This cute commercial playing now for Samsung - a Korean Company - begs the question...which came first? No, we don't mean the chicken or the egg... Rather War or the Imperative for Sustainable Life?
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Saturday
Film Review: Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives
By Gina Hall
[Guest Blogger Gina Hall has a Film Degree from USC. Her day job is with Global Green USA in Santa Monica]
The documentary Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives: The Environmental Footprint of War is a shocking revelation of the long-term environmental impact of America's wars over the past century and isn't for those with a weak stomach or who want to pretend we're always the good guys. From hundreds of sunken World War II ships slowly leaking oil, to Agent Orange, to land-mines and cluster bombs that still litter a landscape, the film highlights America's lasting legacy in the war zones we've left behind after declaring "mission accomplished."
Filmmakers Alice and Lincoln Day feature several expert talking-heads who guide the narrative matter-of-factly through our various assaults on the lands in which we wage war. It's not an entertaining documentary, it doesn't use animation or clever editing to engage. It has facts and visual evidence on its side. And if the melted faces of children affected by Agent Orange or the landmine-mangled foot of an elephant doesn't viscerally affect you, then you have a harder heart than mine.
A statistic the film cites is that prior to the past hundred years 90 percent of war victims were combatants and 10 percent were civilians. Now it is the reverse, with 90 percent of victims being civilians to 10 percent actual combatants. The total body counts may be lower, but the documentary makes clear the human costs of spreading "freedom." In addition there's the toll on our coral reefs, water supply, soil, air and just about everything else we need to sustain life on Earth. There's a cringe-worthy moment of footage of a U.S. armed forces official selling the natives around Bikini Atoll on their important contribution to humanity in allowing nuclear bomb tests near their homes.
It becomes clear that people in these conflict areas don't hate us, as Bush said, because of our freedom, they hate us because we're assholes. We seem to have a bad habit of bombing, consuming resources, salting the earth and moving on. The film doesn't look to place blame on our men and women in the armed services, but does shine a light on economic policies that put them there. With documentaries like this, it's getting harder and harder for our government to sell war as the humanitarian act of liberation. If you have to see the proof for yourself, the images are here and they're not easy to look at.
The film is being aired locally around the country, is available for screenings and on DVD. For more information visit www.scarredlandsfilm.orgPhoto Credit: Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives
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Thursday
Evolve Love Live - Legacy of Climate Crisis
COULD THE CLIMATE CRISIS CREATE THE GREATEST LOVE STORY ON EARTH?
“Evolve Love: Love in a Time of Climate Crisis” is a creative feature documentary (in progress) that will take us on a voyage to discover the ways in which planet wide climate catastrophe could propel us into a sustainable future founded on empathy for all life on earth.
Chronicling the birth of a global “movement of movements” forming to confront climate change, EVOLVE LOVE will reframe the despairing, apocalyptic narrative that is dominating popular discourse around the crisis, transforming it into a moving love story.
The film will feature compelling stories of everyday individuals who are living with the devastating impacts of climate change, while taking us through to the emerging “BRIGHT GREEN” sustainability movement, which offers the energizing confidence of constructive solutions and action, showing that we can reduce our ecological footprint while improving our lives.
With director Velcrow Ripper’s signature awe inspiring visuals, a powerful soundscape, compelling animation, moving stories of crisis, restoration and sustainability, combined with the wisdom of the greatest climate crisis visionaries, EVOLVE LOVE will be an inspirational, transformative and engaging viewing experience.
When: May 23, 2011, Doors 6:15 pm, Start 7:00 pm
Where: Vic Theatre, 808 Douglas St., Victoria, BC
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