No prizes for guessing the topic of these online comments - “ emotional, hard hitting, well researched, courageous, the best documentary I have seen”. Despite the presence of similar films, a firestorm of web comment was followed by the removal of Jing Chai’s documentary on China’s air pollution problem “Under the Dome” after it went viral.
But China can congratulate itself on being the country that has produced the most lucid and comprehensive background account of the “War on Pollution” announced last year by Premier Li Kepqiang. It is an achievement to produce this without the overstatement and anger that characterises many environmental documentaries, and shows it is more effective to appeal to the heart rather than the head in order to make people sit up and take notice. Often they have little impact on people as they are presented with a doom-mongering attitude that just makes people deny, ignore or forget. Compare Al Gore’s worthy but alternatively sensational/boring film “An Inconvenient Truth”.
She tells a good story which starts with the birth of her child and her worries for the baby’s future health. Chai’s uber-professional air of calm authority, delivered coolly with dry understatement in the multimedia style of a TED talk, and packed with easily digestible facts, figures and fabulous graphics, belies the hard headed message that cannot be ignored: “what is the point of having economic growth when you can no longer see blue sky?” (Jack Ma). I have enjoyed plenty of days of topaz skies in Nanjing, but the bigger picture is laid out in this well constructed film. The most affecting parts are the interviews with environmental officials who are exasperated by their own inability to enforce regulations. One states sadly: “ I dare not open my mouth, because it shows to the world that I have no teeth”.
The 143-minute documentary has been viewed globally over 200 million times. She alludes to previous global air pollution crises such as the great smog of London (1952), the Los Angeles smogs of the mid 20th century, and the Chester Mill air pollution incident from which the title is taken. Allegedly self financed, Chai first investigates the various sources of the smog problem; the burning of low quality fuel in some coal fired power stations and the polluting steel works of Shanxi and Hubei, many of which rely on subsidies to survive. This poses the question – how can a state controlled industry get away with it? The film highlights the power of the oil companies who, amazingly, set their own standards of emissions, and the fact that China’s diesel sulphur content is 20 times higher than Europe’s. Then there is the overuse of vehicles and the burning of heavy oils of the poorest quality, both in restaurants and vehicles, combined with poor filtering standards.
She does not avoid the tricky issue of finding solutions. Citizens are encouraged to act as whistle-blowers by using smartphones and phone hotlines, to monitor dust from open construction sites, to check the use of filters in restaurants, and not shirk their personal responsibility. There is a need for local environmental enforcement: only 1% of pollution lawsuits go to court. The experience of other countries shows you can control the polluting habits of 90% of people if you enforce the law. Interviews with USA based pollution officers show how to fine polluters on the streets, and in the UK Ed Davey explains how the economy has not faltered despite environmental regulation. Innovation need not be a burden – look at Germany’s success in reducing pollution whilst at the same time building a profitable Green Technology sector.
Some questions remain: in whose interest was the documentary produced? Was the timing connected to the National Committee meeting? The credits show that this film is actually sponsored and supported by a number of central government institutions and organizations. Is this the reason it could be shown in the first place?
China need not worry about well received but potentially embarrassing non-governmental messages. Premier Li Kepqiang has made tremendous efforts to tackle environment problems and this film is a supporting call to arms that China cannot afford to ignore.
But China can congratulate itself on being the country that has produced the most lucid and comprehensive background account of the “War on Pollution” announced last year by Premier Li Kepqiang. It is an achievement to produce this without the overstatement and anger that characterises many environmental documentaries, and shows it is more effective to appeal to the heart rather than the head in order to make people sit up and take notice. Often they have little impact on people as they are presented with a doom-mongering attitude that just makes people deny, ignore or forget. Compare Al Gore’s worthy but alternatively sensational/boring film “An Inconvenient Truth”.
She tells a good story which starts with the birth of her child and her worries for the baby’s future health. Chai’s uber-professional air of calm authority, delivered coolly with dry understatement in the multimedia style of a TED talk, and packed with easily digestible facts, figures and fabulous graphics, belies the hard headed message that cannot be ignored: “what is the point of having economic growth when you can no longer see blue sky?” (Jack Ma). I have enjoyed plenty of days of topaz skies in Nanjing, but the bigger picture is laid out in this well constructed film. The most affecting parts are the interviews with environmental officials who are exasperated by their own inability to enforce regulations. One states sadly: “ I dare not open my mouth, because it shows to the world that I have no teeth”.
The 143-minute documentary has been viewed globally over 200 million times. She alludes to previous global air pollution crises such as the great smog of London (1952), the Los Angeles smogs of the mid 20th century, and the Chester Mill air pollution incident from which the title is taken. Allegedly self financed, Chai first investigates the various sources of the smog problem; the burning of low quality fuel in some coal fired power stations and the polluting steel works of Shanxi and Hubei, many of which rely on subsidies to survive. This poses the question – how can a state controlled industry get away with it? The film highlights the power of the oil companies who, amazingly, set their own standards of emissions, and the fact that China’s diesel sulphur content is 20 times higher than Europe’s. Then there is the overuse of vehicles and the burning of heavy oils of the poorest quality, both in restaurants and vehicles, combined with poor filtering standards.
She does not avoid the tricky issue of finding solutions. Citizens are encouraged to act as whistle-blowers by using smartphones and phone hotlines, to monitor dust from open construction sites, to check the use of filters in restaurants, and not shirk their personal responsibility. There is a need for local environmental enforcement: only 1% of pollution lawsuits go to court. The experience of other countries shows you can control the polluting habits of 90% of people if you enforce the law. Interviews with USA based pollution officers show how to fine polluters on the streets, and in the UK Ed Davey explains how the economy has not faltered despite environmental regulation. Innovation need not be a burden – look at Germany’s success in reducing pollution whilst at the same time building a profitable Green Technology sector.
Some questions remain: in whose interest was the documentary produced? Was the timing connected to the National Committee meeting? The credits show that this film is actually sponsored and supported by a number of central government institutions and organizations. Is this the reason it could be shown in the first place?
China need not worry about well received but potentially embarrassing non-governmental messages. Premier Li Kepqiang has made tremendous efforts to tackle environment problems and this film is a supporting call to arms that China cannot afford to ignore.