Page 11 - Spring 17

A review by Mark Carpenter, UK
On April 10th 2015, I was lucky enough to get to see the second London showing of “Just One Drop – a Film about Homeopathy”, at The Artworkers Guild, Queen Square. This film, directed by Laurel Chiten, is not one made by a flag-bearing fanatical pro-homeopathy doctor / vet / patient, but by someone who sees it as an example of a perfectly legitimate minority being stamped on by a majority with vested interests. As Laurel says in her statement on the film website:
“Homeopathy has been maligned and misrepresented for 200 years. All I am trying to do with this film, Just One Drop, is give homeopathy a voice, a
Laurel Chiten
“I want JUST ONE DROP to open up a dialogue, get people talking to each other, asking questions, and sharing information. My ultimate dream is to have homeopathy available as a health care option for everyone and be integrated into healthcare systems
around the world. ”
voice that continues misinterpreted.”
to be
spouted out the dogma they have been fed by the pharmacy-led anti brigade. When asked “What is homeopathy?”, answers such as “It’s a bogus medicine” and “It is scientifically proven not to work” amply illustrated, why this film is such an important project. We as a group are, perhaps, too insular in our approach to “getting it out there”. As a veterinary group, we continue to try to squeeze our message through the narrow confines of the conventional rules of “evidence based medicine” and all the bias that this entails, plus work with the Veterinary Times as the main outlet to vent our frustration and try to get the message across, when their ONLY interest is entertaining the readership to such a level that the big pharma’s and pet food companies continue to pour funds into their burgeoning bank accounts, and nothing does that better than encouraging everyone to be on the bully’s side, when he beats up a perceived minnow, and persuading them that he is doing them all a favour. Anyway, back to the film!
continued on p10
Having a non-homeopath as the driving force behind the film could be seen as a point of weakness by some, but it results in a film which is likely to be more accessible to the intended audience of potential patients and those simply curious, though it may leave the medically trained slightly wanting. This is of no matter, as this film is carrying an important message into the public domain, and does so in a very effective manner.
Nor is it a film funded by those with any vested interest. Crowd-funded by Indiegogo, an Internet search reveals that funding of $80,543 USD was raised by 686 backers. This evident passion of the unnamed 686 is matched by the passion of the message carried by the end product. We are indebted to those, who were prepared to financially back this to make the idea a reality.
The film starts with a number of interviews with the general public, many of whom
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A Film by Laurel Chiten (Blind Dog Films)