9- Our World Today

Our World Today

By: Audrey, Daniel and Sébastien

INTRODUCTION

This week, our team was assigned to talk about the film screened in class If a Tree Falls and a complementary screening, L'erreur Boreale. These two films raise awareness of environmental issues which affect us all, by focusing on the deforestation here in Quebec and showing how people react to deforestation similar to what we have here in If a Tree Falls. Both help us perceive our world better and be more informed about social issues which impact the world as a whole.

IF A TREE FALLS

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front is an American documentary that was released in 2011. The film is 85 minutes long and is directed by Marshall Curry, an academy award nominated filmmaker, and Sam Cullman. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature (2012) and won the Sundance Film Festival award for documentary editing (2011) as well as many other awards. As the title suggests, the film sheds light upon the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), a radical environmentalist group in the United States considered by the US senate to be the nation's number one domestic terrorist threat. The film is focused around Daniel McGowan, an ELF activist convicted of domestic terrorism due to his implication is two cases of arson resulting in property damage to two lumber companies in Oregon. Daniel was imprisoned in 2005 and is now in a half-way house in New York City, he is to be released on probation in a few months.
What makes this film very interesting is that it is trying to be as objective as possible. The filmmakers interview multiple members of the ELF, the state and federal police responsible for the investigations into the timber arsons as well as the mill owners who were the victims of the arsons. Also, these interviews are generally very open and seem less scripted than some are in other films. This is really important because it grants the viewer a wider opinion (unlike in Michael Moore's films as we have seen), which lets them formulate their own. However, most viewers and the filmmakers are sympathetic towards the environmental cause because the activists are portrayed as heroes who are standing up for a cause and only destroying property. The former ELF members point out multiple times that the goal of the arsons was property destruction and that the conservation of life was of the utmost importance to the arsonists; there were no injuries or deaths across hundreds of fires.

The weekly topic for the class in relation to If a Tree Falls was that of ideologies. Ideologies can be defined as "the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc., that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group." Ideologies can be local or widespread as well as partial or comprehensive. When an ideology is comprehensive (contextualizes the world) it can be defined as a worldview.  The film indirectly presents many ideologies which are in conflict within America, and our, society. The three primary ideologies examined are those of environmentalism (the activists), capitalism (the business owners) as well as law and order (the investigators). If a Tree Falls also presents how these three ideologies are seen under the scopes of democracy and neo-liberalism. For instance, from the activist's point of view, the government is not respecting their opinion (as seen in the parking-lot incident). In the owners' point of view, the law should protect them from acts such as arson and let them continue to expand their profits; often, legislation favors corporate interest in capitalist countries. As for the investigators, they believe that their sole responsibility as government agents is to uphold the law, regardless of their personal feelings. In this weeks' lecture, we also learned about how the media is needed to render service to the public by informing them and giving them nuanced opinions, the whole scope of the issue. Documentaries such as If a Tree Falls try to do this by presenting, with the least bias possible, the multiple opinions around social issues in order to make us more informed citizens.

For additional information about Daniel McGowan, visit: http://supportdaniel.org/

L'ERREUR BORÉALE

L’erreure Boréale a 1999 film made by Richard Desjardin, an author-compositor and interpret, along with co-director Robert Mondrie, runs for 70 minutes and shows us a shockingly new perspective on the deforestation industries and their impacts on Quebec and its wildlife. This documentary, gives us an inside look into this devastating industry. The director, Desjardin, takes the creative decision to shower us with scene after scene of forests that where completely clear-cut with only a desert of muck and tree stumps left behind. These images being shocking and maybe never before seen by the public, bring up feelings of sadness, frustration and helplessness that nothing can be done to stop these things from happening to our home. The deforestation industry being a major export for Quebec also plays a big part in its economy and keeps entire cities alive because of the amount of revenue that comes in by deforestation. The community being so money hungry, in a way fuels the fire that keeps these companies growing and expanding, to them deforestation equals money and money equals a good quality of life, but how much further can we push our natural resources? And how far are we willing to go until we realize that it is too late to turn back? L’erreure Boréale raises many of these questions and tries to answer them as best as it can. This documentary takes us on a journey through the north of Quebec showing us at what speed these operations are growing and expanding throughout our country and the vicious circles that are created because of it (the vicious circle: the impact of deforestation on wildlife: aquatics, animals, etc ). We also learn through various interviews with ecologists, owners of deforestation businesses, and people working for the government that the public is not well informed on this topic and that we should have the right to know more about what is occurring around us and to deny these greedy businessmen the right to abuse our natural resources.

