Summary
The film begins shortly after the conclusion of “The Edge of Heaven”, in 2007. It is set in the small Turkish village of Çamburnu, which was designated as the site for a new dump. The dump was constructed in 2007 in an abandoned copper mining pit just outside of a residential area. The law at the time stated that no landfills were to be established within 1000 meters of a residential area, and no waste material could be flushed into local water features. The state government ignored the one kilometer minimum distance, and used the landscape as justification, saying that hills in between the residential properties and the dump made up for the close proximity. The government also promised that all fluids coming out of the dump would be treated before entering the river and surrounding sea, and that there would be no noticeable smell.
The smell was immediately horrific, prompting the government to install a perfume sprinkler system (which did nothing), and within two years the annual rains had caused massive flooding which contaminated the water and lead to subsequent poisonings of people and farmland. Soon thereafter, the water processing plant burst, flooding the village with more tainted water, and despite this, and the dump being well above capacity, the government still insisted on filling it with more garbage. Many people left the village, and for those who stayed life became nearly unbearable. The film ends with the mayor sadly announcing that the village has, once again, lost in court to the state government, but he claims that he will continue to fight for the rights of his citizens.
How can the film be considered transnational?
As a documentary film, Polluting Paradise is capturing not only a real situation, but a real situation that is specific to this small Turkish region. As such, you might expect this format to be void of transnational values but in fact, I found this film to be very transnational. Especially in the current state of environmental consciousness, Polluting Paradise is a film that transcends boundaries by highlighting a global issue through the depiction of a local example. Witnessing one’s environment become increasingly polluted over time, even if it is not quite to the degree of pollution depicted in the film, is something that can be universally understood. It is also made clear that the problem itself is something that can transcend boundaries if not dealt with. The landfill continues to grow, and as it does the surrounding environments including the ocean will become more and more affected.
Clip
Analysis
This clip depicts the dump for the first time in its entirety. Up until this point in the movie there are long shots of the half-filled dump, and an occasional close up shot of some random rubbish or filthy water, but this is the first time we, as an audience, get to see just how bad the dump is. A carefully choreographed mixture of long shots, close ups, and panning shots showcase both the scale and the disgusting details of the dump. Part of what makes this scene so powerful is it takes an issue that, up until that point, was only vaguely described, and brings home how dangerous the issue actually is. Greenhouse gasses bubbling out of contaminated water, mishandled bio waste, and unwanted pests are all terrible things to have to see on screen, and it is made so much worse by the fact that there are people living next door to these filthy conditions.
Larger Themes
The director for both our film, and the film for this week, is Fatih Akin. Akin is fascinated with the struggle of the working class, and seeks to bring to light the pain the proletariat feels in an endless struggle. In The Edge of Heaven we see Turkish and German immigrants struggling to do good in a world filled with wrong, and in the end there is no conclusive end, but rather a continuation of struggle. These same themes can be observed in Polluting Paradise, and it is almost more obvious due to the clear power difference between both the citizens of Çamburnu and their local government as they try and take on the state government. In the essay “Garbage in Paradise”, Deniz Bayrak and Sarah Reininghaus analyze the significance of the village and the dump, and come to the conclusion that the village represents purity, paradise, and oneness with nature, whereas the dump represents capitalism, profit, and power. These themes of an oppressive totalitarian regime are not just present in the struggles of the citizens of Çamburnu, but also through the actions of Nurgül Yeşilçay in The Edge of Heaven, and through the declarations within the Oberhausen Manifesto. Akin does not simply want to show his audience the issues with pollution, he also wants to bring to light the systematic oppression of a working class, and uses the dump as an example as one of the tools used to uphold the weighted power dynamic.
Citation
BAYRAK, D.; REININGHAUS, S. Garbage in Paradise – Müll und Rauminszenierung in Fatih Akýns Dokumentarfilm Müll im Garten Eden. (Turkish). Istanbul Üniversitesi Alman Dili ve Edebiyai Dergisi / Studien zur Deutschen Sprache und Literatur, [s. l.], v. 1, n. 33, p. 41, 2015. Disponível em: http://search.ebscohost.com.nuncio.cofc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=113776553&site=eds-live&scope=site. Acesso em: 29 fev. 2020.