DamNation

DamNation really surprised me - very fascinating, very compelling, and I didn't go in already converted. An excellent film - hats off to Travis Rummel and Ben Knight and also to Yvon Chouinard. The film is a real eye-opener. It avoids didactic, but makes you feel the power and importance of rivers to America. Who knew we have 70,000 dams in the US, most doing nothing useful at this point? I want everyone to see this film - it is really good, really exciting and really important. It is hard to make fish truly sympathetic, they are cold, scaly and expressionless. But this film has me convinced that anything able to swim 900 miles deserve our support, and the removal of a few dams doing nothing useful at this point.

This is a film that will delight folks who think that technology is ruining the world. Its basic premise seems to be that ALL dams are bad. And much of the time this documentary talks about how awful dams are. The film talks about how they kill people when they burst but most importantly they impede salmon from breeding. While there have been a few dam breaks (mostly a long time ago and talking about the Johnstown Flood of 1889 seemed WEIRD and disingenuous since it IS the 21st century) and it's undoubtedly true native salmon populations have been decimated, the film rarely explores the POSITIVES about dams or discusses whether SOME mitigating projects actually work (such as salmon hatcheries in Alaska). While a few folks are shown with contrasting views, mostly they seem like idiots and are overruled by the all-knowing narrator in the movie. The film also doesn't interview the right people--people with informed and scientific facts instead of emotions. I would have loved to have heard from biologists, geologists and the like--but mostly you have Native Americans, park rangers and activists--all people you might want to include ALONG WITH EXPERTS-- not in place of them.

The bottom line is that "DamNation" is clearly a film with a preconceived notion and it does all it can to support it and ignore things to the contrary (such as cheap and clean energy, jobs, increased farm production, etc.). It's a shame in a way, as technically this is a nice looking documentary. The graphics are great and the look of the film is lovely--hence why I give the film a 3 overall. For content, I would only give it a 1.

All of this is very sad, as I am a guy who probably would be towards the middle of this debate. I am an avid fisherman and feel we need to think and re-think many of the dam projects and other projects that negatively impact the environment. But, I think everything should be case by case. Dams are neither always bad or always good- -and anyone wanting to really learn more about this debate would be better advised to read some books instead.

Preserving the environment is one thing. Admirable. But as usual the national geographic channel glamorizes and ostensibly promotes vandalism of property and environmental extremism. Putting forth the notion that regression or devolution is a better place to be when It's not. In fact their own blindness to the resilience of the earth is amazing. Acknowledging the truth that in the pantheon of all time, Mans impact on the earth is no more than that of the dinosaurs. In a million years from now the earth will have moved on as it did with those same dinosaurs.

Enough propaganda already.

DamNation is a 2014 documentary that chronicles the history of dam building in the United States and shows how dam removal can be a strategy for restoring rivers. The film begins with scenic forest views with voiceover of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's speech at the dedication of Hoover Dam proclaiming the dam as a triumph in engineering. The speech seems to alienate the beauty and peacefulness of the flowing river. As the speech concludes, the opening shot holds a steady shot of a dam being removed. As the story unfolds, several dams in the Pacific Northwest are introduced, the history and purpose of each, and the current state of each dam. The film does a good job on introducing the idea of dam removal to someone who knows little about dams in an accessible and relatable format. DamNation spends much of the film explaining the social and environmental consequences caused by the damming of rivers from fish populations to the people who live near the bodies of water. The filmmakers present meaningful facts coupled with personal experiences for those who were negatively impacted by dams. For example, the amount of salmon and steelhead able to make the journey to spawn has diminished incredibly due to dams blocking the path. Even with fish ladders and elevators, salmon have a strenuous journey already, but dams make it nearly impossible. Additionally, the Elwha River Dam was built on Native American land in 1913 taking away a source of food for the nearby tribes and violating a treaty agreement. Another compelling argument is how much beauty has been lost at every dammed river. The only argument on the pro-dam side that worried me were how many jobs the hydroelectric supplied for small communities. Hydroelectricity was the main purpose for many dams, but many have outrun their usefulness and do not produce enough electricity staying open. Overall, the film gives insight into a topic few have much knowledge about. After watching I felt more educated on dams and their history in the United States. Going forward, I hope there is more education on the impacts of dams. In Georgia, all the lakes are manmade from damming up rivers for hydroelectricity plants, but some are no longer in use. Once researching if there were any deadbeat dams in Georgia and signed a petition to remove the Tugalo Dam. DamNation is a cool film that is worth the watch for anyone interested in water, fish, and activist art.

I was really surprised that I enjoyed this documentary so much. The information about our nation's abundance of damns, and the negative environmental impact they have had on the landscape and the indigenous wildlife was shocking to hear and see. Perhaps in the world of environmentalists this is common knowledge, but for a person not entrenched in the cause, like me, it was a compelling argument to learn more about the subject and to get more involved. The cinematography is a highlight of the film, and the information is delivered in a manner that kept me interested the whole time. This is definitely a film worth checking out.