The City Dark

Release Date: 2011

Production Company: Wicked Delicate 

Director: Ian Cheney

Run time: Full Length is 84 minutes.  PBS version is 57 minutes.

Seen on: PBS's POV
Recommended: Yes, poses interesting questions
Website: http://www.thecitydark.com/
Watch NOW: http://video.pbs.org/video/2243423337, available until August 5, 2012

This documenary poses the question: "What do we lose when we lose the night?"

Director Ian Cheney compares the skies visible around the world.  He was raised in Maine, with amazing skies visible due to the lack of ambient light or light pollution.  After moving to New York City, he noted far fewer stars in the night sky.  The massive lights NYC is known to prevent one from seeing most stars.  He then wondered what the effects were of losing the connection to the night sky.

The film casts a broad net of what the night sky means for personal ego, health, endangered species, and mankind as a whole.  The film is broken into six parts, with each section posing questions to the next.  Because I watched the shorter PBS version, the film touches on each subject just enough to tantalize you and want you to learn more. 

I. The City Bright
II.  Islands of Dark
III. Nature and the Night
IV.  Night Shifts
V. Why We Light
VI.  Astrophilia

Neil deGrasse Tyson, the Bronx-born astrophysicist, ends the documentary: “When you look at the night sky, you realize how small we are within the cosmos. It’s kind of a resetting of your ego. To deny yourself of that state of mind, either willingly or unwittingly, is to not live to the full extent of what it is to be human.”

Detropia

Release Date: 2012

Production Company: Loki Films

Directors: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady

Run time: 90 minutes

Seen at: Maryland Film Festival, MICA Brown Center Saturday, May 5 1:30PM
Confirmed Showing: Independent Lens on PBS May 27th
Hosted by: Rachel Grady

Recommended: Yes

Website: http://lokifilms.com/DET_synopsis.html
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/DETROPIATHEFILM
Award: Sundance U.S. Documentary Editing Award
NEW: Now available streaming on Netflix and DVD.

I screened Detropia immediately after seeing Ethel on Saturday afternoon.  Before I get into the review, I sat right next to one of the directors, Rachel Grady, as I sat outside eating my PB&J in between the screenings.  I realized it later as she was introducing the film with MFF Director Jed Dietz.  It was random, and now another reason why I think film festivals are great.

Detropia focuses on the plight of Detroit, Michigan.  Once the fastest growing city in America, it is now the fastest shrinking city in America.  Detroit is 139 miles, the size of San Francisco, Boston, and New York combined.  40 miles of Detroit are vacant.  This documentary highlights the plight of the city and its citizens, but does not provide a neat answer.  One cannot get a neat, concise answer to a problem as big as the one Detroit is facing.

The documentary follows individuals and sees Detroit through their eyes.  Crystal Starr, a Detroit blogger, takes us into the ruins of Detroit.  Detroit from her perspective seems like the ruins of a once great society like Athens or Rome.  The difference is that this society is still living and we gain a sense of the people.  Massive train stations, apartments, and office buildings are left to beautifully decay. 

There are over 100,000 abandoned homes and lots in Detroit.  Some are left.  Some are torn down by city contracts.  Some are burned by arsonists.  Some are torn down and the scrap steel is sold for 11 cents a pound.  (Scrap metal is the United States largest export to China.)

George Mc Gregor, president of United Auto Workers Local 22, gives us an insight into the crumbling auto industry in Detroit.  He drives us all over the city, showing us what once was.  "When the plant left, the neighborhood left."  In 10 years, Detroit lost 50% of its manufacturing jobs.  In 10 years, the US lost 50,000 factories and 6,000,000 people lost their jobs.

Tommy Stephens, owner of the Ravens Lounge, shows us how the loss of the factories affected the neighborhoods as well.  There is a great exchange near the end of the film between him and a female companion.  They consider the future of America competing with countries like China.  She asks "should we lower our standard of living?"  He responds, "I think we're going to have to."  "They're not going to like that."

Detroit's mayor, Dave Bing, was shown in a meeting with urban planners.  This meeting was the first and only one they allowed the production to film.  The urban planners tried to create a land use policy in which they can find sizeable neighborhoods to invest in.  This would mean consolidating the population in order to provide better city services such as emergency vehicles and bussing.  When the plan to consolidate the city is revealed, the citizens of Detroit are outraged.  They consider downsizing a form of segregation that would  have "Gardens every motherf**king-where."  Others are willing to have half a city if they could have it the way they used to.  The debate rages on.

