Favorite Things - Mostly Indie Movie Edition

Meg has inspired me to do a favorite things post! For some reason this one turned into a movie post.

Thundershirt

My dog has anxiety. Ever since her brush with death, I think she's realized she is weaker than other dogs, or at least that she's not immortal. She woofs at noises outside our house--like kids playing and trucks starting. I used to punish her and get upset, until one day, when she was barking like crazy and I wasn't yelling at her, she came to me and hid under my legs. It was then that I realized her woofing wasn't disobedience, it was anxiety. And as soon as I understood it, I have been better able to help her.

I now take her outside (after warning the children that I have a "silly" dog) so she can see the kids she was afraid of. She'll bark at first but then begin wagging her tail and insisting that someone play with her. When she hears the truck start across the street or sees a neighbor pass by our house, I smile and tell her "Olive, it's okay." And she starts to believe me. Her woofs turn from anxiety to just a quiet complaint. I described this phenomenon to a lady at a pet store and she showed me the ThunderShirt.

Using Temple Grandin's research, the shirt gently applies pressure around the dog's chest, and much like swaddling a baby, the constant pressure on the nervous system calms her. She's calmed considerably since we bought her one, and it just may be a new favorite thing. In fact, just now I heard children playing and shrieking. Normally she would start pacing and woofing, but while wearing the shirt she perked her ears up to listen for a second, and went back to dozing on her rug. It's got a money-back guarantee, so check it out. It's beautifully humane.

Temple Grandin Movie

Speaking of the Thundershirt, I have to plug the Temple Grandin biography they did on HBO. This movie is just one of those that leaves you both smarter and happier than you were before. It tells the story of the woman whose autism helped transform the way we think about animals. It's a fascinating and incredibly enjoyable true story. The focus of the movie is on her young adult life as a researcher in the very male-dominated cattle industry. And just trust me, it will hook you. 

Furthermore, it's accurate. I watched an interview with Temple Grandin and she says they use her real pictures and duplicated her actual projects, and it's totally clinically accurate. Everything from how they show her thought processes to Claire Danes acting was exactly how it was for Temple in the 1970s. She seemed to quite enjoy the movie but pointed out that she's different now because she's on anti-depressants which help her anxiety. Check out the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpkN0JdXRpM

Arranged

Another small movie that I absolutely loved. Arranged is about a Muslim woman and and Orthodox Jewish woman who are teachers in New York. The story is about their developing friendship and their arranged marriages. A movie about arranged marriages could have gone a lot of different ways, but the story it tells is satisfying and heartwarming. I really loved it. It's on Netflix instant and you can find the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP9tnjaXrDk&feature=fvwrel

Hysteria
A comedy of manners about the history of the vibrator as used to treat hysteria in Victorian England starring Maggie Gyllenhaal. If you're not already dying to see this movie, I don't know why we are friends. It was, well. . .hysterical. It made the audience--composed of almost entirely of the over 50 set--explode in great paroxysms of laughter again and again! It's a new release, so make it a date night to your local indie theater.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK8Gg8jQt4E