Documentary Analysis: Tapped

Tapped was a documentary that discussed the harmful effects that the bottled water industry has environmentally, biologically, and socially. There are a few topics that relate to the topic outline. The first is the second topic outline: “Global Economics”, more specifically “Tragedy of the Commons.” In the film, it seemed like big corporations such as Nestle went into small towns and counties, such as the Chaffee county, and abused the commons: water, in this case. They bought property with water and drained it dry without any notice to the locals. It is a perfect case study of how a corporational greed can harm the locals. The second is the sixth topic outline: “Pollution”, specifically “Air pollution” and “Water pollution.” In the tape the narrator asserts that PET, material used in plastic bottles, is a type of benzene which is a carcinogen. In addition to releasing harmful benzene to the locals, the plastic bottles are often littered which causes water pollution. This water pollution can cause sickness and destruction of habitat.
The film has an obvious bias.
The narrator seems to believe in water conservation. In addition, the narrator believes that access to water is a fundamental right, and looks down upon corporate greed. The obvious bias can in the testimonies, case studies, and diction the film uses. With these very apparent cuest, it is probable to say that the creators of this documentary are anti-corporation and is strongly opposed to the creation and distribution of bottled water. The bias seemed reasonable enough in an environmental perspective; there are clear dangerous environmental and societal repercussion to manufacturing bottled
water.
Overall the film was informative and somewhat entertaining. Although it was informative, I feel that the film lacked an objective tone and was too one-sided. In addition, there was nothing that popped to me which made me uninterested on the topic they spoke of; it was just another standard documentary that used the same format as other documentaries: it lacked creativity. However, the documentary was very organized, well executed, and was able to convince me to consume less bottled water. I give this documentary an E on the soil scale.

The Lorax Review
The Lorax is a movie that illustrates the dangers of deforestation and pollution. In this film, there are a few topics that relate to the topic outline. The first is the most obvious connection which is the fourth topic: “Land and Water Use,” more specifically, “deforestation.” The Lorax revolves around the deforestation of the Truffula tree. In the film, we can see the harmful effect of deforestation and not allowing the forest to heal. By deforesting the forest, the Once-ler extracted the trees in a rate far greater than the speed of its regrowth which turned out to be his ultimate demise. This brings me to my second topic of discussion: pollution. In the topic outline, there is a category for “Pollution.” I want to focus on the subcategories of “Water pollution” and “Air pollution.” In the movie, the Once-ler used huge industrial machines which released large amount of pollutants to the local water source and the atmosphere. Without the trees to cycle out these pollutants, the ecosystem was badly harmed to the point where the environment could not support life.
The film, much like Tapped, has a very apparent bias against corporate greed and deforestation. The bias becomes evident when O’Hare is depicted as a stereotype for a greedy corporate leader; to belittle and somewhat dehumanize him, he is given a small stature and an unattractive outer appearance.The bias leaned towards the preservation and conservation of nature. By watching the harmful effects of deforestation and pollution, I would say that the bias is pretty reasonable.
The Lorax, in my honest opinion, was an excellent movie that teaches its audience of the dangers of corporate greed, deforestation, and pollution. Its humor and its use of fictional characters and setting made the movie extremely funny and interesting. Unlike documentaries, watching this film was actually extremely enjoyable. I especially liked its social commentary on real life events, such as selling air. I give The Lorax an A in the on the soil scale.