The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream

The End Of Suburbia (TEOS) is a very useful film. It's also important and provocative. There seems to be no middle ground with either the film or its main source of entertainment, the anti-sprawl Meister, James Howard Kunstler.

While I am not a big fan of the New Urbanism, my criticism of it is because of its small vision. In the case of New Urbanist Peter Calthorpe - another talking head - you finally hear what's somewhat obvious in and amongst the special added TEOS out-takes... Calthorpe just doesn't understand peak oil.

I've used this as a teaching tool in economics classes to get at the importance of land as a factor of production - a fact long diminished by Neoclassical Economics - and also as a vehicle for educating about: peak oil, our wastrel land use, global warming, our threatened food production, public transit our compromised future

Move over South Park! .... Made by Canadians from Toronto for $25,000 and released in May 2004, this video sold over 24,000 copies by October 2005. One major DVD rental vendor recently ordered almost 400 more copies.

The End Of Suburbia sales were actually climbing 1 1/2 years after its release and it has also been available on one of the major online video services since September 2005.

A sequel, Escape From Suburbia, is in the works with a possible release by August 2006.

A friend of mine works at an engineering company and has shown this to her office. She also holds a masters degree in energy efficient buildings (!).

This documentary focuses on energy issues, but there is so much more to counteracting suburbia (anti-social issues, global warming, etc).

I've read some negative reviews out there claiming there is a "junk science" to this documentary, but these reviewers do not provide any of their own "science" to back up their claims. Where is their documentary, "The Bottomless Well"? It's just as Kunstler says in the interviews - people will be very resistant to the idea suburbia will end. People tend to get hostile when their whole lifestyle has been put into question, and The End of Suburbia does that with efficiency and style.

Intead of changing lifestyles, many suburb dwellers will simply force the status-quo, and become very hostile to those like EOS blowing the whistle. Sad.

My review covered the documentary 'The End of Suburbia'. This documentary is about the end of the modern suburbs thanks to the end of cheap oil. It covers many different aspects of this topic. These topics are layout for the viewer to understand the issues. I want to begin the review with an analysis of quality of the film. The first topic is the about how suburbs come about. Then the next subject is the unfortunate fact about oil. Finally, the documentary talks about 'New Urbanism' as a way help ease the issue. I found the documentary to be very interesting.

I think the film is well produced and setup. It is highly organized with a chronological movement. The video does features abstract shots of television and particular the news with the interviewees talking over it. Various music tracks are used in the film. The music is used to make light of certain situation and a creepy soundtrack is used to express the direness of peak oil. The film is well shot in the best way a 'Talking Head' documentary can possible be. It features many interviews with several important people in the peak oil field. This includes Matthew Simmons, Richard Heinberg, Michael Ruppert, and James Howard Kunstler. Their interviews are cut throughout the documentary. They seem very 'Dooms Day' oriented. All of their predictions are apocalyptic in nature and I can clearly see their negative ideology. The film kept my interest with its content and pace.

The first topic is the about how the suburbs come about. According to the documentary suburbs came about because the city had a low quality of life and technology gave people a way out. First it was the train, then the street car, and followed by the automobile. The automobile has helped to bring about the suburban dream. The government and the auto companies worked to together to help make the car the new form of mass transit.

Then the next subject is the unfortunate fact about oil. The way we built the suburbs are entirely depend on cheap oil. Cheap oil is the blood in the veins of America. The movie provided several fun facts about oil like when oil was first discovered in Texas it was cheaper than drinking water. The unfortunate reality is that oil peaked in the 1970s and this was predicted by the geologist Dr. M. King Hubbert. He saw it coming and people ridiculed him. They said his predictions were a joke because that year oil production was at its highest. The people who doubted Hubbert's prediction were in the year of peak oil. This peak oil stuff is very scary and really sent shock waves down my spine. Finally, the documentary talks about 'New Urbanism' as a way to help ease the issue of peak oil. The 'New Urbanism' is a movement that started in the 80s and seeks to create more walkable cities setups. The ideas want to bring back the old style of planning, which the great American cities were built upon. The demand is actually higher for these areas. The documentary talks about a new development called Stapleton, which was developed along the lines of 'New Urbanism' and it sells at about 25% higher. People want a more walkable and neighborly place to live. I really liked how the documentary expressed the concept of 'New Urbanism'.

This documentary was my first introduction to Peak Oil theory. A fascinating concept that has a lot of frightening consequences if it turns out to be correct. I had absolutely no idea that the effects of oil depletion would come so soon, it literally took my breath away. This movie will probably open your eyes as to how strongly the American way of life is dependent on the "abundance of cheap oil" - a term used throughout the film. A lot of the topics are plain common sense, and they don't go into a huge amount of depth about any of them. But you've probably never put all the pieces together like this movie does. The interviews with the authors and energy experts are all very interesting. I don't think this film is meant to scare people. It's merely meant to inform people about what to expect in the years ahead, and maybe to encourage you to think twice about commuting 100miles to work and leaving your lights on all day long.

After watching this film I was no longer able to look at the cars and buses zooming by quite the same. Great documentary, everyone should see it.

I have the good common logical sense to know that oil cannot last forever and I am acutely aware of how much of my life in the suburbs revolves around petrochemical products. I've been an avid consumer of new technology and I keep running out of space on powerboards - so I know that even the energy crunch associated with Peak Oil will change my life appreciably.

The End Of Suburbia shows, in a rational and entertaining manner, just how much my whole family's lifestyle will have to change in my lifetime. I am particularly concerned for the future generations who will have to pick up the tab for our excesses, however the film-makers do offer a glimmer of hope in that they acknowledge human resourcefulness and determination - and the sense of community that tends to be engendered by shared hardship.

There is no point in trying to pretend that Peak Oil is baseless propaganda - or in treating it like the approaching radioactive cloud in "On The Beach" (i.e. with suicide pills at the ready). Even with our best efforts, times will get harder all over, and I'm hoping there's enough compassion and humanity to go around.