Green with Envy, Riddled with Guilt

Modicum of Greenness

November 17, 2008 at 7:27 pm Leave a comment

This weekend beheld the box office opening of the latest James Bond oeuvre, “Quantum of Solace,” a film that millions of Americans are turning to in an effort to escape the reality of an economically repressed November. I was among the hoards participating in this mass delusion, and waited in line for nigh an hour to get good seats, anticipating an entertaining hour of mindless action, violence and sex. Little did I know, in addition to this triad of Bondyness, I was also in store for a light dose of environmental commentary.

That’s right, James Bond is the latest of many hollywood hits to bring eco-consciousness to the big screen. And unlike “Wall-E,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” and “An Inconvenient Truth,” which unabashedly shovel the greenness into your face, “Quantum of Solace” subtly spoons it to us like a mom who doesn’t want her kid to realize that he’s actually eating brocolli.

The environmental message is introduced to viewers on the backs of a mysterious and profoundly evil international ring of wealthy investors. Throughout the beginning of the film, it appears that this group is in the nasty but also somewhat cliche business of hoarding the world’s oil resources.

WARNING: SPOILER! DO NOT READ ON IF YOU CARE TO REMAIN IGNORANT OF JAMES BOND PLOT TWISTS

But, as the plot twists and James Bond kills learns more and more, we discover that this mysterious cartel isn’t in the oil business, but rather the water business – buying up land and controlling this “most precious resource.”

I was personally impressed by this poignant (although rather shallow) discussion of the water issue. Water is, and will continue to be, a highly fought-over resource, and the privatization of water resources is a true environmental and health catastrophe, with millions of the poorest people in the world paying increasingly higher prices for drinking water. You can read all about it here, and I even recommend getting a teeny bit of it (like vitamins in Diet Coke) by watching the new Bond film.

Entry filed under: entertainment, reviews, water. Tags: Brooklyn, environment, green, Gwen Schantz, living, New York, sustainable, water privatization.