This week I finished:

Transformer: Transitioning as a World-Record Powerlifter, directed by Michael Del Monte, starring Janae Marie Kroczaleski: Wow! A fascinating and illuminating documentary in two ways.

First, it showed the struggle of someone with two competing inner drives. One is to develop huge muscles and compete in bodybuilding. The other is to be a woman, though born a man.

This movie revealed the struggles of navigating society and some family while including the joys and support of other family. It showed the inner conflict that these desires create in our world. I’ve known plenty of people who don’t consider themselves male or female, yet this movie revealed a story and situation beyond what I’d seen, with more clarity.

The interactions with mother and father were brutal, but those with the sons were uplifting and inspiring.

Second, it showed someone helping others face society not accepting them, even at great personal cost. This part resonated with me, as one living according to one culture (sustainability, Do Unto Others, Love your neighbor as yourself, etc) in the territory of another (America, which has jettisoned those values, at least when the environment mediates how we affect others).

I recommend this movie.

The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet, by Jeff Goodell: I felt disinclined to read this book. It looked like another catastrophe book telling me how bad things were without helping. Actually, after finishing it, that’s what the book was. Still, I enjoyed some of the writing and learned some things.

But I don’t see how the book helps. People who know our situation and are already acting are already acting. I don’t see it motivating people not acting to act. Most of all, the author isn’t acting on the warnings. He’s flying around, moving across the country, acting like any member of our culture.

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