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| New Movie Called 'Soft Core Eco-terrorism' for Kids | |
| 2006-05-01 | |
| (CNSNews.com) - Three middle school children band together, sabotage a construction site, gag a land developer and take him hostage. But their criminal conduct, aimed at saving the habitat of burrowing owls from "greedy land developers" isn't reality-based. It's the subject of a new movie that one entertainment reviewer labels "soft core eco-terrorism" for kids. The movie, "Hoot," opens Friday May 5. It features environmentally conscious teenage characters vandalizing heavy machinery by stealing parts off of them and flattening tires in order to hinder a development project. The teens, who ultimately succeed in halting the project, spray paint a police car that is providing security, trespass, rip up surveyors' stakes, place alligators in portable toilets, release poisonous Cottonmouth snakes at the construction site and evade the police. The teenagers also debate stealing the construction trailer and sinking it into a nearby canal to further delay the project. The teenagers in the PG-rated movie face no repercussions for the illegal acts and instead are portrayed as heroically preventing the construction of a pancake house in South Florida to save the owls' habitat. There are consequences, however, for the pancake company. In addition to facing construction delays and cost overruns because of the kids' actions, the company's project manager is arrested at the end of Hoot for violating environmental protection laws. The film's trailer urges viewers to "break the rules" and features one of the lead characters saying "You gotta start thinking like an outlaw."
------------- Hoot is already ruffling the feathers of at least one expert on eco-terrorism. "Hoot is not just pushing eco-terrorism. It's pushing social and political terrorism as well," Ron Arnold, author of "EcoTerror: The Violent Agenda to Save Nature: The World of the Unabomber," told Cybercast News Service. "Hoot's so-called harmless 'mischief' is training a generation to look cute while burning homes and cars and stores. Eco-terrorism is serious. Eco-terrorism is arson and pipe bombs and hate that hurts people and destroys lives," Arnold said. He had not yet seen the film when interviewed by Cybercast News Service. "Hoot's Hollywood producers wouldn't think it was so cute if it was their studio the kids destroyed," Arnold added. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 I saw the trailer for this movie back in October. (side rant: was trying to see the Wallis and Gromit movie & had to sit thru THIRTY MINUTES of kid flick trailers. Grrrrr. /side rant) I immediately recognized it for the eco terror apologia that it is. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-05-01 10:51 |