Educational Media Reviews Online

The daily horrors of animal abuse are the focus of The Ghosts in our Machine. However, focus is exactly what this film lacks. Scenes of fur farming, animals being kept in horrific conditions, scenes of dead and abused animals are intertwined with scenes of Jo-Anne McArthur (the photographer) frolicking in a meadow with a cow. As Ms. McArthur photographs the animal abuse, the viewer is taken along to abandoned properties, meat factories, dairy farms and back alleys in an attempt to spotlight the abusive behavior she is uncovering with her photography. Ms. McArthur clearly states in the film that she is not there to help or rescue any of the animals but to photograph what happens. As she attempts to sell her work for distribution which is also portrayed in the film, one wonders if this is meant to be a biographical or informational film.

While it is apparent Ms. McArthur is very passionate about what she does and very much an animal activist, the manner in which the information appears in the film is very confusing to the viewer. The lack of focus with the multitude of topics touched upon by this film, jumping from cows being slaughtered to laboratory animals being used for research makes it difficult to grasp the benefit of viewing this film.