TuttleJPFilm8

John Peter Tuttle Film Annotation #8 – Blue Vinyl 11/13/2011 Word Count: 1,050 1. Title, director and release year? “Blue Vinyl” is a 2002 documentary film directed by Judith Helfand and Daniel B. Gold. 2. What is the central argument or narrative of the film? The film focuses on the issue of toxics in PVC and other forms of vinyl. It discusses the health risks and affects of both being near PVC and manufacturing it, some of the issues around scientific research into these issues, and potential alternatives to vinyl that people are working on. 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 is from a first-person perspective, like most of the films we have seen in class; it is shown from the perspective of someone who is curious about the safety of the vinyl siding that they are getting replaced on their house. The movie uses interviews with people in the vinyl industry, people near vinyl plants, and an attorney who helps vinyl chloride works with health claims, among others. The film does use emotional appeal; the interviews with the spouses of vinyl workers who got sick from work were quite emotional. 4. What sustainability problems does the film draw out? Political? Legal? Economic? Technological? Media and Informational? Organizational? Educational? Behavioral? Cultural? Ecological? The film brings out several legal issues – vinyl plants often tried to withhold information about potential dangers to their workers, or prevent scientists from publishing their results. There are also media and informational issues with how vinyl is advertised to consumers – as one would imagine, they are never told of the potential dangers of it, and it is advertised as being perfectly safe. That being said, companies that manufacture alternatives to vinyl could also use to work on their advertising, making sure consumers know that there is an alternative, and telling them about the health risks with PVC, especially given how much it is used in modern society. There are also educational issues – people are often not taught to question these sorts of things, and if their workplace never brings these sorts of issues up, they may never consider the fact that their health may be at risk. There are certainly ecological issues – the output of vinyl manufacturing plants often pollutes the surrounding area, both hurting the environment and putting the health of people who live nearby at risk. 5. What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why? The portions of the film about vinyl workers in the 1970s was particularly compelling; it was appalling (though honestly not that surprising) how the people who ran the vinyl factories wanted to cover up all the inquiries into the actual effects of what they were doing, and not tell their workers about the potential health risks of working with vinyl manufacturing equipment. The interviews with the workers’ spouses were particularly emotional, which made them quite compelling, if only because of the emotional appeal. <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. The part with the attorney got a bit boring at times, but it was still compelling. <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">7. What audiences does the film best address? Why? <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">The film mostly seems to be targeted at the general public – the humorous nature of the film would attract people who would not normally watch a film about environmental issues. <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';">Adding a bit more scientific information could help, but overall, the movie did a good job educational-wise. It was not too long, which could potentially dissuade a potential viewer from seeing the movie in the first place, which would significantly reduce the educational value. <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';">The film does not suggest too many direct solutions to the problem; however, it does discuss how some people in California (among other places) are working with alternative building materials that are more environmentally friendly than PVC. Forcing companies that use vinyl or PVC to admit to the risks it has, and to tell consumers about these risks in ads, would be a good solution. California already has a good system for labeling potential carcinogens in products; however, in many cases, it is overkill, as consumers may never be at risk unless the open the device and touch all the parts inside without washing their hands afterwards. The results of a system like that could potentially be negative – consumers may start ignoring the labels, as they are never //usually// at risk, resulting in potentially disastrous consequences if a product really //is// hazardous to their health. (That being said, if it were //really// that much of an issue, one would hope that the product would not make it to market.) <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';">Since I had not really heard of the health effects of vinyl before, I figured I would look into it. One of the first things I found was a page about PVC facts on a site called the Healthy Building Network. The page provides a good overview of the issues with using PVC as a building material, and has a list of potential alternatives to PVC for replacing particular building materials. The site also provides other information about PVC – a glossary of terms, as well as a more extensive list (with links) of alternative materials. It also provides information about emerging vinyl-related science, including information about potential alternatives, and links to other resources. <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">Healthy Building Network. “Healthy Building Network: PVC Facts”. [] <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">I also found a site on the adverse health effects of plastics; it covers a wide range of plastics, listing not just the plastic itself, but where it is commonly found (water bottles, etc), and what the health effects of each type of plastic are. <span style="font-family: 'Liberation Serif','serif';">“Adverse Health Effects of Plastics << Fact Sheets << Ecology Center”. Ecology Center. Berkeley, CA. http://www.ecologycenter.org/factsheets/plastichealtheffects.html