Promised Land,
a small film by Hollywood standards, stars co-screenwriters Matt
Damon and John
Krasinski. Directed by Gus
Van Sant in the tradition of The
China Syndrome and Silkwood,
Promised Land uses mainstream entertainment to delve into American values,
corporate responsibility, and activism.
The film comes
equipped with top movie personalities like Frances
McDormand and 87-year-old Hal
Holbrook, wrapped in what Damon called "a relatable story with characters we all can recognize as people we
know."
Damon and
McDormand are representatives of a fictitious $9 billion natural-gas company
called Global Crosspower Solutions, described as one of the largest in the
country. Damon's character grew up on an Iowa farm, but hard times hit his
locality and he is now pursuing a lifestyle where he is ascending the corporate
ladder. He and Dormand have been assigned the task of reaching out to local
townspeople--to proselytize about the benefits of selling the drilling rights to
their properties. The goal is to extract gas from the shale rock existing below
the land, using the hydraulic-fracturing process know as fracking.
It doesn't go as
smoothly as expected. They have entered an area where farms have been handed
down for generations. The struggle for economic viability in the face of
diminishing opportunities is palpable. This sets the stage for conflict. As
Damon indicated in the press notes, "This
is a complex issue that's dividing a lot of communities right now."
Krasinski, who
portrays an environmentalist, sees the fracking debate as "the perfect contemporary lens through which
to examine our questions of community and integrity." He said, "Natural-gas drilling is a contemporary
issue that serves as a perfect backdrop to our story, which we set out to write
as an exploration of modern-day American identity."
Damon's
protagonist is forced to confront his deepest belief system. Dormand, a
single mother trying to earn a living, resorts to the rejoinder, "It's just a job," to rationalize her
actions. Holbrook embodies the older generation as the homespun high school
science teacher, who is revealed to be a retired Boeing engineer. His advice to
his neighbors is to "go home and
Google" the word fracking.
Gas development
produces significant amounts of smog-forming pollution.
Ground-level ozone, or smog,
contributes to serious adverse health impacts, including decreased lung
function and premature mortality, and it damages foliage. Children, the
elderly, Americans with existing lung and heart disease, and those active
outside are especially vulnerable.
An article
in the Washington Times has suggested that a public-relations pushback
from petroleum companies, in reaction to the film, may be under way. Earthjustice explains here
why fracking has come under fire.
Often, it is
through popular culture that the public gets a look at topics they have previously
ignored in other forms of media. Promised Land is positioned to motivate
filmgoers to learn more about the issue of fracking. From there, they can draw
their own assessments about personal action and how their voices can have an
impact on the future of the planet.
This article originally appeared on Moms Clean Air Force.
