Presenting: A Portland Pig Perspective

watched this one entirely through the lens of someone who lived in Portland for 20 years. was most fascinated by the tension between the down-to-earth Oregonians who live here simply because they love nature, and the old (and increasingly new!) money Portlanders who could care less about the environment. this resentment has only been building as more and more people move to Portland -- especially since many of these newbies tend to be on the wealthier side. their rampant capitalism and disregard/disdain for those who want to live simpler is actively changing the city, molding it into a much different type of trendy that is only accessible to the rich.

obviously gentrification is not a problem that is only endemic to Portland, but Pig does an effective job of demonstrating some of the more location-specific parts of it. the foraging/truffle sub-culture is huge here -- i used to work at Powell's Books (located in the bougie NW area of the city, where much of the film takes place), and our mushroom section was always hoppin'! the people love their fungi! but in order for foragers to survive under capitalism, they have to make money, which often means having to begrudgingly work with the fancy restaurant suppliers who are antithetical to their beliefs. again, i think the film is at its most interesting when it's excavating these latent tensions (and the few times the titular pig is actually onscreen).

ok, that is my Portland Pig Perspective! i award it 10/10 pigs for authenticity: 🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