Angry Inuk

Writer-producer-director-star Alethea Arnaquq-Baril offers a documentary detailing her position on the right of the Inuit to hunt seals. She shows images of her people with seals, their dependence on sealing both for food and for income. She discusses the anti-sealing movement, how they cancel events when Inuit announce counter-protests and refuse to meet with her.

Without going into the issue for or against, I found it an essay on her position, offered as a movie. It maintains a calm, rational tone throughout, but it remains a well-produced, one-sided piece.

Spellbinding cinematography, beautifully put together and edited. A compelling story. The film explains the relationship between the Inuit people and the seal hunt, and the dishonesty inherent in the anti-seal-hunting campaigns of so-called animal rights groups. The film is not just an excellent work of art. It also raises important ethical questions. I do hope this film finds a large audience because it deserves to be seen.

As one who considers himself an animal lover and as one who has also lived almost his entire existence in urban and suburban environments, this excellent documentary was a true education for me, not only about native North American culture but about rural existence itself and how we define "subsistence". Suddenly, an empty refrigerator takes on an entirely different meaning for me, and I don't believe that I will ever see the world in the same light again, thanks to director Althea Arnaquq-Baril.

During the film, I noted how the Inuit people utilize every bit of the animals that they hunt while wasting the absolute minimum. As I watched, I noticed how the director accomplishes the exact same result by employing every frame for its maximum impact on behalf of her message and her cause. What also struck me was her deep love and dedication to her people and their way of life. This truly impressed me.

One of the director's critical points was exposing the self-interest of many political organizations as they exploit their cause, as well as their supporters, for the sake of ends that may be unrelated to their publicly stated purpose but rather to the promotion of their own political power and even their own material gain. Without unfairly singling out animal rights or animal welfare groups, I have personally experienced this deception all too many times on the part of many political organizations. It is a disturbing but valid observation, and the director is very successful in presenting her point of view.

What this film accomplishes is the very important lesson that some situations contain two very compelling arguments that oppose each other. In this case, well intentioned people may not realize how their actions, specifically in the form of an economic boycott, may seriously affect the lives and very survival of other people. The film also illustrates how people who sit on two opposing sides of an argument can find common ground and common goals, in this case working together for the health of our planet.

It was eye opening to learn about more about Inuit culture in the modern world, and to hear their side of the argument on the EU's ban on seal products. It was also eye opening to watch people eat raw seal brains out on the ice after a kill, and then cut up the giant chunks of meat on a tarp in the living room, inviting friends over to eat (eek). Director Alethea Arnaquq-Baril does a good job of showing how traditional ways have adapted, interviewing various members of the community, all of whom are thoughtful and peaceful. She also makes the case that in addition to their own use of the meat/skins, Inuits depend financially on selling seal products into the global economy, that banning these in a world that sells copious quantities of other animal products is hypocritical and discriminatory, and that a more nuanced policy decision, one that had catch limits and other provisions would allow her people to survive without turning to other means, e.g. attempting to profit off of mining, which may be harmful to the environment. It's a pretty compelling argument.

Right or wrong, the documentary is biased, which is maybe appropriate given just how financially powerful and well represented the other side is, but I would have liked to have seen it more balanced. That's of course hard to do when animal rights groups refused to be interviewed or appear on talk shows with Arnaquq-Baril. She tries to distance herself from the massive seal hunt off the coast of Newfoundland, but showing it and the numbers of some of these species before activism got regulation passed I think would have at least shown where the other side was coming from. The argument that something is part of a culture and therefore sacrosanct is problematic for me personally when it comes to animal rights, because it's so often misused and in ways that are driving many species to extinction (e.g. cultures that covet tiger penises, shark's fins, and ivory tusks). To cast groups like the Humane Society and others as seeking profit over protecting animals, when in many places they're doing good in the world, seemed like it was going too far.

Inuit hunting is done with respect for the animal and in harmony with the environment, and certainly far, far more humane than factory farming. (This is probably the documentary could have expanded on, or the impact of alternative products, instead of repeating its central point again and again.) On the other hand, other groups of people have the right to decide what products they're willing to support, particularly in a world where veganism is on the rise. It's unfortunate that there wasn't more of a compromise here, because as Arnaquq-Baril says in one of her more telling moments, given their mutual respect for the environment, they should be on the same side.

Beautifully executed film that helped me come to grips with unintended and intended impacts of anti-seal hunt campaigns of 'southern' organizations that didn't appear to consult Inuit. Although as a Canadian, I was aware of the importance of the seal to the Inuit way of life, I had no idea of how central the seal hunt was to their economic survival. This film illustrates the hard uphill struggle of a small community of 30,000 people against animal rights organizations which continue to raise millions of dollars through pictures and dolls of cute harp seals, although that harvest was banned 30 years ago.