“What happens when a vegetarian moves to the last frontier?” This may sound like the introduction to a wry joke, but in this case the answer I am looking for is not “they become fair game like the rest of the herbivores.” Rather, this is the question that filmmaker Ellen Frankenstein uses to frame her latest documentary, “Eating Alaska,” a semi-autobiographical film about a reforming vegetarian and Alaska transplant learning to eat locally and connect with her new neighbors. A self-described “former city dweller now living on an island in Alaska, married to a fisherman and deer hunter,” Frankenstein’s latest film tells of her journey into the lifestyle that epitomizes all we love about life in this fine territory. She takes us on a culinary tour of Alaska, and introduces us to all manner of fine people, in her attempt to answer one question: how best to eat in the state, in moral as well as nutritious and economic terms.

Most exceptional about the film is how Frankenstein manages to present a wide variety of issues and points of view, but without breaking her narrative or betraying any of her own personal judgments. She spends time interviewing, cooking, and eating with gardeners, hunters, and fishers, both Natives and non-Natives, and even manages to find a vegetarian support group in the state (though for their protection I won’t reveal where). In her words, the goal was “to break away from the industrial food system, when that means not only buying fresh seasonal food from local farmers, but also taking part in the world of hunting and gathering.”

In short, it is as if Robert Altman (director of the recent Prairie Home Companion movie, among others) decided to do a cinematic adaptation of this column—matching the spirit of what I try to say perfectly, but in a way that is much funnier and far better conceived.

The release of this film, which is still screening across the US, could not be better timed. The potent media buzz around local food seems to have passed, leaving us with a bit of food fatigue and shelves of books by the likes of Pollan, Kingsolver, and Neiring, which offer more advice (some good, some not so) than anyone could figure out what to do with. In its place, we find hopes for a new president and concerns over a failing economy. That one should be replaced with the other is somewhat ironic, however, as this new period of economic turmoil that has so dramatically captured our nation’s attention is nothing less than a clarion call to address the very issues that Frankenstein and these authors explore! The media may call this an ‘economic’ crisis, but that is only because ‘economics’ is the sole social framework they can understand. Our country is, and has been, in a human, social, and cultural crisis, and while much work needs to be done to correct the many dysfunctions in the state and federal economic and bureaucratic machines, at least as much work needs to be done at home.

I believe strongly that the way to make these changes is through food, that if we learn to once again make food the center of our households and communities, we can undo the decades of damage done by a culture that has learned to believe that food is cheap, dirty, and a nuisance. Eating is as much a political act as it is a cultural one, whether or not you wish it so; feigning ignorance to the political nature of the foods found at Wal-Mart or Safeway is nonetheless a political act, just one of complacency at best and megalomania at worst. Through Frankenstein’s lens, however, we find a much needed source of reassurance in these stubborn times, and see how clean and cultural and invaluable our food can be.

I hope that you all find a chance to view this fine piece of work, one enriched as much by its humility and optimism as it is its wit and good humor. It is now springtime in Alaska; my favorite time of year here if only for the inescapable feelings of rebirth and possibility. I went to bed last night after noticing the birch had just started to bud, and woke today to a swath of green beginning to overtake yesterday’s brown landscape. What better time imaginable for us to draw on what makes us unique as Alaskans to tackle this ‘economic’ crisis, for a frame of mind that questions, reconsiders, and plans anew?

To date, ‘Eating Alaska’ has been screened all over. Some of the notable screenings include; the UA Museum of the North’s ‘Hunting and Trapping’ exhibit; the 2009 Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival in Nevada City, CA, where it won official selection; it even followed me to Tucson for a screening at this year’s Slow Food Tucson Film Festival. The official DVD release is coming in summer of this year. The next screening in Alaska is on Friday, May 15^th in Anchorage at the 2009 Alaska Dietetic Association Spring Conference.

For more information on screenings of ‘Eating Alaska’ as well as Ellen Frankenstein’s other films, go to http://www.eatingalaska.com.

This story is reprinted from the May 2009 issue of the Ester Republic

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 3:44 pm by Philip Loring and is filed under Feature Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.