Compassionate 'Okja' Strikes A Cord

Okja film poster.

Are there silent tears of the dead swirling on your plate?

Most likely.

Okja is an eye-opening film that asks tough moral questions, aiming to grab audience empathy. It is an honest, critical look at slaughterhouses, raising animals purely for consuming them without repercussions of the cruelty inflicted upon sentient beings. 

Okja and her caretaker Mija (An Seo Hyun) are a sincere pair.

The tale begins with false promises by the Mirando Corporation. They want to create a new brand of meat. Okja is one of several thousand genetically created super pigs raised in different pockets of the earth. She has been kindly raised in Korea by a sweet girl named Mija. They roam expansive mountains gathering fruit, playing games, and saving each other from harm. In other words, more outgoing than a housecat and much larger than a dog, Okja is a different sort of pet. Still, she is intelligent, affectionate, and trusting.

That is, until everything drastically changes for her.

Mija (An Seo Hyun) and the translator K (Steven Yeun) is a shocking scene.

When Okja is taken away, Mija gives a rampant chase that takes her away from her continental homeland all the way to America. Along this compassionate journey, she meets a secret animal rights organization who have their own agenda for Okja as well.

Jay (Paul Dano) and K (Steven Yeun) join forces to get Okja returned home with Mija.

Graphic in nature, Okja is filled with twists and turns that could change a few perceptions on meat industry. For example, the slaughterhouse scenes are viciously terrifying and painfully brutal. Between giant pigs behind electrical fences huddled together with little interactive space or the conveyor belt of them crying out because they sense upcoming torture, there are plentiful bitter pills to uncomfortably swallow.

Another glaring scene is when K told Mija to learn English. It is grossly offensive. English is the only language I speak and write. There is validity in having a native tongue, a rich history that is part of your own cultural makeup. As a black person in America, speaking English is the main part of colonialism's triumph. The language has authority over us. K is lucky to know Korean tongue. He is the only one in the van that can speak to Mija. That is an honor. How many of us wish we knew where our origins hailed? Knew the language of our ancestors? By the end, K understands and appreciates the gift that he has. 

Tilda Swinton (Lucy Mirando) is the perfect villain, especially considering that she stole what should have been an Asian role for Doctor Strange, but that's another story.....

In a world of mostly Asian extras, Okja features a terrific cast led by incredible newcomer, South Korean actress An Seo Hyun (technically not new, she's been acting since 2009). She is believably brave as Mija, daring, and heroic, charging into battle, sleek and purposeful, willing to risk anything, even her integrity for her beloved pet. Giancarlo Esposito is amazingly brilliant as Frank Dawson, playing both sides of the evil fence, a most charming schemer. Steven Yeun is given tons to work with and delivers a flawed character that some will hate and be appalled by. Also impressed by Paul Dano, Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal (almost unrecognizable), and even Shirley Henderson's small role.

Okja's eyes have gone from warm to victimized agony due to many pains inflicted upon her, but she eventually recognizes her dearest friend.

Director/writer Bong Joon Ho (behind one of my favorite films, Mother) produced a solid piece with Okja-- moving, intense, and thought provoking as it simultaneously tackles on mass animal harm, and capitalism together. The pigs are beautifully rendered, especially the superstar Okja, whose eyes tell emotional stories throughout.

Okja asks, "where does compassion meet and sympathy end when it comes to animals?"

Despite its seemingly serene end, there is no happy, peaceful conclusion.

Memorable Glenn Rhee Moments

In memorium: Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) from The Walking Dead, one of the most watched television series on earth right now.

It's been a while since a hard ugly cry over a character death, a barbaric character death at that.
The grisly chill of seventh season premiere of AMC's The Walking Dead contained heartbreaking tragedy as the survival group lost one of its most imperative core members. Glenn Rhee, a major character since season one of the zombie apocalypse series, was definitely one of the highlights, an instant favorite. Sweet, affable, funny, and badass, the former pizza delivery boy matured from funny wisecracking sleuth who drove getaway vehicles to compassionate moral compass of the group (family in other words) to a expectant father with true love Maggie Greene. In the scope of six years, he came into his own, earning the respect and support of his fellow survivor friends, showing strength, vitality, even leadership.
Everybody loved him.
Here's a few reasons why he'll be forever missed:

1. The "come with me if you want to live" introduction to Rick Grimes and the start of the nickname "Dumbass."
From the day Glenn saved the horse riding Rick out of danger, Glenn became an unlikely hero. Always the first to volunteer for the food/supply run, he proved to savvy on the road and off, kicking zombie butt and getting whatever was needed.

2. His strategic capability, bravery, and resourcefulness.
Often Glenn got left in a bind (a somewhat running joke of the series). Still, he knew how to not get killed. Adept and courageous, he was always quick on his feet. Whether finding a shelf to slam into a zombie skull or ripping out bones from a dead body, he could make a weapon out of anything and escape to safety.

3. His great post-apocalyptic romance.
The moment the group found Greene's farm (a temporary sanctuary), Glenn fell for the strong, resilient Maggie Greene. Their love story, filled with triumph and tragedy, brought a deeper maturity to Glenn's character. Yes, he valiantly fought hard to rescue his family from danger, saving Rick and Co. countless times over. With Maggie, however, his heart was on the line. He wouldn't lose that for anything.
He treated Maggie with courtesy and reverence, especially demonstrated after The Governor's disgusting assault of her. Glenn regarded Maggie gently. He broached this terrifying situation carefully, this monstrous added element of surviving horrific mistreatment. This wasn't zombies, this was man. Glenn didn't turn away or revolt from Maggie. He stayed, waiting patiently for her to come to him on her own.

4. His inclusion into a third family.
Hershel Greene, although showing earlier reluctance and disapproval, grew to care about Glenn. In a rather humbling scene, the older man gives Glenn a gold pocket watch heirloom (the opening credits posts this alongside Steven's name). Hershel sees Glenn as a surrogate son, worthy of his daughter, of being an honorary Greene member. It is a passing down of respect and gratitude, thus welcoming Glenn into the cusp of another group of people who love him.

5. His forgiving nature.
Glenn liked to believe in the goodness of humanity, that not all people should die for making mistakes, which perhaps brought on his glistening tears as he murdered people in their sleep in "Not Tomorrow Yet."
Earlier on, Tara was part of The Governor's group that had Axel and Hershel killed, but Glenn (still healing from the flu outbreak and having snuck out of the bus unbeknownst to Maggie) saved lonely survivor Tara from the zombies overtaking the prison. In return, she saves Glenn countless times.
Nicholas, a resident of Alexandria Safe Zone, was a liar who got Aaron and Noah killed. He tried to murder Glenn too. Even then, Glenn didn't retaliate, instead keeping a wary eye on him.
In "Thank You," Nicholas makes the ultimate sacrifice, which in turn, kept Glenn alive.

6. His riot gear.
No other words beyond that, Ladies and Gentlemen.

7. Metaphoric meaning behind his fateful last words, "Maggie, I'll find you."
When they were separated by The Governor's minions to leaving the prison to being abandoned beneath a dumpster, Glenn found his way back to Maggie. He always found her. They always found each other.
Yet this time around, happy endings will be in dreams and afterlife.

Steven Yeun played Glenn with compelling versatility that must be applauded. The Saturn nominated actor delivered a tremendous depth in this phenomenal character journey. With upcoming roles in the animated Chew based on Rob Guillory's comic book series about a Cibopathic detective (psychic visions whenever eating) and action thriller Mayhem about a framed corporate lawyer in the middle of a virus outbreak, may Yeun continue finding more roles breaking away from Asian racial tropes.