This Documentary also raises different theories of ideology, as mentioned in the response If a tree falls an ideology is “the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc ,. that guides and individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group”. Last week we where introduced to many types of ideologies, that of the environmentalist, capitalist, law and order, participative democracy, and more. One ideology that becomes apparent throughout the duration of L’erreure Boréale is the capitalist. This capitalist, essentially “has his own economic system; a system of producing, distributing and consuming goods and services based on the private ownership; the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities of capital goods and the means of production, with the creation of goods and services for profit”. Since these capitalists are using one of Quebec’s most profitable natural resources, therefore influencing the course of our economy they have great influence and control over the government. The government is therefore not leading a democratic party that of which involves all eligible citizens to have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives, because it shelters the population from these problems to not risk having the people revolt against “the law that could not be effectively exercised and the threatening circumstances of threatening harm”.

For more information, here is an article about the movie (French only): http://www.ledevoir.com/environnement/actualites-sur-l-environnement/254636/l-erreur-boreale-dix-ans-plus-tard-1-de-la-sortie-du-film-a-la-commission-coulombe-1999-2004

ANALYSIS

 Both of these films seek to transform the way we perceive the world around us. They both relate to environmental causes that are very similar. These films take us out of our comfort zones in the sense that they show us ugly decrepit landscapes caused by big companies who clear-cut the forests in return for lots of money. In L’erreure Boréale he shows the viewer that things really are not the way we see them. By taking the camera in a helicopter Richard Desjardin is able to give us aerial views of the cuts that can’t be seen from the road because the foresters cleverly leave a 100m strip so that the general public will only see the magnificent trees that are left. If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front furthers this message by showing the viewer where the wood gets processed and the amounts of timber they go through in any given day as well as a few scenes of slaughterhouses.

Both films also show the political side of activism. Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman show us the front lines of the movements and protests where police brutality is a normal occurrence. L’erreure Boréale demonstrates the inner workings of politics by going to assemblies and meeting with government representatives who are the ones making the decisions and selling the land to the companies who cut the trees down.

Both of these films seem to provoke the viewer who can see that these people are really just trying to protect the environment because obviously a tree has little defense from a chainsaw. It only shows how really it is the citizens that have no voice when faced with something they don't like, and if they don't run away and be quiet, that's where the pepper spray is brought in. These films are able to demonstrate the different sides of democracy and politics, each in their own way. Something that makes the general public feel helpless and uneasy about our modern society. It goes to show that even if you elect a representative who vows to be working for you and your causes he is often working for a greater power and that is usually money or big companies. Things like this don't just happen on screen and in other countries, just look at the people who are running our city.

These films are very good at relating to their audiences because they show something that everyone has felt at one point or another: not being heard. At least once in your life you must have had something to say or an opinion about something, maybe a restaurant or where you’d like to spend your vacation, etc. but the person your trying to communicate with just wont listen. It’s this frustration that can make people act irrationally. You might simply cry or pout or maybe go off into your room and not come out for a few hours. It is also this frustration of not having a voice and not being acknowledged that makes people go out and protest. In our society protests and manifestations are normal occurrences because people have no other option. Just like L’erreure Boréale these things aren’t only happening in other parts of the world but literally in our very own city there have been multiple protests, manifestations and inevitably riots. These events should make you question the society you live in and question your government, go out and talk to your city council, email the representatives if you have concerns with something or would like to further inquire on a certain topic in your community. Mainly, be active and play your part by not sitting there and letting other people make choices.

ConclusionThese two films show how the democratic society we live in today is still not perfect; there I always room for improvements. The governing system does not always govern for the greater good like they should, but rather they make the rich richer and take advantage of those with no voice. Both of the films presented demonstrate different sides of the political world and can be interpreted as a call to action. In the famous words of John F. Kennedy: “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”