The Botany of Desire

The Botany of Desire, based on the book of the same name by Michael Pollan, examines the ways in which plants have advanced their own agendas by ensuring they are attractive to human beings. The film makes extensive use of metaphor, much of it provided by Pollan himself, as there is no language to describe the psychology of non-human species beyond human terms.

Pollan argues that plants share an existential predicament in that they cannot move. Despite this limitation, they have managed to propagate across the planet, sometimes by stowing away and at other times by developing what Pollan describes as metaphorical legs.

The four species profiled in the documentary are the apple tree, which appeals to humans through sweetness; cannabis, which induces a feeling of being ‘high’; the tulip, which seduces through its beauty; and the potato, which gives people the illusion of control by offering high yields of nutrients and calories.