WTF: Mia Farrow’s Hunger Strike Against Genocide
Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on April 23, 2009
So I’m surfing entertainment news the other day, and I saw the most ridiculous headline I’ve seen in a long time:
Darfur genocide inspires actress hunger strike.
I go on to read about Mia Farrow, who’s most famous for being Woody Allen’s main squeeze before he went on to bang her daughter, is planning a hunger strike to show solidarity for the people of Darfur after the Sudanese government cut off all aid last month.
I know that hunger strikes have been somewhat effective in some cases, but that’s usually from people in the situation (e.g., the Guantanamo Bay hunger strikes) or a political leader that has a large number of followers (e.g., Gandhi). But Mia Farrow?
What the fasting?
Now don’t worry… I’m not about to take any pro-genocide stance. For the record, genocide is an awful, awful thing. It’s… well, it’s an atrocity. It’s one of the reasons we have a word like “atrocity.”
However, some skinny-ass celebrity going on a hunger strike isn’t doing anything to stop genocide, or other atrocities for that matter. Sure, a has-been actress like Mia Farrow can raise a certain awareness of what is happening. But seriously, is there anyone in this world who hasn’t heard about the genocide that’s happening in Darfur?
At least the documentary filmmakers who make movies about the atrocities in Dafur are bringing the message home. Sadly, Farrow’s ridiculous hunger strike is doing nothing but her name in the news.
A greater cause for a hunger strike would be to protest the fact that Popeye’s Fried Chicken has discontinued its spicy chicken strips. You can only get the regular ones now.
I’d like to call for a hunger strike for this, since it makes more sense than what Mia Farrow is doing. After all, a hunger strike against Popeye’s Fried Chicken would ensure that we no longer eat Popeye’s Fried Chicken. And, if they ever give in to my demands for the return of spicy chicken strips, we can celebrate the end of the hunger strike by eating those delicious spicy chicken strips.
The same reasoning falls apart for some crazy American celebrity refusing to eat to send a strong message to anyone.
I really doubt that anyone in the Sudanese government or the Janjaweed, the group that is committing the numerous atrocities, is going to say, “Holy crap! Some scatterbrained celebrity is starving herself. I guess we should stop a-rapin’ and a-murderin’!”
Moreover, I really don’t think that anyone starving to death in Darfur is going to be comforted by Farrow’s sign of solidarity… especially since she’s consulting with her doctor and has now declared that she is limiting her hunger strike to only 21 days.
Sheesh. What a lightweight!
The people of Darfur thank you, Ms. Farrow.
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