ProsackHenry-Blue+Gold

=Blue Gold=

Blue Gold: World Water Wars was written by Sam Bozzo and was released 2008.
 * 1.** **Title, director and release year?**


 * 2.** **What is the central argument or narrative of the film?**

The documentary film, Blue Gold, discusses the water wars in the world. Water has been determined as a commodity, and a great source to the economy. Once this was decided, companies began to gain power over it. The main argument of this movie is that we need to be aware of who controls our water, and that we as human beings should have ownership over it as our right to live. There should be no need of the privatization of water and the distribution of water bottles. The fact that water companies advertize the water they filter and distribute is better than the water that your local city or municipality gives is absurd. There is really no difference between these two water sources. Studies have even shown that bottled water can weaken your immune system as it is not subject to the impurities that keep us strong. The water issue is a huge sustainability problem and it needs to be addressed worldwide. Even though every government knows that water is a serious problem, there is no guarantee that they will make the situation better.


 * 3.** **What sustainability problems does the film draw out?**

The most significant and possibly the most important sustainability problem in our world today that concerns everyone is water. One can go a few weeks without food, but only a few days without water. Water in itself is a sustainability problem. Corporations are involved, of course, as water is seen to provide a great profit. However, these companies have been conducting in businesses that have hurt regions of the world significantly. Companies have placed the value of water higher than the value of carbonated beverages in regions of the world. They have come into 3rd world cities and taken over the water supply. They began charging the residents high values of water which they used to get for free. This has forced people to get their water by other means due to the fact that they cannot afford the water that the companies are distributing. These unregulated water sources are heavily polluted, which increases the health problems of the population significantly. These companies are viewed in the international eye has giving aid to these areas. However, these companies receive more than they contribute. Water companies have bribed politicians in order to gain total control over a region’s water supply. We are pumping 15 times more water from groundwater systems than what’s going back in. Corporations are trying to convince the population that desalination is the key to increasing our water supply, yet we don’t have the necessary energy to achieve it. The Aral Sea was depleted almost entirely due to the pumping of water. Could this happen to other water sources? Yes.


 * 4.** **What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?**

What is most interesting about this entire situation is that many populations understand what is happening. There have been revolts and movements against the governments and corporations that are involved. Organizations have been formed in order to raise awareness against water companies. However, Michigan brought another equation into the mix. They started filing SLAPP suits against multiple organizations for huge amounts of money. These organizations do not have the money to go to court. They have to cede to the large corporations. However, these organizations are winning in the end. Water companies try to change their name and image because of the negative press they have received. We have become aware, and we are fighting back.


 * 5.** **What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by?**

There were no parts of this film that I wasn’t compelled by. This situation has infuriated me.


 * 6.** **What additional information does this film compel you to seek out? Where do you want to dig deeper and what connections do you want to make with other issues, factors, problems, etc.?**

I want to research my own companies that reside in my region and affect my neighbors. I live in Maine, and the major water company there is Poland Springs. As I was growing up, I loved Poland Springs. Their water seemed to taste so pure and was very convenient to my needs. As an athlete, I would drink their water in order to fuel and replenish myself. However, I never ceased to realize that the water from my tap was as good if not better than Poland Springs. It comes from a huge freshwater lake known as Sebago. The lake will never stop giving water to the residents of Maine as it is replenished by rainwater and the levels of the lake maintain its normal height. We do not need a water company as Poland Springs providing us water. In this very movie, Poland Springs was mentioned to give a local activist group that was against them 50 bottled water bottles. They graciously dumped the water back into the streams that belong to all of us. That was an extremely touching scene for me. I will never buy Poland Springs ever again. I don’t have any personal hatred against the company, as they are trying to make a profit like any other person (see? They are considered to be an entity of a person). However, as a consumer, I have the right to buy whatever product that I desire. I desire the water that comes from the tap.


 * 7.** **What audiences does the film best address? What kind of imagination is fostered in viewers? Do you think the film is likely to change the way viewers think about and act on environmental problems?**

This movie focuses on every human being on the planet. For those to understand the concepts that the movie is portraying, they can make the necessary adjustments in their lives and possibly join or create organizations in their local areas to educate the public. I believe this film will change the viewer’s opinion on bottled water and question the source of who controls the water that they receive. On a national and international scale, governments need to understand how serious the sustainability issue of water really is. It will be this realization that will hinder the water companies’ impact on the problem. As I’ve said, in order to create a change in the government, we need to gain media attention of the water organizations and their goals on national levels. Politicians know how valuable water really is, as seen by the Military base built in Paraguay and the purchase of land there made by ex-president George W. Bush. However, when it comes to major issues such as these, all politicians are the same. There are no partisan boundaries, which is what the government wants you to think. The government has created the water issue as a partisan struggle, and this has separated the population to choose both sides. In reality, we need to address water as a serious sustainability issue and forget all the politics. This film has the power to help our world’s problem of water.


 * 8.** **What kinds of action or points of intervention are suggested by the film?**

This film suggests the viewer to observe where there water is coming from and understand how these water companies are affecting our regions. By activist organizations, we can stop a water company’s control over our water supply and receive what is rightfully ours as living beings. The film showed the revolutions in Bolivia and in California to demonstrate that it can be done and that there is a significant problem. Projects have also been formed in order to retain our water resources. Project Blue Alternative has been focused on digging holes in arid areas in order to hold water, which will in turn replenish groundwater systems. There are many more projects such as this that are out there, and the film is encouraging the viewer to help solve the problem. The cycle of water that we learned in elementary school actually does not exist. Let’s change it back the way it used to be.


 * 9.** **What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value?**

This film did a fantastic job of conveying the environmental effects that the water companies and governments have caused. They touched base on revolutions and organizations formed in order to fight the companies and governments involved and showed that they were successful. I have suggested these films for my friends to watch, even though they are skeptical of “environmentalists” or “tree-huggers.” I have had no success in showing these films to my friends. However, people can show them to their families and schools can educate their students with these documentaries including this one. Blue Gold did an effective job on portraying the environmental issues as well as the involved sustainable problems concerning the water problem.