posted June 27, 2008
I was excited about going to the IMAX Theater and seeing a 3-D movie. This was to be a first for me.
I took my seat and put my special glasses on and waited anxiously for the film to start. As the film started rolling I was thrilled by the special effects. The sound track was fantastic.
All was well in my little world as I sat back and enjoyed the beginning of a film about the Grand Canyon.
Then the voice over started and it was soon clear that this was not a film to be enjoyed. It was designed to make a political statement.
Instead of a chance to enjoy something spectacular, something beautiful, I was bombarded by scripted line after line of how devastating humans are to the Grand Canyon. I was read to by Robert Redford, his voice echoing from the speakers on how horrid things are in the Canyon. Then I got to hear from one
It is amazing to me that as they tell how the Colorado River was once silt-filled, that they frolicked in crystal clear water. Now I imagine they would not enjoy that leisurely swim in a muddy silt filled river, if things were as they claim they are supposed to be.
Also these Enviro-Nazi's certainly seemed to enjoy their adventure in their petroleum based kayaks and rafts. Their camp was also well lit by Coleman fuel powered lanterns. They even have a scene with a man running a grinder, so I guess they also have a generator somewhere that is fossil fuel powered, as I know of no solar powered grinder.
I find it obscene that the makers of this film tell us how things should be, yet they follow nothing they want the rest of the world to do.
There is a Native American lady in the film and she tells of how ancient tribes once lived in the Canyon. She tells of shores where crops once grew. She is woeful as she shows how other vegetation now replaces the corn. The Grand Canyon is a national park, I know of no reason to grow corn there. The sand bars are claimed to be gone, everyone knows that bodies of water change the shape of the land in which they flow.
And the one thing that baffles me most is the claim that water is vanishing. Is there a group of aliens coming to Earth and stealing our precious water? I do not know how you can say water is vanishing. If it is dry in one place it will be wet in another. Look at parched Georgia and the flooded Mississippi area. I do not believe that water is just escaping our atmosphere and vaporizing into space.
If this is an example of the films made for the spectacular IMAX format then it is truly a waste. I feel that more good would be done had the film been about a trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon without all the hype about mans destruction. With the attempt to make man the most
horrible creature on the planet, frankly I can care less about the Grand Canyon. That big hole in the ground would make a nice landfill site for all I care.
The Enviro-Nazi’s mission statement seems to be that man needs to return to living as a primate. Life for man should be that of an animal with no clothing, no house to live in, no medicine, nothing but existence. Perhaps the Enviro-Nazi’s want all of mankind to commit suicide to allow the Earth to heal itself.
But for me, I will never waste my time on another IMAX film if this is what they are all like.
Dwayne Cales
Hixson
heardacry@yahoo.com
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What's going on at IMAX? I had not been lately but had an opportunity to take four of my
grandchildren to see the Dolphins and Whales a couple of weeks ago. We went there to experience the beauty and majesty of God's creation and, instead, were, not subtly, propagandized about how people are destroying earth's ocean life.
Is this what we can expect in the future at IMAX, a biased political statement? This grandmother was disappointed and my grandchildren were not sure if they were supposed to feel happy or sad, good or bad. My six-year-old grandson asked to leave early.
Gail Holland
Soddy Daisy
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My husband and I were also disappointed in the IMAX Grand Canyon film, after taking time off from work to see it as part of a birthday celebration.
We were so excited at the prospect of seeing the beautiful Grand Canyon scenery in the IMAX format, and I was especially hopeful that the film would include the new platform built by Native Americans out over one of the gorges. Not!
In reality, practically the whole film was about the Colorado River and the dire condition of the river and the canyon. It was very strongly environmentally oriented which might have been okay if it had been billed that way.
It should have been titled, "The Dire Condition of the Colorado River (at the Bottom of the Grand Canyon) And, Oh, by the Way, We are Running Out of Water Because Man Wants to Use It to Grow Food." We were not impressed.
Pamper G. Crangle
pamperg@comcast.net
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Having recently seen the movie myself, I was shocked to see that anyone would could twist the meaning of the film to be "Political Propaganda". If Dwayne had read any of the many articles and reviews about this film before, he would have realized that this piece is about something more than just creatively filming what is one of the most incredibly beautiful areas of our country - it is a film about man's long term affect on the planet.
I suppose there are a few thoughts that come to mind about Dwayne's myopic view of the film:
He is baffled to learn that "water is vanishing". Water is not escaping our atmosphere, Dwayne - fresh water is a very limited resource that affects the entire world. Whether the vastly reduced lakes of Africa, to the shrinking polar cap to the limited FRESH waters supplies that are being fought over in the Southwest - Fresh Water is not unlimited. Or did you forget about Georgia's effort to get their piece of the Tennessee River because they can't manage their own water supplies?
Mr. Cale discussed a "Native Woman's" view of how her tribe used to grow corn in the canyons, and could not understand why they would want to do this in a National Park. Okay, Dwayne - here's the very simple answer - that area of the country was not always a National Park - tribes lived in that area long before we blessed the shores of America; however, her point was that all of the changes to how the river has been managed has limited the ability for her tribe to live in the historical area that they lived in for generations.
