown large enough that they need to find someone to handle the growing stack of fan mail. That is when the person eventually charged with her murder enters the picture.

I’m quite sure that Abraham Quintanilla had a role in this series. Abraham comes across as both a caring father and a control freak. The actor playing Abraham, Ricardo Chavira, plays both sides of this dual personality expertly. His presence, either directly or indirectly, influences every scene. This is especially true when Selena tries to hide a romantic relationship with a member of the band.

As for the actress playing Selena, Christian Serratos, they could not have found a better actor. The same is true for the entire cast. They are believable as a family. Anyone who has had to sleep together with family members can appreciate the fart jokes.

If this miniseries brings anything new to the Selena story, it would have to be the importance of Selena’s brother A.B. If not for his creative contribution, Selena would never have gone further than a cover band.

Based on the quality of the first nine episodes, I look forward to the second season.

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Review of the Netflix docuseries Manhunt

Review of the Netflix docudrama Manhunt: Deadly Games
Rating *** 1/2

Let me start by stating that I’m not a fan of films based on true events where the filmmakers make shit up to add drama. Take the final escape scene in the Oscar-winning movie Argo. It was suspenseful. Without that scene, the film would have gone nowhere. But it never happened. This Richard Jewel adaptation had a lot of scenes that are not backed up by facts. At the same time, the vast majority of this nine-episode docudrama was factual. So, do you give the filmmakers a pass?

As much as I enjoyed this series, I can’t give the filmmakers a pass on this one. There were too many issues.

Anyone who has ever taken a screenwriting class can tell you about a writing device known as the character arc. The idea is that every character in a story has to evolve in some way. The problem with this technique is that in the real world, people don’t always evolve. Some of the most compelling stories are the ones involving ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances. You don’t need a character arc to tell that kind of story.

In this docudrama, every character, except one, has a very defined character arc. The by-the-book FBI agent finally decides to listen to outside advice. The nutcase South Carolina militia members change their tune and aid the FBI in searching for Eric Rudolf. Richard Jewel’s mother goes from believing his guilt to supporting him.

The one character who holds the whole thing together is Richard Jewel, played by Cameron Britton. His is the sole performance that comes across as authentic. Everyone else in the series is a caricature.

It was all there. The true story had plenty of drama and intrigue. They didn’t have to draw from other films to tell it. Remember the pompous FBI agent in the film Diehard. That is the prototype used for the FBI agents in this film. The armed militia members seen in countless other movies. They’re here. They’re in the bar looking menacing. They’re running around like maniacs in their trucks and firing weapons just because. The one militia member who wasn’t a stereotype was Big John. He had some sense, which is probably closer to the truth.

The one character who bothered me the most was Richard Jewel’s mother, played by Judith Light. Maybe it was the whole character arc thing. Maybe it was the overacting or the stereotyping. If you want to see another way to play the same character, watch Kathy Bates’ portrayal of Richard’s mom in Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewel film.

I’m going to criticize one more scene that stood out to me. This story has an ATF bomb expert who plays a critical role in the film. In one of the first or second episodes, his partner enters a makeshift bomb analysis room ( the ATF agent’s garage) and exclaims that there’s no need to continue analyzing the evidence. The FBI has named a suspect in the Olympics bombing. Rather than having the bomb expert look at the report and then finding inconsistencies in their findings, he dismisses the whole thing as if he already knows that the FBI got it wrong.

Despite my criticisms, I still enjoyed it enough to watch all ten episodes. I’d be interested to hear what other viewers thought. Leave your comments below.

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Mank Quicktake

Review of Mank rating ***

As the year draws to a close, I will soon be putting out my best of everything nonfiction list. My criteria for making the list is four out of five stars or better. I liked this film. It kept my attention. It was entertaining. But I couldn’t get past Gary Oldman’s performance. The real Mankowitz did die from alcoholism. But in this film, the character was under the influence in nearly every scene. I got tired of seeing Gary Oldman stumbling around and being obnoxious to everyone he meets. His character was not likable.

I was also not a fan of the constant shifting timeline. I don’t mind a flashback or two. But this story jumped around a lot. The script was written by the director’s father. It had the feel of an early Hollywood film.

As for the story itself, I liked that a lot of the characters and plotlines were factual. But I’m not a fan of the film Citizen Kane. I would have liked to have seen more about the differences between Mank and Orson Wells and how Mank’s script morphed into the final film.

Bottom line is that this film is worth your time, but it’s not going on my best-of list for 2020. Catch it on Netflix.