A welcome growing trend at film festivals worldwide has been presenting films dealing with environmentally conscious themes. AFI Dallas has actually created an entire block, dealing solely with environmental subjects ranging from the world-wide water problem to the coal industry. The following two films were both hits at Sundance and although I missed them there, I was lucky enough to catch them here, at AFI Dallas. Both of these films deal with the subject of water. While
Up the Yangtze focuses on a microcosm,
Flow: For Love of Water focuses on the global issue (and even references the particular issue dealt with in
Up the Yangtze). Watching either one of these films should drastically change your views on water conservation and modern industry as a whole. Rightly so,
Up the Yangtze has received a limited theatrical release and hopefully more screenings will be available in the future.
Flow: For Love of Water has also received some limited screenings and will most-likely be distributed as well.
A breathtaking cinematic experience,
Up the Yangtze visually displays the problematic nature of industry and technology along the river Yangtze in China. Upon completion, the Three Gorges Dam will be the largest hydro-electric power station in the world. But the ramifications are catastrophic: over 1,500,000 people have been, or will be, relocated; cultural and archaeological sites will be flooded and destroyed; and the negative effects on the habitat of the region is impossible to avoid, due to the dramatic environmental change.
Filmmaker Yung Chang shows the devastating effects the dam has had on the surrounding community. Whole cities are being drowned and their inhabitants forced to relocate. Many families have been promised prosperity by government officials, and yet they tell tales of being beaten and dragged from their homes. The impoverished, though they can't afford to move, are forced to. They can no longer farm because of the vast changes of the land and their homes are going under water. Some, ironically, choose to work on the dam; others, on luxury cruise liners carting rich foreign tourists along the river, as if the destruction of all this geography and civilization were merely an amusing spectacle.
Chang follows two teenagers in particular, who choose to work on the boats: sixteen year old Shui Yu (or "Cindy") and nineteen year old Bo Yu Chen (or "Jerry"). They are given "American names" for the benefit of the tourists. As a footnote, they're also not allowed to talk about current politics or anything that might make the Americans more uncomfortable (particularly, anything related to the independence of Canada, the struggle in Northern Ireland, and the monarchical system of the United Kingdom). Shui Yu comes from an impoverished family who's had to build a hut from scraps because they cannot sustain themselves in the city where you have to buy vegetables and pay rent. Because her family is so poor, Shui Yu really has no choice but to work. She must forget about attending high school (she used to dream of being a scientist, but knows that fantasy is an impossibility). Bo Yu Chen, on the other hand, aspires only to have a lot of money and holds solely himself in esteem. His selfish behavior gets him into trouble, however, and because of it, his success is fleeting.
Clearly an ironic metaphor for what's happening to the region, these two teens, along with their fellow co-workers, sleep under the main decks in rooms filled with bunks and lacking air-conditioning, while the tourists marveling at the changing environment enjoy fine dining and all the amenities of a luxury cruise line. The metaphor becomes clear towards the end of the film when an elderly man stands on the dam and stares out over the drowned cities and flooded landscapes and notes only his amazement with the Chinese government, for its ability to split the gigantic river in two. He smiles faintly, as we linger on his brittle face. A similar sentiment earlier in the film gives us a downtrodden man attempting to defend the actions of the government, but in the end, finds himself weeping uncontrollably.
Martin Heidegger was deeply concerned with man's relationship with nature, specifically when dealing with the question of
Being. He wrote that man's increasing technological quest was directly changing his relationship to Being. That man is concerned only with conquering nature, severely alters his ability to be harmonious with nature. In this passage from his essay entitled, "The Question Concerning Technology," Heidegger describes the hydroelectric power station on the Rhine river:
The hydroelectric plant is set into the current of the Rhine. It sets the Rhine to supplying its hydraulic pressure, which then sets the turbines turning. This turning sets those machines in motion whose thrust sets going the electric current for which the long-distance power station and its network of cables are set up to dispatch electricity. In the context of the interlocking processes pertaining to the orderly disposition of electrical energy, even the Rhine itself appears to be something at our command.[1]
The problem has been festering for some time now. Where so many philosophers have argued in favor of conquering nature to suit our own practical needs, others have found that view point problematic from the start. Aristotle, for example, was largely concerned with merely
understanding nature, while Descartes, the "Father of Modern Philosophy," wished to "render ourselves masters and owners of nature" (cf. Descartes'
Discourse on Method). As Descartes' view of the world became the prevailing and popularized view of the world, at least when dealing with Western philosophy, Heidegger warned us of it's consequences, from a purely philosophical perspective. Now, we're seeing the practical complications of technology and industry, as such.
