No_Impact_Man

Barbarian Man Consumerism in America has taken over. The film No Impact Man shows the journey of history writer Collin Beavan trying to lead a no impact life. He goes to many extremes to show how bad the pollution on our earth has gotten and as one man what he wants to do to change it. From completely cutting of his electricity to washing his clothes in the bathtub, Beavan puts a real life view on the answers to the pollution invading our earth. Although most of America would not be willing to turn off their electricity, the movie does however offer small, effective solutions on how to lessen people’s impact and makes it into a family project at the same time. The issue of pollution and the solutions on how to fix it are so controversial. Everyone has heard of ways to help, using only recycled bags at the grocery store, getting a car that has fewer emissions and eating only organic foods but which solution is correct and what really does work' Everyone has a viable theory; it’s just how one goes about proving the effectiveness of that theory. Beavan tests his theories and gives ethos to let the audience know that he is somewhat trustworthy with his information. He takes a visit out to see the farmer where his local milk comes from; by doing this he goes straight to the source to really learn everything that he can. The farmer makes the point to say that his milk is not certified organic because of his relationship with his cows. He, as a caretaker, was not comfortable with not treating his cows when they became sick. He goes on to tell Beavan that it’s more about locality and how the animals are being treated, and that is what makes a product truly organic. Beavan also takes the chance to help plant a local garden, and tends to it throughout the whole project. He learns all the effort that it takes to make all these foods. He makes himself more relatable by getting down and dirty in the dirt so that the viewers are able to feel that he’s one of them. When they feel that he really is just like the man down the street from them they begin to trust him more. Beavan also learns things by trial and error at home. He experiments with different theories that he has heard of through suggestions on his blog or research on the Internet. One project was that he tried to make a refrigerator out of a pot in a pot. The science of it was that as the wet sand in-between the two pots evaporate it takes energy from the inner pot and cools it down. After a few days he finds out that it really doesn’t do the job that they need it to. The fact that he fails while learning something shows that he isn’t a know it all but he is interested in learning different ways to do things. Through his learning process you are able to gain factual information. Throughout the movie facts are a huge part of getting across the information necessary to really draw in the viewer. Part of the opening of the movie shows Beavan and his young daughter Isabella as they are walking down a street in New York City and the main thing the viewer can see is the piled up bags of trash on the side of the road. Then the voice-over statement made by Beavan is that the average American goes through about 1600 pounds of trash a year. Staggering facts like that, through logos, bring such heaviness to the issue of pollution. What kind of person really wants to have 1600 pounds a trash per year coming from their home' A main part of this whole project is that the Beavan family are not consuming anything new, and for them this leaves only spending on the necessities. Beavan’s wife Michelle Conlin can be perceived as the typical materialistic New Yorker. When Conlin and Beavan first talk about consuming in the beginning of the movie she shows her recent bill from her shopping trip. The number 975.38 appears on a statement and she tells that this is the dollar amount of what she spent on a pair of boots. When she sees the number on that piece of paper she is appalled with herself. Later in the movie it is also mentioned while Beavan is in the Bronx at a landfill, that 12,000 trucks go through there a day and has imposed asthma on many of the children living within a radius of the landfill. Emissions from power plants contribute to over 2,800 lung cancer deaths and 38,200 heart attacks annually in the U.S. (“AirZone Blog”). Numbers like these and others in the movie expose the factual data of how bad of a consumerism based and pollutant ignorant country we have become. The reality of the project really takes an emotional toll on the family. The most moving part about the movie was how moving the family was. His wife slowly started to become involved and they really tried to involve their young daughter as much as possible. Throughout the whole movie they really appealed to the audience by using the daughter for funny and sentimental moments, and then making the viewer angry for Conlin when she is trying to convince Beavan to have a baby. Conlin and Beavan alone can draw in the viewer’s emotions but they also do the same as a family. For example, the electricity had been shut off and they could no longer use their washing machine, so Beavan filled the bathtub, put in some borax and started to wash his clothes. As little Isabella comes in to investigate, she too goes in to help “wash the clothes” and is later followed by Conlin who decides to join in with her family. The image of them laughing, stomping around in the bathtub and really just doing something as a family shows that it works to get the whole family involved with it, rather than someone just trying to do stuff on their own. It relates closely to an iconic scene from the hit TV sitcom I Love Lucy when Lucy and Ethel are stomping around squashing grapes to make wine. Another example of how the family captures the mind of the viewer is when Beavan, his wife, and daughter also take a family “vacation” out to a farm. On the train ride out to the farm Conlin states that she is not an outdoorsy nature girl, in any way and actually despises camping. This appeals to the audience because by taking her out to the farm Beavan has taken her from her most comfortable state and made her vulnerable. Everyone at some point has done something out of their comfort zone and known that feeling. Later at a hair salon with a girlfriend Conlin talks about her becoming experience at the farm. A conversation between Beavan and the farmer told that sheep has once been on the land, and Conlin later that night that dreamt that she was a sheep. She goes to tell that while there she couldn’t help but think of her grandparents who were homesteaders, and that they had left something behind and she was retrieving it. This was her “ah-ha” moment, where she really took a step back and the whole project really came into realization for her. The appeal of the young child to the audience ultimately has a greater effect. Beavan does a very good job at involving his daughter in a lot of the work her does as she helps at the garden, while on vacation, washing the clothes, and even making there new refrigerator a cooler. As a family they get to spend more time together and you really get to see the interaction between them and how it changed there sense of family time and instead of sitting at the TV together they play cards, or go out to the park. A scene from the movie that really just shows the true beauty of nature and all that it is, is when Beavan and Isabella are sitting in the garden catching fireflies and the second the first one lights up, pure ecstatic joy overwhelms the little girl. This shows how something so simple can just leave someone in awe. Although they already have one child, throughout the whole movie Conlin is pressuring for them to try for another baby. Beavan does not want another child and she tells him how supportive she has been of the whole project so she wants to be supported in something she wants too. Many families go through a time like this where they try to decide if having a baby really is right for them and this makes the viewer really relate to the Beavan family. Our earth is a precious and vital thing that we need to learn to take care of. Beavan is a perfect example of someone who has taken his energy and put it towards trying to figure out what really does work best. Although some things don’t go as planned for Beavan, along the way he is able to help our environment and gets to spend quality time with Conlin and his daughter. While living by candlelight, and taking vacations to a farm are peaceful and mindful of the environment, most Americans don’t prefer it. This movie shows that you can just lessen your amount of take-out, eat local grown products, and consume less to be able to make an impact on our earth. This film is a must-see to really get a sense on the drastic measure Beavan takes to catch the attention of the population of America.