Open your mouth and say something; no one’s going to say it for you
Photos by Mark Burnham
I recently went with my dad to see Big Boys Gone Bananas!*, a documentary about the Dole banana company and their campaign of censorship. I was planning on writing a review for the arts section of this paper, but I was mainly going because movie dates with my dad are an institution for us Braeuers. He suffered through every Disney movie for me; I didn’t go see Bridesmaids with my friends, I saw it with my dad. He genuinely takes an interest in the things I find interesting, and I love him endlessly for it. Another reason my dad is great is that he pushes me to do things when I’m doubting myself. My point here isn’t to brag about how well my dad and I get along; it’s to remind you that sometimes its important to ask awkward questions and not be afraid to take a stand and make your voice heard, even if it makes you feel like a social pariah. After the movie, I mentioned how I was thinking about possibly interviewing one of the producers, Bart Simpson. My dad told me to do it, to which I replied, “No, let’s just go,” he sat down on a bench, silently indicating that we weren’t leaving until I did.
After watching Big Boys Gone Bananas!* I realized that it wasn’t something to be dissected and analyzed for an arts review. I should have known better; it’s a documentary, not a film per se. Its subject matter is too important to students at a research university and at a student newspaper not to talk about it, though. The film details events that the producers of Bananas!* experienced: they made a movie about a lawyer that was representing 12 Nicaraguan banana plantation employees in a battle against Dole Food. Dole had allegedly used a banned pesticide that caused sterility among workers (among other health consequences). The corporate entity used its weight to get the documentary pulled from the Los Angeles Film Festival and effectively made it un-releasable in North America. Even journalists at small local or internet-based publications received letters from Dole’s lawyers, offering interviews around the clock to let them know about their side of the story. I won’t spoil the ending, but I will say that the turning point in the legal battle would’ve made Yurtle the Turtle very happy. This film is for anyone looking to have their faith in an individual’s potential to affect change, and the power of grassroots media and communication restored. That brings me back to my real point.
In the film, Simpson makes a comment about the producers’ plans to release the film in Canada, and his doubt that that would be possible. Simpson is a Vancouverite best known for his role in the making of The Corporation. He was at the Vancity theatre that night as a guest and headed a round of Q&A with the audience after the film. Afterwards, I asked him to comment on the remark he made in the film doubting that a film like Bananas!* would make it in Canada, after it had been bullied out of the States. He admitted that he immediately regretted saying it. “I don’t want to live in a world where it’s not possible, because of course it’s possible for positive change to happen,” he said. “It starts with somebody’s idea, then all we have to do is get enough people together to go from sentiment to action, and right now, I think the greatest threat to democracy is apathy.” As much as the film spoke to me as someone marginally involved in journalism, this comment resonated with me the most.
When I came into my position as opinions editor a very short while ago, I naively assumed everyone wanted their voice to be heard and represented in the media as much as I did. I was wrong. The responses I’ve experienced from people I’ve asked to contribute have been shocking. Many responses are along the lines of “I can’t write; I’m an econ/psych/bio/whatever major,” etc. Even more terrifying, though, is the response, “I’m too busy.” As students at a research university that has as radical a past as SFU, we should know better. This is a student newspaper. Its sole purpose is to represent the views of the student community, regardless of major and regardless of political leanings or personal views. If you are a student, your thoughts are relevant, end of story. The idea that we’re too busy is terrifying, because I think it’s just a way of hiding our apathy towards the future and our fear of actually being heard. To be honest, that’s really why I wasn’t as involved with the newspaper as I wanted to be until I got this position.
If we want to have a say in how our world evolves, we’re going to have to open our mouths and say something, because silence won’t ensure our rights anytime soon. “I think it’s totally possible to impact change,” said Simpson as he concluded our micro-interview. “You just have to believe that it will happen and do the work, which is sometimes the hardest part.” That’s the real takeaway. Whether it’s submitting an article to the paper, getting involved in a campus organization, or delving into research to seek new knowledge, we all need to start putting in the work and opening our mouths; no one else is going to do it for us.
