Blue Gold, World Water Wars

"Cohaagen sealed up Venusville.

He shut off the air." Total Recall, 1990, Tristar Pictures


For the second time, I've watched a movie in Communications Theory that directly reminded me of one my favorite Science-Fiction movies. First it was Food, Inc as Soylent Green, and today it was Blue Gold as Total Recall. In Total Recall, Vilos Cohaagen controls the air on Mars and supplies it as he sees fit, making him a rich, powerful, and very dangerous man. The hero of the film is Douglas Quaid, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who finds a 100,000 year-old machine in the inner core of Mars that, when turned on, will start a chain reaction to introduce a breathable atmosphere to the planet. Naturally, Cohaagen is determined to stop Quaid from turning on the machine as it will mean the end of his wealth and power.

Apparently, just as Cohaagen viewed air as a commodity rather than a right, so does the developing mega-water companies such as Suez, Thames, and Veolia as they gradually privatize water supplies around the globe. With water swiftly becoming a good as opposed to a right, could the very air we breath be far behind? (Note to self: Write script for Total Soylent Recall.)

Not surprisingly, our overuse of the land via damaging agriculture practices and careless construction coupled with pollution of 60%the 3% of the potable water available on the Earth has put us directly into the risk area of having our water not only privatized, but losing our very rights to a life-giving substance if we (or our nation) can't afford the ransom. Which is exactly what is beginning to happen to poorer countries who wield little to no power over such mega-conglomerates.

We continue to rape and pillage the planet for money, power, and our own luxury, and then panic and whine (and produce ominous documentaries) when it's apparent that we are rapidly killing ourselves by our own hands. Which leads me to ask- Is there anything that humans cannot fuck up with blinding efficiency?

Food, Inc- Today's Soylent Green

While I was watching Food, Inc, I kept expecting to see Charlton Heston emerge proclaiming, "It's people! The mega-conglomerates that control nearly all of our food supply uses people!" Several Tyson representatives quickly appear, wearing black trench coats and Men in Black-type sunglasses and shove Heston into a waiting black van that speeds away.

However, the premise behind Food, Inc is far more disturbing than any twist on an early 70's science fiction movie. Food, Inc brings to light so many issues that it boggles the mind. The cruelty that feed animals face for the sake of bigger, faster, and cheaper is staggering. And, worse, the workers are often treated no better than the animals, with little to no protection from the very companies that have commandeered their lives.

Couple this with farmers who are afraid to tell the truth about how livestock are treated (save for the few that cooperated with the making of the movie) and you have a nightmare scenario right on your dinner plate-or, worse, in your fast food bag. If a farmer tries to stand up to the corporation, or deviates from the company's policies, they are either shut down or prosecuted. Huge multi-national companies have an arsenal of lawyers that can wear down most anyone who gets in their way. And, sadly, there are many high-ranking politicians sitting in their back pockets as well.

The only bright spot that can be found is we learn that once the consumer is educated about the low-quality of food that is being offered by the large companies at the supermarket, we do have a voice and can rally for change simply in the choices we make when we shop. Narrator Michael Pollan reminds us that each time we shop, we cast a vote. We can, as a nation, vote for healthy, wholesome food rather than mass-produced, nutritionally deficient garbage.

If we are still complacent once we are aware of the truth, can the cartoon above be far behind?