Reaction to "More Than Honey" Essay example

Submitted By PSDoe
Words: 1318
Pages: 6
Open Document
Already regarded as a definitive work on bees and the decline of the world’s honeybee population, More than Honey, directed by Markus Imhoof, is a captivating journey into the unseen world inside the beehive. Watching the documentary I was spellbound from the moment the film opened to the eerie drone of buzzing bees and curiously placed shots of honeybees working in their hive. From start to finish the film utilized cinematic shots to elicit the empathy of their viewers and engage them in a whirlwind exploration of the causes leading to the current crisis the honeybee faces today. The film’s plot is constructed through a sequence of interviews featuring a great range of characters from all over the globe including scientists, farmers, and curious bystanders that all offer unique perspectives on the crisis of the dwindling honeybee population. Their interviews were seamlessly woven together in a compelling narrative that slowly revealed astonishing facts and disturbing figures. We began the story in Switzerland with aging beekeeper Fred Jaggi who speaks about his grandfather’s experience in beekeeping and his own relationship to the honeybee. John Miller, an almond farmer, hails from California and speaks of the bee’s critical role to the agricultural industry and its direct impact on his livelihood. Because he imports his honeybees all the way from Australia, he also talked about the honeybee’s role in the global economy and the use of genetically modified/ specially bred bees in farming and the ethics of production. The ethics behind honeybee breeding are further explored through Heidrun and Liane Singer, scientists/ farmers from Australia who provide the honeybees used on Miller’s almond farm. By removing queen bees from their hives they fool entire colonies to raise new queen bees, thus manipulating nature’s cycle and facilitating the artificial creation of new colonies to ship across the globe. Randolf Menzel, a German neurologist, explains how this phenomena is possible due to the neurology of the bee, which lends itself to bees acting like neurons in a collective brain operating a hive. Across the globe, we witness the effects of the dwindling honeybee population through Zhang Zhao Su, a poor Chinese farmer who sells small packages of pollen. We then meet Fred Terry, a man with an interesting take on killer bees. Though dangerous, he believes they may be the answer to recuperating the world bee population because they are more resilient and have not fallen prey to domesticity in agriculture or disease. Throughout the story, interviews were introduced and embellished by voice-over narration from legendary British actor John Hurt. The use of narration in the film was interesting to open the film and offer additional facts and figures about bees, and I agree that the use of a narrator added to the film. Because the film contained some dense scientific information and had to tie together stories told in several different languages, I think the average viewer would have been lost without some further clarification about what was happening beyond the interviews. While some critics say they found the narration distracting, I enjoyed that it was very poetically written and airy, adding an even greater sense of beauty and mystery to the world of the bee. Watching “More Than Honey” didn’t necessarily sway me to think differently about the decline of the honeybee- as an environmentally conscious young person I already recognized the decline of the world bee population as a disturbing problem. However, watching this documentary certainly did better inform me of some of the key facts surrounding bees and their role in agriculture. Perhaps more significantly, in learning more about the honeybee my eyes were truly opened to the severity of the consequences of the death of our most important agricultural agent- 70% of human food crops and 90% of wild plants rely on the bee for pollination. The numbers are relatively easy to
Show More

Related Documents: Reaction to "More Than Honey" Essay example

Dust Allergy Research Paper

Home Remedies for Dust Allergy Dust allergy is a reaction to tiny bugs that live within the house. Dust are not visible but are mostly caused by dust mites, furs from animals, cockroaches, pollen, mold etc. Getting rid of dust is not so easy. Dust allergy is due to the the inability of the body's immunity to fight unknown substances like pollen, mold and so on. Lots of health disorders can be triggered by dust mites. One may feel as if one is suffering from asthma and flu. Dust mites can be likened…