But there is some growth in Detroit.  In 2010, the census reveals that the population has dropped to 713,000, the lowest in 100 years.  But there is a 59% increase in young residents.  Young people are choosing to move to Detroit for opportunities they could not have elsewhere.  We meet 2 street artists who considered Baltimore and New York before moving.  In Detroit, they can buy their own loft for $25,000 and still afford their art studio.  They enjoy the beauty in the desolation of Detroit.  "We can fail, because if we do, we haven't really fallen anywhere."

In all, Detropia is a beautfully shot picture of an American city in turmoil.  We are left with more questions than answers.  We must consider the future of all our cities. How can they survive?  In the words of Tommy Stephens, "This is coming to you.  That's just my opinion."

Burning the Future: Coal in America

Release Date: 2008
Director: David Novack
Run time: 56 minutes for PBS version (89 minutes full length)
Seen on: PBS, see website for Airdates in your area, Available on Netflix DVD
Recommended: YES.  And then turn off some lights.
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 88%
Website: http://www.burningthefuture.org/

The first thing I did when watching this documentary was turn off an extra light.  Look around you.  Do you have too many lights on in your house?  If so, please stop and turn some of them off.  SERIOUSLY, get UP and turn off a light.  I'll wait.

...

...

...

OK, done?  Thanks.  And I am sure the people of West Virginia thank you too.  Burning the Future aired last week on PBS in its shortened format.  This doc takes a look at coal mining in West Virginia.  Deep mining of coal has gone on in the Appalachians for generations.  Coal has fueled our country.  However, deep mining takes time.  They have now frequently changed to the practice of mountaintop removal or strip mining.  Strip mining removes the rock at the top of mountains to expose the coal seams near the surface.  This practice obliterates the environment.  It moves entire mountains, takes out the useful coal, and fills in valleys.

This documentary does not have much animation, graphics, or even elaborate text.  After watching numerous documentaries over the past few months, I sometimes find my attention waning if there is not a great production value.  Although this doc did not have elaborate production, it drew me in.  I was drawn in by the stories of people whose families have lived there for generations upon generations.  They love their homes and want to stay there.  But they are being poisioned by the water coming out of their pipes and the air that they breathe. 

Neighbors are pitted against neighbors.  There are people employed by the coal companies who oppose the stopping the mining.  But their neighbors are sick and dying.  The water coming out of their pipes is contaminated with sludge and runoff.  They have to buy their own water or are forced to know they are getting sick from it.  West Virginia has some of the greatest natural resources, but also has some of the poorest people in the world.  Let that sink in for a minute.  Not just in the US, but some of the poorest people in the world.

As I have said before, the best documentaries engage you.  They pique your interest and even enrage you.  Although I was not sold on this rough looking documentary to begin with, I am now.  WATCH THIS DOCUMENTARY.  Think about what you use and where it comes from.  There are people sick and dying because of the coal companies.  Coal companies consider it "collateral damage" to provide people with the high standard of living they are accustomted to.  One of the interviewees says it best, that he is not "collateral damage."  He is a human being. 

This documentary forces you to consider the lives of people far from you, but intrinsicially linked to yours.  Coal production in West Virginia powers large parts of the country.  So watch this documentary, think about what you use, and then turn off some lights already.

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

Release Date: 2011
Distribution Company: Marshall Curry Productions
Directors: Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
Run time: 85 minutes
Seen on: Netflix DVD and Watch Instantly, Currently available to watch free online at: http://www.pbs.org/pov/blog/povdocs/2012/02/oscar-2012-watch-if-a-tree-falls-online-at-pov-academy-award-nominee-for-best-documentary-feature/
Recommendation: Yes, a thought-provoking film
Rotten Tomato Rating: 88%
Website: http://www.ifatreefallsfilm.com/

With the Academy Awards coming up, I decided to try and watch this years nominees for Best documentary.  There are only two available on DVD so far.  "If a Tree Falls" is the second one I watched, after "Hell and Back Again."

This examines the case of Daniel McGowan, a member of the radical environmental group Earth Liberation Front.  Earth Liberation Front, by their own description, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the environment".

The documentary follows the split between "traditional" environmentalists and radical environmentalists.  "Traditional" environmentalists sought change through peaceful protests and letter writing campaigns.  Radical environmentalists saw these tactics as ineffectual and sought change through more dramatic means.  Earth Liberation Front, or ELF, grew out of this split.  Their means included tearing up federal logging roads and building barricades.  Or chaining themselves to old growth trees slated to be torn down for a parking garage.  Or sabotaging construction equipment and gas tanks.