Up the Yangtze ends with a joke told by one of the inhabitants of the river Yangtze, a worker on one of the luxury cruise ships:
Two leaders, one an American and the other Chinese, are riding along in a car. They come to a fork in the road. To the right is the way of capitalism. To the left is socialism. The American leader suggests they go right. The Chinese leader agrees; though he suggests they do so, but turn on the left blinker.
***
Director Irena Salina deals with the global issue surrounding the need for water conservation, due to the shortage of water world-wide, the social and political ramifications of privatization of water control, the startling realization that water all over the world is basically unsanitary, and the negative impact of water bottling.
Not only are governments building enormous dams, largely funded by the World Bank, that displace millions of people, but most of the world's water goes largely unchecked--both out of the tap
and into the bottle. Millions of Americans, for example, get sick every year due to the stuff found in the water supply. And bottling companies are doing immense damage by sucking out all of the water in local areas and destroying the habitant and natural environment of nearby inhabitants. Far worse, they're taking all of the water and, in cahoots with government officials, forcing the poorer people to pay for the water that's already theirs.
The film focuses a great deal on local, community water sanitation systems in India that are affordable and practical. One of the neatest systems referenced in the film, is basically a merry-go-round for children. When the children spin each other around, the machine goes to work. Many governments shut these systems down, however, and substitute largely inefficient and costly systems, at the expense of the local community. The locals then have to walk several miles and pay a ridiculous amount for the water. Most of them cannot afford to pay, so they take their chances on the polluted river water.
What really made me cringe, however--and what really hit close to home--was the facts presented about major bottling companies and their practices. It's fairly common knowledge now that most bottled water is not from the springs or mountain valleys or whatever; but mostly just tap water. Many people that I've talked to about bottled water, say they drink it because, even though it's tap water, it's filtrated and more reliable than city water. Yet there's really no evidence to substantiate this. Unfortunately, there really is no regulation in the industry; and what little regulation there is, largely goes unchecked due primarily to a lack or resources. So, the bottled water you're drinking could actually be worse than the city tap water freely available at home.
Both of these films deal with the harsh realities of privatization of industries and the drastic negative effects they've had worldwide. The fact is that this is, and will remain, a global problem. No government or company should ever claim ownership or control the water supply, as it is necessary and essential for human survival. When President Skroob sucks the air out of a can (see
Spaceballs), we all had a laugh because it was a parody: no one would ever really own air, would they? But corporations and governments currently own water and manipulate the water supply to suit their needs. Let's stop this before the slippery slope continues.
Sign the petition to add a 31st article to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, establishing access to clean water as a fundamental human right (thank you
Flow: For Love of Water's website for making this accessible).
Labels: AFI Dallas.08, Festivals / Screenings, film, It's easy bein' GREEN, Movie Reviews
It was Friday, April 18th around eleven o'clock in the morning. The morning and evening before, I'd called a local 
It was a dark and stormy night... No! Really, it was. In fact, I was stuck under an overpass, avoiding an intense hail storm, as I was entering I-35W off of HWY 121, heading into Fort Worth. The storm passed over in less than five minutes and I was back on the road, heading for The Scat Lounge to see Johnny Reno play and hang out with my friend Pete before we both head out (Pete's going to be working with me in Atlanta). The last time I heard Johnny play was at The Lone Star International Film festival, with The Rumblers (including Robert Rodriguez, T. Bone Burnett, Paul Boll, and Harry Dean Stanton), where they played the soundtrack from Road Racers. The set he played on this particular evening was perfectly timed. The band was really into the vibe and the storm gave the room a more intimate feel. In addition to the coolness of Reno and The Lounge Kings, we had the pleasure of hanging out with two other of Fort Worth's own: James Hinkle and Paul Boll--whom I can call a friend, 
Hi! My name's Adam Donaghey and this is my weblog. 
The Abductors (producer)
