JessFilmAnnotation6

Film Annotation #6 // Manufactured Landscapes // word count: 1050

1. //Manufactured Landscapes// was directed by Jennifer Baichwal in 2006.

2. The film focuses on the changes that the industrial world has on landscapes.

3. The argument is made by showing very evocative images such as an extremely large shot running through a Chinese factory. The rates of production and export in China are astounding to witness as displayed in Jennifer Baichwal’s film “Manufactured Landscapes”. Factories stretch for what seems like miles as a massive amount of workers do tedious tasks to keep up with global demand. The sequence of images zooms out to show the scope of the factories outside and the viewer grasps how vast an area of the landscape has been carved out to serve the purpose of these industrialized factories. These sites have hidden dangers as well. Though was appeared to be a fairly safe and clean working environment for its employees, could have various levels of exposed toxins. Workers were using their bare hands to create the assembly pieces and even though the trend in China is to wear a face mask in certain areas, they cannot really prevent the effects of repeated and prolonged exposure to toxic chemicals. There is not a lot of scientific information presented; the impact is through stunning visuals of the conditions. The film definitely has emotional appeal and one of its final scenes is of the artist’s gallery where some of the images are presented and the viewer can see the reaction of the audience first hand.

4. The film draws many sustainability problems. It shows the global political and environmental impact of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. The day the dam was finally opened, scientists recorded a wobble in the earth. This shows the huge impact a political decision in one country can have on the entire world. The film also shows the cultural issues where entire cities in China have the sole purpose to go through garbage to find useful materials and the people tend to die by age thirty. There are also images of the hundreds of factory workers standing outside the factories, which brings in more cultural and educational issues. Because the workers could not afford college or were not smart enough for it, they were given only a few career choices. It also shows the impact that American culture has on the Chinese one as we demand products and high levels of productivity.

5. The most compelling part of the film was the images. The film did not bombard the viewer with statistics and facts, but let the viewer come to their own conclusions through the use of images. The vastness that is achieved in some of the shots is amazing and scary. The images are also of the things that the political leaders of China attempt to keep from the press. They are of the poor conditions and of the impacts that industry has had on the natural world.

6. The film was weakest in the area of scientific knowledge. Very little evidence was given in an effort to allow the viewer to make up their own mind, but if they could have also been provided with numbers explaining the extent of the damage to the natural world, they argument could only be strengthened.

7. The film best addresses someone with an artistic eye, or someone who is patient enough to sit staring at one image for a while. Though the images are mainly of China, it affects audiences around the world, since our cultural demands have put China in their current situation. Regardless of one’s political beliefs, the audience can watch this film and see the damage that we have caused and appreciate the film. I believe that this is because the film takes great efforts to not tell people what to think.

8. To enhance the film, more statistics about the global impact of industry could have been provided. Though this could undermine their attempt to let the audience decide the effect of what they were viewing, most people who would be watching the documentary would have ideas in place beforehand. To explain the impact in the isolated areas of the specific scenes and then scale out and explain the larger, global impact, would have been an extremely effective technique and would greatly enhance the film’s educational value.

9. The film suggests awareness as a point of intervention. In a sequence of shots, the film shows the production of an iron and the number of people who work to put an iron together. Once we see a line of finished irons moving on an overhead assembly line, the image jumps to an iron in a landfill, and then the camera zooms out. The simple realization of this process is astounding. So many hands, and so much time, in a building that has destroyed the natural environment for a product that will go to a landfill to die. If we could take this awareness and become more conscious of what we throw out and also remember the process that something was made, we could change some of the overall effects of this current system.

10. The film compelled me to look into more information about the Three Gorges Dam. I had not heard of it before and was interested what the real effect of it was, and if it was currently operating. This film compelled me to do one of my matrix projects on the global impacts of dams. One source I found was an article by William Graf that argues that dams have an impact on the particles that water carries, and that the effect of these dams cannot yet be proven since a lot of the long term effects have not yet occurred. A second source was an article called “Three Gorges Dam” through the TED case study system. It goes into detail about the effects and issues with the Three Gorges Dam including the fact that entire ecosystems and villages were destroyed in its creation.

Graf, William L. “Dam Nation: A Geographic Census of American Dams and Their Large-scale Hydrologic Impacts.” American Geophysical Union: Water Resources Research, Vol, 35, No. 4, pages 130-1311, April 1999.

Tillou, Susan Lynne and Yuri Honda. “Three Gorges Dam.” TED Case Studies, 1996. []