Hooray, lovies! I say again…HOORAY!
Just a quick follow-up to the May I Be Frank blog post…we finally found it ONLINE (thanks, Saundra!)! The full documentary can be viewed on Hulu Plus (for those of you who don’t have the Plus subscription, I believe you can get it free for about 7 days. Plenty of time to watch the video!). So, pull out your fave juice and have a ready supply of Kleenex on hand. This is one you’ll enjoy.
Happy viewing!
I saw Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead for the first time on the first day of my very first juice fast. Unlike many, I had not seen it before deciding to jump into the juicy water. However I, like millions of others, immediately fell in love with it, Joe Cross and Phil Staples, and was inspired and encouraged to power on during my cleanse.
Almost two years later…I can honestly say that as much as I adored FSND, I wish I had seen May I Be Frank first. Now y’all know I don’t use the word “should” often, but this is a notable exception. You SHOULD see this movie. Like, now.
Meet Frank Ferrante: a 54 year old, obese, depressed, negative, and addicted New Yorker. One day in San Francisco, he walks into Cafe Gratitude – a popular raw vegan restaurant – and, after discussion with a couple of the servers about love, life and regret, decides to jump into a fully coached 42-day raw cleanse. And that is just the start of it all…what follows is one of the most emotionally gut-wrenching, heart-charging, unexpectedly jarring, raw, real, and phenomenal documentaries I have ever seen about cleansing. This is a tear-jerker, y’all, that will have you cheering!
Two reasons why I wish I had seen it first: one, I love how you see how NEW everything is to Frank. His first wheatgrass shot, his first affirmation, his first colonic…it’s all new and his reactions are real. Two, and most importantly – after going through a cleanse, I realize (and try to relate to all of you) how frickin’ frackin’ EMOTIONAL the process is. I tend to come across folks who think juicing or cleansing through raw foods is all about energy, weight loss and achieving that happy-happy-joy-joy state of being. It is SO much deeper than that, however – it’s as if your soul detoxes, as well. All your issues come to the surface and jump right up in your face, and if you aren’t ready for that, it can seem downright soul crushing. You look around at all these happy shiny people and wonder, “what the heck is wrong with ME?“…when everything is actually happening exactly as it should. This is what the documentary prepares you for.
(Insert caveat here: No one’s journey is the same, so the way your demons may appear will not be the same as your neighbor’s. I am also not saying that everyone’s trek is going to feel like you’re being raked over the proverbial coals, but to be prepared for it to happen is better than to think the journey is going to be all roses and you end up with thorns in your ass.)
FSND is a wonderful, wonderful film, and I am so happy it has inspired so many to get healthy and change their lives. However, May I Be Frank goes deeper and, I feel, better preps you for the realities of cleansing. It shows how you can try, fail, try again, fall down, kick, scream, cry, fall…and how all of that is a part of your success.
For those of you who are about to embark on a cleanse, check out the documentary. For those of you who have tried and “failed”, check out the documentary. For those of who who desire with all your heart to make a healthy change in your life, keep the Kleenex handy and check out the documentary. You will not regret it.
You can find more information about it at http://mayibefrankmovie.com. Happy movie watching!
Happy 2013, Raw Raw Lovies!
Okay, I know I’m late in the well wishes and all. I KNOW it’s been more than 3 months since I’ve posted on here! You have to give me a break…pregnant people move a lot slower than most. LOL! The first six months have brought about a LOT of sleeping. Now that I have a little more pep, the videos (and other surprises) will resume on Monday! Until then, there’s another great video I want you to watch.
Click the pic to watch it on PBS!
“Soul Food Junkies” is a BRILLIANT documentary that looks at how our love of southern cooking came about. And when I say “love”, I mean LOVE of fried chicken, BBQ ribs, mac & cheese, collards with hamhocks or turkey, sweet potato anything… I mean, some of these foods are absolute STAPLES in our households, am I right? Well, why is that? Where did it come from, why do we associate this food with love and family…and what happens if we turn away from it?
In the film, Byron Hurt (director, producer and writer) tracks his father’s life, death and addiction to soul food, and then asks how it affects our communities, our health and well being, and the future of our children. Now, when I say “our”, I mean that the documentary reviews it from the Black perspective. However, I truly think this is a movie for all to see. The phenomenon of southern cooking isn’t just in the African-American community, and the very real food issues the filmmaker comes across, such as peer pressure, “food deserts” in poorer communities, lack of acceptance to change within family units, the need to educate our children about fruits and vegetables, and addictions to fast/processed foods due to a lack of cooking in the home affects us all.
If you loved “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead” and “Hungry For Change”, you’ll adore this movie. As a matter of fact, even if you DIDN’T see those food documentaries, take an hour to watch this amazing film, Soul Food Junkies, and then tell your friends and family to watch it, too. It streams on PBS.org until January 22nd!
Back with more goodies beginning Monday, lovies. -C-
Raw Raw Life! 