Manufactured Landscapes

I thought this was an interesting documentary about Edward Burtynsky, a photographer I had never heard of, but I'm glad I was able to see this. His photographs seemed so surreal, it was hard to believe that his pictures were actual scenes of globalization and idustrialization. One of my favorites was the one from the nickel and copper mines, where the water was a turquoise color and the color of the mineral walls were different shades of orange, yellow, and red. It's interesting to see all of the colors and beauty in industrialized sites - areas that one would not expect to find such beauty. Also, the ship breaking sights in Bangladesh were interesting to see, especially the one where it looks like a statue with the other ships shown in the background of the photograph. The scene with all of the coal piles was also interesting because the Chinese mining company didn't want it getting out how much coal they used, but were willing to let Edward photograph the scene in order to demonstrate the beauty he saw. It's unbelievable how much of the United States' wastes goes to China, such as the piles of computer parts and all of the wires. Also, the comparison of the old Shanghai and new Shanghai was interesting to see how the wealthy and those living in poverty can live in such close quarters those who live in such nice homes while other live in shacks. It is saddening to know that with while there can be such progress that comes with industrialization, there also comes destruction, and many people are unknowing of this fact. While I, myself, am very comfortable with my lifestyle living with such advancements, and I do not know if I could change, but I am glad that I am aware of others' hardships, and will do what is possible to alleviate the problem.