Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes the other night. It was pretty good. James Franco was good looking, and John Lithgow was great. About part way through the movie, I kept saying, "The apes better escape soon; I can't take much more of this." I was struggling with seeing the animals in cages, experimented on and abused. I really don't like it.

A movie like this forces me to confront my own beliefs. Or at the very least examine my behavior. I wouldn't buy cosmetics that are tested on animals, but what about drugs. I mostly only take the occasional pain reliever or cold medicine. But those were probably tested on animals. I would never deny anyone life-saving medicine because it's tested on animals.

How about food? I only buy organic eggs because producing conventional eggs amounts to chicken torture. But I still eat meat, and most of the time it's not organic meat. It was probably raised in a CAFO, or concentrated animal feeding operation. Those places are bad for the animals, the earth and any people who live nearby.

So I sit and watch this movie and cringe at the suffering of animals, but then I have to realize that I share some guilt in causing it.

Perhaps I was thinking too much, and should have just paid attention to the entertainment value of the movie?