Over the Hedge

Last night I watched the most random of movies: Over the Hedge. The basic plot involves a scheming raccoon who tricks a group of animals to work together and gather a massive amount of "people food" in order to feed an angry bear. It was very strange for me to watch it because my perception of the movie was noticeably different than the people around me that haven't been submerged in a food ethics class for three weeks. Although the movie was quite blatant in criticizing American suburbia, I noticed many very minute details pertaining to the food system. I recalled in one part of the movie the raccoon was handing out samples of potato chips to all the animals, praising the MSG for giving it that extra kick, not to mention the caffeinated soda that sent the animals bouncing off the walls (er, uh, trees?).

In the beginning of the movie, the raccoon was portrayed as a sort of an entrepreneur of the processed food industry, advocating the consumption of modern amenities of processed food like caffeine and high fructose corn syrup. The interesting thing was the way in which the writers created a moral by having the ultimate food source be the nuts gathered by the squirrel. It was refreshing to see such a lesson being taught in a kids movie, although most kids were probably caught up in the hilarity of the animals downing potato chips, not to mention how appetizing it all looked.

One of the more subtle aspects that the movie touched on was the convenience factor in deciding what to eat. That sneaky raccoon convinced the other forest animals how much easier it would be to get people food than spend a long time gathering the food that they would normally eat. This concept is directly reflected in society today because although Michael Pollan might spend a couple weeks creating the perfect meal composed completely of food hunted, foraged, and cooked by him, the typical American would much rather crack open a box of hamburger helper. The end of the movie, however, was somewhat unrealistic because it created a happily-ever-after situation in which the squirrel used his power of caffeine to quickly gather enough nuts to feed the whole family. This portrayed organic food as being superior to processed food, but providing the viewer with no realistic means by which to arrive at that point. But, hey! It's just a kid's movie, right?