Gold Fever — the must-see documentary of the year

Last term, I blogged about Goldcorp’s influence on the campus of UBC. I knew they were baddies and have infringed on human rights in Latin America. So I when I saw that the Vancity Theatre was going to be screening a documentary called Gold Fever, about Goldcorp and the mining industry in Guatemala, I knew I had to catch it.

Well, I saw it tonight and let me just say this: I don’t usually cry watching documentaries. But this one got me crying in a few places, particularly when the brave women in the small village of San Miguel retold their stories of coercion and violence against them from the Montana Mine and corrupt government officials. After watching this fantastic documentary, it really makes me ashamed to be at an institution that agreed to accept the money of such a barbaric, inhumane corporation. It’s disgusting, it’s sad, and it’s pathetic. It also made me depressed, to see such evil subjected to other members of our species because of greed. Is there hope in this issue? The film certainly didn’t seem to think so, but who knows.

While the film itself may not be perfect, the information and the stories of the real people in this film need to be told and heard. If you’re going to watch any documentary that will change how you think about how your own personal impact in the world, if you plan on watching any doc this year, I cannot recommend watching Gold Fever more. In fact, everyone should make it a priority to watch this.

http://www.goldfevermovie.com/

Saturday Morning Documentary: Collapse

Originally a documentary about the CIA, as it says in the opening titles of Collapse, the filmmakers, upon interviewing Michael Ruppert, a former journalist, discovered that he had a different and arguably more powerful message to say.  Filmed in 2009 in the middle of the global recession, the only person interviewed in the documentary is Ruppert — and he has, as we find out, a lot of things to say.  He starts off talking about the reason for the recession, believing the economy has reached peak oil, and the importance of it everywhere — oil is apparently in everything from tires to toothbrushes.  He outlines alternative fuel sources including solar power, electric, and nuclear, while also saying why these options aren’t any better (ie. since electric car parts such as tires need to be made from oil, they are, long-term, not a good solution, in his eyes).

Despite almost an hour and a half of him ranting, he comes across as an extremely intelligent and passionate man, really honestly trying to urge people to change, and he gives people advice that will either come across to viewers as helpful or crazy: he tells people to grow their own vegetables, keep seeds for crops, change your fiat currency (paper money) to gold since it pretty much will always have value, etc.  Some people might say he’s paranoid about the recession and that taking such drastic measures isn’t needed while others might find his words holding truth.  It is up to viewers to decide.

What is clear, however, is that at oil does impact the world at least more than I ever knew.  And as of the time of the filming, even after passionately pleading to people about all this, Ruppert was living with his dog, behind on his rent, and was apparently no longer giving talks anymore.  While he doesn’t come across as the most lovable man on the planet, you do feel some sympathy for him, especially after he fervently believes what he does.

A very well-made film that is definitely thought-provoking. How did this not get nominated for an Oscar?

Michael Ruppert