The Ghosts in Our Machine

An appeal for animal rights as seen through the lens of photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, whom we follow in her mission to raise animal awareness. She accomplishes this not by taking direct action, but through her photos. From mutilated foxes, frenzied mink and laboratory dogs to pigs and cows crammed together like sardines, her collection covers all aspects of animal cruelty. She is acutely aware that making her argument through these images is far more effective than using words. Because, as an undercover investigator comments, the industry and insurance companies can easily repair physical damage, but they are threatened by media attention. In her own words, “Liberating the animals is not gonna change the system. My role is to educate people.” Watching the film, we are taken along on guerilla photo shoots at monkey and fox breeders, protests against the pork industry, to visit adopted lab dogs and for a day of photography at an aquarium. We also get to visit Farm Sanctuary, a reservation for farm animals where McArthur takes refuge when the animal suffering gets too much for her. Here, and in McArthur’s internal monologuethat accompanies the images, we are offered a window into the soul of this fervent animal lover. The contrast between the photos documenting the factory farms and the romantic images from the Farm Sanctuary becomes ever more jarring as the film progresses.