Tonkel+China+Revs+Up

1. China Revs Up (World in the Balance) produced by NOVA directed by Chris Schmidt released in 2004. 2. This film really talks about the magnitude of the population issue and how it will magnify all the problems that we face today. The director does this by showing the masses of people in china who have hopes and dreams of living, consuming and polluting like Americans. The film then goes on to discuss how quickly china and the rest of the world will begin to have major problems if this growth and consumption continues. 3. The film talks about pretty much all the main sustainability issues; pollution, energy use, water and food quality, population growth, depletion of resources and land overuse. However, all of this falls under the major issue of how cultures behavior and value the environment. Because the Chinese people are being brought up on American ideals they are becoming blind to all of the problems many Americans are now trying to fix and prevent. The earth cannot sustain another America and the Chinese have an even greater population. 4. For me the most compelling part of the film was actually the history lesson focused on the downfall of many of the Chinese governments. I have heard all the environmental issues of pollution and global warming, but it was incredible interesting to hear how people react to a food shortage and that the current Chinese government is now importing food in order to sustain its population and avoid be thrown out of power. Even though a food shortage is a terrible thing, it gives me hope to hear that eventually people will begin to stand up against their government when things aren’t working. Also, I found it incredible to think about that a whole civilization and way of government could be taken down so quickly. It is also scary to think that as soon as the rest of the world can’t afford to send food to china that there is the possibility that many people may die of starvation. 5. I found most of the film compelling but just recently I have heard rumors that china is actually focusing more and spending more on becoming sustainable than the United States. The film kind of gave the challenge to the people in the United States to change so that china has a better example to follow however it seems the people in China may be more inclined to promote change than we are. I think that maybe putting us in competition with China may have been a good way to go in order to motivate viewers. 6. This film brings up a lot of different problems. After watching the film I want to learn more about the one child policy and how it is enforced. I remember that it used to be a fairly cruel processes and the movie talked a little bit about how they impose heavy taxes on people with more than one child. Knowing the ins and outs of the Chinese system for population control may help spark ideas for how to develop a humane and socially acceptable way to reduce the population. Even with China’s policy in place, their population is still growing. I would also like to find out a little more why the Chinese government hasn’t demanded higher fuel efficiency regulations for the American cars sold in china. With such a large and growing car market most car companies would have to get cars up to standards in order to make money. According to the film most of the regulations were completely outdated. 7. The film is meant for Americans, but if changed to be an understandable language I would hope it would also have a big affect on the Chinese people as well. The reason I think it best addresses Americans is because it shows the United States as a role model for the Chinese people. The film helps place the idea of immediate change into the minds of Americans and the magnitude of our current lifestyles affect on the environment. It was very important that the film showed how wasteful Americans were and how devastating it would be to the planet if even more countries began to consume in a similar way. I don’t however think this film will really change the way people act. For most people the themes of environmental films are often dismissed over the next few days as their busy lifestyles consume their thoughts. However, for the select few that really take what the video is saying to heart I believe that they will take information learned and push for the political and social change needed. 8. To me the film was really pushing for one major change. In order to prevent the mass growth of these problems in china, the United States needs to start to create and enforce very tight regulation regarding things such as fuel efficiency, air pollution and food quality. Only when this happens can the United States as well as other countries come in and tell and show china what they need to be doing to reduce their consumptive, wasteful, and polluting lifestyles. 9. There are definitely a few ways that this film could enhance its educational value. Like I mentioned earlier in the paper, the film gears towards showing how Americans are the role models and saviors of the Chinese people. I think this film could have had a greater educational value towards its main audience (Americans) if it had gone into more depth on what kind of action the Chinese are taking that the people in the United States have not mentioned, or employed. Lastly, although the film was mainly about the rise of the Chinese people, I think the film could have also increased its educational value by addressing more closely the issues with many other developing countries and the debates about capping their carbon emissions.