Wayne could care less about the Grand Canyon. As he said "that it is just a big hole in the ground that would make a nice landfill." I suppose in his mind it would make a great place for him to flick his lit cigarette butts or to toss his old used McDonald's McGriddle wrappers. The Grand Canyon is one of the world's truly great Natural Wonders. It's so large and beautiful, that our astronauts can see it while orbiting Earth.
Enviro-Nazi's. Wow - now there's an interesting term. Is this the new term for people that have an interest in passing on Earth's limited resources to their Aryan grandchildren? Open your eyes to the world a little, Dwayne, gas is not $4 a gallon because the government wants you to pay more to drive to the store to get your Camels and Schlitz "Tall Boys". It is a finite resource that we are now competing to get with the rest of the world.
The filming in Grand Canyon 3-D is spectacular. The music is well done. And, yes, Robert Redford does narrate the concerns that our environmentalists about the future of our world.
Josh Brown
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Mr. Cales, I am sorry your IMAX visit was so disappointing. Maybe an animated movie with the imperfections glossed over would be more to your liking. You say the film was political, why? Did it mention one party or the other?
I guess you mean it was political because it spoke of conservation. If this is the case, why is the conservation of our natural resources a partisan issue? When did conserving what you have, being responsible enough to clean up after yourself and showing concern for future generations become something that upsets conservatives so much? I have an idea. Conservationists like Roosevelt and others on the right (Nixon started the EPA) were the norm until the union of big business and the GOP. It started when Reagan (after he had the solar panels removed from the White House) hired James Watts as his secretary of the interior, a man who stated conservation was useless because the rapture was so near. This attitude, along with the millions and millions of dollars donated to the Republicans by the very industries that profit from the destruction of the environment through either depletion of resources or pollution (at a ratio of 4 to 1, Republican/Democrats) has created a partisan issue out of something that should be an issue important to all Americans. Can you tell me why John McCain is considered a "Lefty" because he believes we should leave clean air and water to the next generation? The right wing talk radio hosts in this country wanted to repeal the ban on foreign born presidents when Arnold was first elected in California. Now he is a traitor and a RHINO (Republican in name only) due to his refusal to ignore science.
If you care nothing for the natural beauty on this earth (which is aparent since you think the Grand Canyon should be a landfill), at least think of this. A bacterial growth curve has a LOG phase, in which the growth (population) increases at a a fast rate. It then hits a stationary phase in which the decrease in nutrients (resources) coupled with the increase in waste (pollution) slow/halt the growth. This is followed by the, take a guess, death phase. While I know many believe our species is too precious and unique to follow biological trends, it would be wise for people to pay attention to one of the most basic models of life.
To Mrs. Crangle, I did not see the film so I can't comment on what the message was. That being said, please understand, the water in the Colorado river is not being depleted to grow food. The water in the Colorado is being drained so that thousands of holes of golf can stay green all year in Phoenix and Las Vegas. The food argument makes a much better pitch, but fly in to either city and look at the hundreds and hundreds of acres of year round beautiful green, in the middle of some of the world's driest desserts. If a city like Atlanta can run out of water in the relatively water rich east, imagine the thirst of these two metropolises in an area without water.
Bryan Vance
Johnson City
bvdisc@gmail.com
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The title of the movie is "Grand Canyon River at Risk."
Pretty apparent that the movie is going to be about conservation and endangerment by the title, don’t you think?
Tara Etter
* * *
IMAX's big screen movie would have better inspired and exited viewers if it displayed the awesome beauty of colors, enormous size over of over 1,000 square miles, the depth of over one mile from rim to river and glorified it as one of the natural wonders of the world. Or shown how with the naked eye satellites can be viewed at night traversing the sky with millions of stars.
In May 2005 friends and I rafted through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River and it was one of the best weeks of my life. Going to the IMAX movie about the Grand Canyon excited me to relive great memories. Watching the IMAX movie was a disappointment and I cannot recommend for anyone to spend money listening to an hour of negative bashing of human impact on the world.
Personally I am very environmentally conscious and take care of the environment, but I paid for entertainment, not preaching.
Larry Harwood
Hixson
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In response to the negative comments regarding Grand Canyon-River at Risk, I have three words, the truth hurts. How can anyone living in the southeast fail to recognize the fact that our society is depleting our water supply at a very scary rate, likewise, the fact is that the mighty Colorado is being drained dry.
You may not agree with the cause, or with the solution, but facts are facts. Propaganda? Many of our grandparents also thought man's first steps on the moon were filmed in a studio in Hollywood. This is a beautifully presented movie about one of God's most beautiful creations being in peril, the movie provides statistics, facts, and photographic proof of the problem.
If you don't care to open your mind to the fact that a problem exists, you might want to consider different movie choices. Hollywood creates lots of fantasies to which you can escape reality and allow Bruce Willis to save the day. Or, consider moving to Atlanta and then decide if the water problem is propaganda or reality. Either way, the truth hurts and some of us are trying to educate ourselves regarding the problem, rather than becoming the cause of it.
If education isn't your goal go to the Rave theatre.
Angie Lewallen
Ooltewah
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