In 1923, Rudolf Steiner predicted that imposing an ill-fitting industrial culture on bee cultivation would end up destroying the bees' own successful, adaptive culture. As one reviewer in Seattle said "there's a deeply, embarrassingly human truth to his criticism of our attempt to modernize bees for productivity, when they are still our leading models for density, sustainability, and allocation of resources." Directors Taggart Siegel and Jon Betz have made a poignant film about relationships. It is a love story if you will, between bees and the world.
Thus, rather than bees as agricultural product or tools for humans, Queen of the Sun offers a counter narrative, bees as teachers, and with much to show us.
Thus, rather than bees as agricultural product or tools for humans, Queen of the Sun offers a counter narrative, bees as teachers, and with much to show us.
The story is often told from the bees-eye-view including zoooming through fields at bee-height, your eye attracted by vibrant colors. And bees in close-up or en masse appear with the human "supporting characters," as Taggart Siegel calls them. They are beekeepers (commercial, backyard, and rooftop), farmers, philosophers, scientists, celebrities (Michael Pollan, Vandana Shiva), artists, and educators.
The movie is getting enthusiastic reviews-- quirky, fun, funny, visually beautiful, interesting, and important. It is in Vermont this next week and with such great reviews it will be popping up in more and more places. You can watch for it online at
Field of wild mustard waiting for bees
Bee boxes arrive
A bee look-alike the Snowberry Clearwing Moth, nemaris diffinis, another great pollinator
2 comments:
I saw it last night and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Bill Marcinkowski
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