The documentary follows the ELF from these dramatic and minimally destructive means to arson.  Arson was seen as a way to immediately and sometimes permanently stop an environmental adversary.  Business targeted included timber companies, slaughterhouses, and ranger stations.  The ELF prepared carefully to ensure that no person was injured during their arson.  The ELF was also careful to not leave any forensic evidence such as fingerprints or DNA.  Although the individuals setting the fires wanted to remain anonymous, the ELF was public. They enacted a Public Relations department to speak with the media on why they were setting the fires.

The media and law enforcement called them "Eco-terrorists."  The documentary poses this interesting question: Do these ELF members who set the arson deserve to be called terrorists?  Their actions of setting multiple fires did cause terror.  Terrorism means "the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes".  The actions of the ELF classify as terrorism.  The stance of law enforcement is, "You don't have to be Bonnie and Clyde to be a bank robber. You don't have to be Al-Qaeda to be a terrorist." 

However, reflect on the modern consideration on the word "Terrorist."  What do you think of?  The members of the ELF did not injure or kill anyone during the arson.  Daniel McGowan, the main focus of this interview, was a native New Yorker.  He was appalled to be considered a terrorist.  His actions had not injured or killed anyone, yet he was facing life plus 335 years in prison.

Even if you have not seen the documentary yet, let me know what you think.  Did the actions of the ELF deserve to be classifed as terrorism?  Use the Comments Section below.

Bonus materials on the DVD include: Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Extended Interviews, Updates on the ELF members, and Q&A with the Directors.

UPDATE:  In honor of the upcoming Oscars, PBS POV is now showing this free on their website:  http://www.pbs.org/pov/blog/povdocs/2012/02/oscar-2012-watch-if-a-tree-falls-online-at-pov-academy-award-nominee-for-best-documentary-feature/

Know Your Mushrooms

Release Date: 2008
Production Company: Sphinx Company
Director: Ron Mann
Run time: 73 minutes
Seen on: Sundance Channel
Recommended: Ok, I watched it while making the previous posting
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%

This doc follows wild mushroom gatherers.  It combines exploration to find mushrooms and some amusing animations.  It also includes music by Flaming Lips and The Sadies. 

This doc is an example of one I watched simply to pass the time.  It gave me insight on gathering wild mushrooms.  However, since I do not like any type of mushrooms, this won't be a factor for me.  Sometimes I just watch documentaries to pass the time.  They don't always have to be illuminating or amazing.

Garbage Warrior

Release Date: 2007

Production Company: Open Eye Media UK, iTV2 International, and Sundance Channel

Director: Oliver Hodge

Run time: 84 minutes

Seen on: Sundance channel, also available on Netflix DVD
Recommended: Enjoyable, but you would not be missing anything by not watching it
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 80%

This documentary focuses on the work of New Mexico based "maverick architect" Michael Reynolds. He was a professionally trained architect who came to view traditional architecture as wasteful and hurting the planet. He developed "Earthships" made out of garbage and natural materials to create self-sustaining homes.

He believed that cities were dying and there should be a movement to self-sustaining homes outside of cities. While I applaud his efforts, there is an intrinsic problem with that theory. Everyone cannot afford to move out of cities and become self-sustaining. People in poverty in cities cannot afford their own "earthships." Even if they could, eventually we would run out of space. I was also skeptical of the homes being able to withstand the extreme cold of northern states. However, New Mexico gets surprisingly cold in winter. One can forget that deserts can be cold as well.

The house he was working on at the time of filming was named "Phoenix." It had no water or power lines going in, and no sewage lines going out. It was completely off the grid. It had its own greenhouse growing fruits and veggies. There would also be goats and chickens for the family.

The techniques to build the structures is interesting. He used garbage to create well insulated experimental homes. Glass bottles were used as bricks within concrete walls. The varying colors created a stained glass effect. Two plastic bottles were cut and placed together to create "bricks" placed within concrete walls. Used tires were packed with earth to create a insulated wall.

Because Reynolds' work was experimental, it often had problems. Roofs leaked. South facing window walls overheated homes to dangerous levels. Reynolds had numerous lawsuits against him.

Overall, I enjoyed this film. It was an interesting study in sustainability and made me think about how I can change my everyday life to be more ecological.

After forgetting to blog after a busy fall, I hope to have more posts soon. My recent viewings have included several episodes of Vanguard and The Tillman Story.