The Catchall of a Leaking Mind

Ethan Roderick

[eroderick10]

A Bidder Pill to Swallow

     Bidder 70 was a very interesting and moving documentary. The main character, Tim DeChirtopher, was a young man who happened across a protest for a land auction wherein land was being sold to oil companies for drilling. This land was also very close to national park lands. Tim simply walked past and into the auction, signed up ans sat down. After a time he decided he needed to do something to stop what was happening so he began winning parcels of land, two million dollars worth of land. He did not have the money to pay this off and what he did was a crime, but he did it to stop the oil drilling in these areas. Tim DeChristopher faced a maximum of ten years in prison and a $750,000 fine.

     The documentary followed the events leading up to Tim's trial, in this time Tim took a strong stand in environmental activism assisting in everything he could in attempts to make a difference. Furthermore, as all of this is happening in the documentary Tim refuses every offer made to him and insists that he must go to trial on his own terms. He essentially turned down all the bribes that would help the trial discourage other people from standing up against the government like he did. I felt that sent a very powerful message and I found it very touching and amazing that this man would sacrifice so much for what he believed in.

     This documentary was structured in a way that is more appealing to me. I tend to lean more towards documentaries what have one main character throughout the duration of the film. I feel that if there is a singular character who is likable and knows what they are doing the point of the documentary gets across easier. Furthermore, throughout the whole film there were short, dramatic cutaways wherein pictures would be shown or short clips of landscapes; I feel like this effect is used in many documentaries but it was done very well in this one. These cutaways where relevant to what was being discussed and they assisted with getting the point across very well. Along with these cutaways there was music, personally I feel the music that was chosen fits very well. There were many songs from a band called Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, I know this band well and it fits the circumstances very well. All in all I enjoyed this documentary, it was stylistically beautiful, it was meaningful and it was touching. 

[eroderick10]

It's Tough to Eat Your Roots

     Eating Alabama is a documentary staring and made by Andrew Grace. The film goes into the fact that Andrew grew up in Alabama but his family moved away when he was young, now being an adult with fond memories about where he grew up he decides to move back to his childhood home.

     He talks a lot about his grandfather and his fondness for the land he lived on and the history of farmers in his family. From there he goes into the idea of growing and raising your own food to sustain yourself. He and his significant other decide to live for an entire year on only food that is grown in Alabama. 

     In doing this they believe they are more or less embracing their roots and living the way people used to and Andrew realizes that there is actually nothing simple about living the simple life. They travel many miles looking for food and after a while they befriend a handful of farmers who they do business with for their locally grown food, they also begin a garden and start growing their own food. After some time of doing this they slowly become more successful and make many friends along the way. Andrew begins to realize that living in this way almost forces you to become a part of the community having large get-togethers and communal dinners. Though he was ultimately successful, Andrew eventually asks himself if it is possible to really go back to the way things used to be so many years ago? His answer, although sad, is becoming more true by the day; there is nothing to go back to anymore. 

     I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am not a film maker but I do know what I like in films and this documentary had a lot of what I like. For one there were many cutaways from what was going on and these cutaways were always accompanied by music that was wonderfully fitting for the mood and what was being shown. Furthermore, there were many  points in the film where Andrew shows the old pictures his grandfather took, I feel this really added a realness to the talk about the way it once was in the area. Finally, I like the fact that the film more followed a singular person as opposed to jumping around to many different testimonies. I feel like this documentary was far more "user friendly" but it was hard to determine what the call to action was, (if there was one) but all in all I really liked the film and I would recommend it to others.

[eroderick10]

What Happens When Poseidon Shores Up

     I am from Maine, central Maine to be exact. We certainly felt the effects of Hurricane Sandy up here but to us it was nothing but a slightly more powerful storm than usual. Seeing the film "Shored Up" opened my eyes, the way it is shot and the location it was shot in really helped put you in the position of people that were heavily effected by it.

     After Talking with Ben Kalina, the films creator, I learned Shored up was originally to be a movie about surfing, but after spending time on Long Beach Island in New Jersey it became much more. Having seen how this small island community was effected by Hurricane Sandy and all the issues, environmental or otherwise, the people must deal with Shored Up became what is is today. Shored Up is a documentary about Long Beach Island, and similar areas, and about the people deal with rising sea levels, storms and politics.

     Long Beach Island is essentially a large sandbar and as we all know the sand in the ocean is almost constantly being moved around. This island community is fighting back the destructive power of the ocean. As sea levels rise and storms continue to hit more and more of this island is washed away and to cope with this the state, local, and federal government is "replenishing" the beaches that have been swept away. This "solution" will only last for so long.

     Many people may ask "How can we stop this erosion?" the sad but realistic answer is, we essentially cannot. At this point, aside from a few naysayers, it is fairly largely accepted that global warming and rising sea levels are real. As long as these things continue our environment will continue to be unstable and the seas will continue to reclaim what they once gave up. In other words, we need to straighten out the politics of it all and truly make a change in the way we live out lives, reducing emissions and a greener lifestyle is the first step to a healthier planet, in other words, stable sea levels.  

     All drama aside, this was a wonderful documentary. There were many testimonies and interviews of real people who were obviously speaking their minds and saying what they feel. I felt this made Shored Up very real to me, it helped me see these peoples problems through their eyes. Furthermore, the use of music as ambiance and as a highlight for certain scenes was great, the selection of music was great an it all seemed to fit the mood. Along side the music, the various clips in the film such as the Colbert Report and the guided web search did a great job highlighting key points.

     All in all, this documentary was very good, it was informative, captivating, and moving. Not only was I interested in it but after seeing it through I truly wanted to learn more about Hurricane Sandy when i have never before been interested. 

[eroderick10]

The Drive By

     Uranium Drive-in was a very captivating documentary that effectively portrayed the "beauty and devastation" in the controversial subject of a uranium mine being implemented just outside a small town. The film was well balanced showing the stance that each side of the controversy took. After being asked what the filmmaker, Suzan Beraza, felt the call to action of her film was she responded explaining that it should bring people together to discuss their problems rather than simply getting angry and fighting about the things they don't like. As for people who are not suffering from problems, such as the ones these people dealt with, I feel it makes you want to learn more about controversies such as this one and possibly even help if you can.

     I am no film maker but I do have opinions on what I think a good movie is and I think Uranium Drive-in was indeed a good one. there were touching testimonies, cold hard facts, and some relatively graphic imagery, these things together were, in a way, heart wrenching and helped me as a viewer know what it is like to be in the shoes of the people in conflict. The only thing I think could have been done that would help balance the film even more would be to have a testimonial by a couple professionals who do not have anything to gain or loose from the uranium mine project. Lastly, I feel the use of music in this film was wonderful. Over all I liked the Uranium Drive-in quite a lot.