The conversation that was sparked on my review of Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein’s documentary, The Business of Being Born, was a heated one.
Basically, it went like this:
“Ricki Lake bases her advocacy of homebirth on mistruths, half truths and outright lies. Don’t let her fool you.” - Dr. Amy
“I’m not fooled by Ricki Lake. And I’m not fooled by stats either. There is a problem with how birth is approached in North America.” - Danielle
“Women cannot make conscious choices and be empowered when they are fed mistruths, half truths and outright lies.”- Dr. Amy
“Empowered women’s health and wellness can only take root when girls and women are taught to love and accept our bodies for the amazing eco-systems that they are.” - Laura
“No, birth has been considered agonizing across time, place and culture!!! This is not a matter of personal opinion. It is irrefutable fact.” - Dr. Amy.
APPALLING FACT: The US has the second highest infant mortality rate in the developed world.
APPALLING FACT: In the US, midwives attend about 1% of births (in the rest of the world, it is about 70-80%.) There is a connection - and mainstream medicine is missing it, to our great detriment.
Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein’s documentary, The Business of Being Born, is an eye-opening expose of how years of (mostly male-driven) American medical tradition, and the commercialization of health care has effectively veiled women from their natural abilities and wisdom. We are vastly unaware of our choices, our power, and the damage that unaware birthing is doing to our psyches and our social well being. It’s not about right or wrong, homebirth vs. C-sections, it’s about knowing the potentially positive and negative effects of every option.
This documentary took my breath away. Quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines, dams. Renowned artist Edward Burtynsky photographs civilization’s materials and debris, in a way people describe as “stunning” or “beautiful”. If Al Gore’s noble but yawner of a doc, An Inconvenient Truth woke you up to the plight of the eco-system, Manufactured Landscapes will shake your senses into a whole new reality. The imagery of what’s really happening — the Thailand beach where old oil rigs are dissembled, the Chinese villagers picking apart computer mother boards — will astound you.
Best Documentary – 2007 Genie Awards
Best Canadian Film – Toronto International Film Festival
Best Canadian Film & Best Documentary - Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
Nominated for Grand Jury Prize- Sundance Film Festival 2007
