In portraying environmental issues, film has proven its unique power to influence public sentiment. A standout example is The China Syndrome, a 1979 anti-nuclear thriller released mere days before the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor plant accident made front-page news. The 2012 feature film The Promised Land brought to audiences images, ideas and emotions about the fracking … [Read more...]
About Gerri Williams
The curse of slavery, the curse of oil
Against all odds, a film based on a 150-year-old, almost forgotten book has generated international acclaim and is positioned to sweep multiple Oscars categories. The recently-released film 12 Years A Slave is based on the autobiography of the same name by Solomon Northrup, a free black man who lived in New York state with his wife and two children before the Civil War. … [Read more...]
From the vault: Review, ‘Soylent Green’
Admit it: you love Soylent Green. Whenever it appears on any late-night television schedule, fans of the cult film have to watch. Not because it’s a good movie. With its cheesy “futuristic” music and leading man Charlton Heston’s faux tough-guy dialogue, Soylent Green is an easy target to lampoon. But its impact – and its message – continues to be surprisingly … [Read more...]
‘The Grey,’ a peak oil flick quick take
John Ottway has the job at the end of the world. He's a sharpshooter who protects oil rig workers from animal predators lurking in the wilderness surrounding a remote Alaskan oil facility in the new film, The Grey. When Ottway (Liam Neeson) and some of his co-workers workers board a light plane for Nome, he finds out quickly that his knowledge of wolf behavior will come in … [Read more...]
‘Take shelter’
“I’m afraid something’s coming – something that’s not right. I can’t explain it. I just need you to believe it.” Curtis LaForche, an excavation worker in a small Ohio town, has a troubling secret. He feels brown, gelatinous rain coating his skin. He sees roiling, funnel clouds on a bright, sunny day. Swarms of black birds darken the sky and plummet, dead, to earth. Earthquake … [Read more...]