GasLand (2010): American Appetite for Energy Essay (Movie Review)

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Summary of the Film

The film GasLand is a documentary featuring exploring a place that has suffered from a new form of mining that had led to the water table becoming a volatile mix of chemicals and toxic gases. It is directed by Josh Fox, who never revealed when he started carrying out the investigation, and it is only discovered that the film is indeed utterly shocking.

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The film places a lot of focus on the communities in the USA that have been affected by drilling of natural gas and the stimulations of hydraulic fracturing. The movie is an expose on the communities that are affected by the mining, and it is also a critique of the political and corporate pressures that result in the destruction of natural resources.

The impact of the technique of mining is indeed less frightening when compared to the political will that pushes things towards similar direction. The film is a balance of storytelling, facts and human interest pieces. GasLand is considered to be the most engrossing and compelling documentary because it captures best what United States of America is susceptible to.

The film may not be perfect, but it is real though not everything that is captured by the film is accurate but only a representation of a well crafted point of view. Fox examines the ever increasing American appetite for energy, which motivates the gas drilling (Fox 1).

Critique of the Film

The film has been critiqued as presenting a selective and distorted view of gas drilling and the energy choices faced by America today. This is because it represents the gas industry as unsafe and a never ending environmental nightmare without any benefits. The film comes out as an efficient tool to arouse the public to close the natural gas industry.

An example is when it wrongly presents the budget of the Department of Environmental Protection in Pennsylvania that hundreds of the citizens lost their jobs when the budget was reduced by 25 percent. This was a wrong argument because it insinuates that the natural gas industry is unregulated.

There is no talk about in the GasLand documentary of the boost in the drilling cost or on the increase in the staff working regulating the sector. The GasLand does not even introduce the four regulatory packages that were introduced in the gas industry and it does not even mention any of the regularly development that has been initiated in the drilling industry.

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GasLand does not discuss the alternative to the natural gas but it is quick in criticizing it. GasLand does not tell the viewers that natural gas does not contain mercury or that it produces less soot. The USA does not operate on clean fuels today but only operates on coal and oil. It should be mentioned that natural gas is cleaner when compared to the two and it can replace heating, transportation and electricity generation.

The director of the film Josh Fox serves as the voice of the people who have been negatively affected by the drilling and mining process, which is noble duty.

This documentary creates the picture which shows the lobbyists in the energy sector appear scrupulous because of the way the document covered them indiscriminately. Josh has done a perfect job by reminding the American government and the people of how good and fragile natural resources are.

Works Cited

Fox, Josh. GasLand Trailer. New York: New Video Group, 2010. Film.

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IvyPanda. (2022, June 15). GasLand (2010): American Appetite for Energy. https://ivypanda.com/essays/review-and-critique-of-the-film-gasland-movie-review/

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"GasLand (2010): American Appetite for Energy." IvyPanda, 15 June 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/review-and-critique-of-the-film-gasland-movie-review/.

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IvyPanda. (2022) 'GasLand (2010): American Appetite for Energy'. 15 June.

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IvyPanda. 2022. "GasLand (2010): American Appetite for Energy." June 15, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/review-and-critique-of-the-film-gasland-movie-review/.

1. IvyPanda. "GasLand (2010): American Appetite for Energy." June 15, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/review-and-critique-of-the-film-gasland-movie-review/.


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IvyPanda. "GasLand (2010): American Appetite for Energy." June 15, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/review-and-critique-of-the-film-gasland-movie-review/.

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