TuttleJPFilm10

John Peter Tuttle Film Annotation #10 – Burning in the Sun 11/13/2011 Word Count: 1,025 1. Title, director and release year? “Burning in the Sun” is a 2010 documentary directed by Cambria Matlow and Morgan Robinson. 2. What is the central argument or narrative of the film? The film is a documentary about Daniel Dembélé’s efforts to start a business producing and installing solar power systems in Mali in West Africa. It documents both the efforts of Daniel and the issues he runs in to, as well as the issues the people he is working with have. 3. How is the argument or narrative made and sustained? How much scientific information is provided, for example? Does the film have emotional appeal? The narrative does not really provide any scientific information. It does not really spend any time explaining the scientific details behind the technology they are using, but it did not really need to, as the point of the film was more how the technology helps those who obtain it, rather than the details of how it works. It does have emotional appeal; the parts of the movie showing how having solar electricity systems would help communities was particularly interesting; it was fascinating seeing how much a seemingly small change would make in people’s lives. 4. What sustainability problems does the film draw out? Political? Legal? Economic? Technological? Media and Informational? Organizational? Educational? Behavioral? Cultural? Ecological? Most of the issues in the film stem from lack of power in the first place; in the sorts of areas the film discusses, power sources that are not sustainable are not really practical in the first place. The film discusses the need to educate people on how to fix the systems they are installing; there is no point in setting up a green solar power system if the people running it do not know how to fix it. It also deals with the economic issues of the prices of solar cells; Daniel usually works with broken cells that larger companies do not have any use for, manually assembling the housing and wiring himself, and teaching others how to do so. This spreads into a bit of an organizational situation – it bypasses the need (and higher prices) of importing cells, and ends up starting local businesses selling solar cells, power controllers, and other electrical equipment, as well as providing jobs for local farmers. 5. What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why? I found the parts of the film where people discussed what they could do with the power quite compelling – it affected all parts of life, as it allowed people to work or go to school after it gets dark out. There are some sources of electricity already there, but they tend to cost money – and require lugging batteries around – so the solar systems being installed would also allow people to feasibly run televisions and radios, allowing them to stay informed. Another quite persuasive part of the film involved water – apparently many of the problems they are experiencing have to deal with water – sickness, issues with crops, etc. One of the uses they show is rigging up a solar-powered water pump. <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">6. What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by? Why? <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">There were not too many parts of the film I was not compelled by; it was interesting seeing a film that focused more on the human aspect of these sorts of issues, rather than just the technology. <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">7. What audiences does the film best address? Why? <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">I would say the film would best address people who are already interested in the topic; that being said, pretty much anyone could still enjoy the film. <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">8. What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value? <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">Some more scientific information or statistics might have helped, but I am not sure it would really fit in with the style of the movie; as it is now, it does not use any sort of infographics or animation to communicate scientific information; the information is communicated informally as people talk about the solar cells as they are working on them. Overall, the film was good educational-wise, even if that was not quite the intended purpose. <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">9. What kinds of action and points of intervention are suggested by the film? If the film itself does not suggest corrective action, describe actions that you can imagine being effective. <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">Overall, the movie //itself// seems to be about a particular solution – that of using solar power systems in countries that need electricity. Providing these sorts of solutions to places like West Africa works, but at least in the places the film discusses, the solar power systems are not displacing existing systems that are not environmentally friendly. The use of green power is more due to convenience, rather than needing to offset existing environmental problems. <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">10. What additional information has this film compelled you to seek out? (Provide at least two supporting references.) <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">One particular website that the film actually mentioned in the credits was Practical Small Projects. It is the site for an organization that works in South Africa; the organization describes itself as an organization that “creates new health, education, and income-generating opportunities in West Africa through the provision of potable water systems, health care centers, schools, and solar energy”. It is interesting seeing what they are doing; in one place, they are setting up an Internet café; this shows the vast differing conditions in different areas – in the movie, Mali was having solar power systems installed, while other areas have enough infrastructure to support Internet cafés. <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">“Practical Small Projects.” [] <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">I also found an article discussing solar power in Mali. It discusses some of the issues teachers were having in Africa – students obviously had problems with the limited amount of time available for schoolwork; however, teachers had to make lesson plans outside that time, and solar power made it easier for them to work, as they do not have to strain their eyes as much. <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">Madamombe, Itai. “Solar Power: cheap energy source for Africa.” Africa Renewal, Vol.20 #3 (October 2006). p10. http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol20no3/203-solar-power.html