Forget climbing mountains, going on long hikes, exploring new mountain bike trails or swimming in the lakes.
There is one thing that you must do this summer go to the movies.
Now, even though I love going to the movies, generally I wouldnt publicly advocate spending a few hours in a dark theatre with a tub of buttery popcorn and a ridiculously overpriced Coke. I especially wouldnt advocate this behaviour in a place like Whistler where its so easy to enjoy the outdoors and so shameful not to.
But, after seeing two documentaries, Super Size Me and Fahrenheit 9/11, Im thinking the movie theatre is one of the best places to be this summer and I havent even seen Spiderman 2 yet!
These documentaries are guaranteed to have an impact on you in some way. At the very least, theyll get you thinking and talking about stuff that we already know but we never really talk about.
I saw Super Size Me first. You all know the basic concept. A guy eats at McDonalds three times a day for a month and the results are shocking, to say the least.
Its enough to make you vow to never eat another Big Mac ever again, or a Whopper, or Wendys, or Taco Bell or pizza. At least, thats what I did when I left the theatre. In fact, I decided never to eat fast food ever again unless I was in dire need.
I suppose its easy to make a promise like that after you see the effects of a Big Mac diet.
Its not so easy to keep that promise when youre starving, theres nothing in your fridge and you have to drive by McDonalds on your way home from work, especially when you can practically taste the burger in your mouth.
Who can deny the tasty delicious bite of a Big Mac?
As explained in the film, McDonalds classifies people who eat at their restaurants a couple of times a week as "heavy users."
That was a huge wake up call for my boyfriend, who enjoys the odd afternoon cheeseburger more than once a week.
Even though it was distressing to see the filmmaker subject himself to the diet, and throw up after his first Super Size meal, you knew what he was doing was extreme.
You would presume that the vast majority of average people dont binge on fast food morning, noon and night.
And then the movie shows you that in fact there are a number of ordinary, average people who drink gallons of pop every day or who eat a plate of fries for lunch. Particularly kids in high school with no one watching over them, cautioning them on the dangers of an unhealthy diet.
Hmmm, food for thought.
The point of the movie I suppose is not to swear off fast food altogether, although that wouldnt necessarily be a bad thing. The point is to be a little more aware of what we shove into our mouths every day without a second thought to the consequences of what we eat.
Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock certainly had second thoughts after putting on 26 pounds, and sending his liver into a tailspin.
Its a movie everyone should see. Just like Michael Moores latest movie Fahrenheit 9/11.
There have been countless reviews to date about Moores new film. Some love it, heralding the brave filmmaker for standing up to "the man." Others pan him for his one-sided view, which Moore readily admits is a part of this movie.
Whether you believe George W. Bush is an idiot or not, whether you believe Michael Moore is one-sided or not, this is still a film worth seeing. Heres why.
Its not brilliant because it reveals the links between the Saudi Royal family and the Bush royal family, or because it basically implies that the war in Iraq was fought for the wealth of a few men.
Although, personally I thought that was quite brilliant.
Instead, you should see the movie to remember.
Its been nearly a year and a half since the war in Iraq began. Its easy to forget what happened and whats continuing to happen.
Remember that hundreds of innocent Iraqis died during the bombing. We seem to forget about that when its not top of the nightly news.
Remember that hundreds of American soldiers have died during the bombing and the occupation. We seem to forget about that unless theres a beheading reminding us otherwise.
And never forget that there were no weapons of mass destruction ever found in Iraq.
When you see Fahrenheit 9/11 you cant help but feel duped. But its not the Bush administration that has duped all of us.
Instead, we duped ourselves.
I felt like we had all this information at our fingertips and instead of learning more about it, we buried our heads in the sand.
Were we not watching the news? Were we not reading books, magazines and the newspapers? Were we not paying attention? How did we miss all this?
Its staggering when you really think about it.
Dont see the movie in order to endorse everything Michael Moore has to say. Dont see the movie to jump on the anti-Bush bandwagon.
Just see it to open your eyes to something new.
And so, though Spiderman 2 may have all the flashy effects of a Hollywood blockbuster, and though King Arthur might have all the romance and history going for it, and lets not forget the antics in Dodgeball, its the documentary thats making a comeback this summer.
And theres nothing like a good documentary to spark a good conversation, not to forget all those passionate promises to stay away from fast food.