Words 750 - Pages 3

water e-notes Essay

Chem – Preliminary – Water Water is a habitat: - • Water bodies have the advantage that they show less temperature fluctuations than do land and air masses. Define the terms solute, solvent and solution. A Solute is the substance (solid) that is placed in a solvent (liquid), and dissolved to produce a solution (a combination of a dissolved solute and a solvent). • It is a habitat for life forms such as fish, algae and bacteria – the place where they live. - Sec 1 – Water…

Words 4416 - Pages 18

Nutrition and Body Essay

eggs) Complete proteins contain adequate amounts of all essential amino acids. INCOMPLETE- Vegetable proteins (grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and other vegetables) are incomplete proteins because they are missing, or do not have enough of, one or more of the essential amino acids. Incomplete proteins can combine to form complete proteins. Eg Mexican beans with corn tortillas Deficient in protein: - swelling of the tissue - slow healing - stunt growth -impaired digestion…

Words 1740 - Pages 7

Diet: Glucose and Complex Carbohydrates Essay examples

molecules. Carbohydrates are so named because the structural formula is typically (CH2O) n, where n is an integer such as 5 (C5H10O5), 6 (C6H12O6), etc. Although this formula might suggest that carbon atoms are joined to water, the actual molecules are more complicated. For example, the glucose formula C6H12O6 suggest six carbon atoms and six water molecules. Carbohydrates, which include the sugars and polysaccharides, have many important functions in biological systems. Like most classes…

Words 1016 - Pages 5

Caffeine Bees Essay

“Nectar That Gives Bees a Buzz Lures Them Back For More” I chose this article for two main reasons. Reason one, I am a stage four caffeine addict. I get the shakes and wicked headaches if I don’t have my daily dose of this. Therefore, I related to this article and the poor honeybees with my same addiction. The second reason I chose this article is because I have an interest in Honey Bees. I used to draw them all the time as a kid and now I’m looking into a bee-keeping course here in the city. So…

Words 482 - Pages 2

biology aer Essay

coolant, medium for metabolic reactions and transport medium Coolant Both plants and animals use the evaporation of water from the surfaces of their bodies to facilitate cooling (sweating and panting in animals, transpiration from leaves in plants) Water can be used to carry heat to cooler places in our bodies (countercurrent exchange of thermal energy) Medium for Metabolic Reactions Water can dissolve many organic and inorganic substances to facilitate chemical reactions Water can also absorb thermal…

Words 1096 - Pages 5

Learning Coach Essay

had and make sense of new information in ways that really embedded the new learning. He suggested we learn best when new material is in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) - not too easy, and just challenging enough that, with a little help from a more experienced person, we can master the material and shift our Zone upward. When I thought about this I realised this had been a model used widely for centuries to pass on skills and knowledge, from parent’s teaching their children basic survival skills…

Words 2966 - Pages 12

Creative Writing: Guinevere And King Arthur

servants presented a mouth-watering meal of roast carp in a wine and butter sauce, honey bread, and spiced carrot pudding. A large pitcher of mead and two tall tankards sat in the middle the table. The moment the servants left the chamber with a bow, Merlin groaned with delight and leaned forward to sniff the delicious aromas wafting from the steaming plates of food before him. Arthur wrinkled his brow in reaction to Merlin’s response to the meal. “Merlin, it’s just supper. It’s not as if you don’t…

Words 1253 - Pages 6

Dr. Kim Phillips-Fein's Invisible Hands

Dr. Kim Phillips-Phillips-Fein’s’ book, “Invisible Hands; The Businessman’s Crusade against the New Deal”, traces the conservative intellectual movement and that of American business with their repeated response towards the Federal government’s intrusion into American capitalism from the 1930s through the end of the Reagan era. The author provides a chronological and succinct methodology detailing many historical precedents and incidents where American business had attempted to counter the effect…

Words 1611 - Pages 7

Collectivism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

In contrast with other species, humanity does not possess a natural ability or instinctive reactions but does have a capacity to think new ideas about techniques; are methods of creating tools and being able to construct artifacts, which makes up characteristics as being a human species (Buchanan). Equality 7-2521 has a fascination about the world…

Words 844 - Pages 4