James Howard Kunstler Movies
In the face of a finite oil supply and man-made climate change, a number of innovators are working toward perfecting a clean energy solution. This 2007 documentary profiles several of these evironmentally conscious thinkers with an eye toward a sustanable future. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hunter Lovins, William McDonough, (more)
Radiant City, which represents the first collaboration between documentarist Gary Burns and journalist Jim Brown, takes as its springboard thesis the idea that suburban life is quickly becoming the norm for families across North America. It thus carries viewers inside of the "suburban mystique" via a protracted dissection of a clan that resides in a planned community, the Moss family. The film specifically examines how the suburban landscape, with its prefab houses, playgrounds, schools, strip malls, and community activities, continues to shape and define the lives and perceptions of these individuals -- from the father's involvement with a local theatrical troupe to the children's feelings of ennui and sense of removal from the neighbors in their subdivision. Burns offsets the picture's stark themes and undertones, however, with a sharp, wicked, and occasionally satirical sense of humor that never fails to catch the absurdities or ironies of this landscape. Musician Joey Santiago, from the band the Pixies, complements the images with a gritty rock soundtrack that draws out the sense of familial dislocation and desperation. The picture also traces the rise of suburbia historically, and features input by such suburban commentators as Mark Kingwell, from the University of Toronto, and writer James Howard Kunstler, who criticize the initial postwar model for suburban communities and suggest that it may not provide the optimal environment for living and raising a family. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Jeffery, Bob Legare, (more)
- 2004
- Add The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream to QueueAdd The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream to top of Queue
Since the end of World War II, American families have steadily moved away from large cities into suburban areas, with little thought to the ecological costs of suburban life. Creating neighborhoods with large single-family homes that require significant amounts of energy to heat and are located an inconvenient distance from schools, shopping centers, and employment districts that demand the daily use of automobiles, suburbs are remarkably inefficient communities built around the notion that fossil fuels will always be inexpensive and readily available. However, many experts have speculated that the Earth's supply of oil and natural gas is rapidly dwindling, and that the amount available may throw the world into a global, political, and economic crisis in the foreseeable future. The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream is a documentary which examines the rise of the suburban lifestyle, the costs to the Earth and the economy of our current living habits, where we may be headed, and how this situation can be remedied. Canadian journalist Barrie Zwicker serves as narrator. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barrie Zwicker, James Howard Kunstler, (more)
