Over the weekend I saw the powerful and disturbing film "Manufactured Landscapes." It's by an artist who has been shooting pictures for the past decade of landscapes (natural and man-made) created by modern industry. The artist takes a very neutral tone in the movie and lets the images speak for themselves (usually there is no dialogue).
Then the movie moves on to a metal recycling yard where people on their knees sift by hand through mountains (literally) of scrap metal to pick out the valuable pieces. It's no surprise that there's an entire mound of nothing but metal bases from old irons.
From there we see many images from mining operations, ship decommissioning yards, the 3 Gorges dam project in China, and other industrial sites that are desecrating the earth in horrific ways. We also get a feel for the people this is affecting. I wish there was something upbeat to say, but mostly this is a fascinating and nauseating look into what modern industrialism is doing to the planet and people. Clearly this is not a sustainable way of living. We need to curb our rampant consumerism & energy usage!
Film homepage & trailer.
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