Earth and the American Dream (1992)


Genre: Culture & Society
Movie Type: Social Issues
Director: Bill Couturie
Main Cast: Mel Gibson, E.G. Marshall
Release Year: 1993
Country: US
Run Time: 78 minutes

This exhaustive treatment of the roots of environmental destruction in the
modern world has come in for scathing criticism from those spearheading
the "environmental backlash" movement, which is composed largely of rabidly
pro-corporate thinkers and those who take "pure" capitalism as their religion.
The filmmakers demonstrate that, beginning with Columbus' activities on the
island of Hispaniola, the drive to exploit the natural world has increased
explosively all over the world. In the case of the United States, doctrines like
"Manifest Destiny" are shown to have played their role in justifying these
developments. In this passionate indictment of current trends, the filmmakers
have spared no offender, and the overriding tone is bleak indeed. As a propaganda
piece, they might have done better to moderate their tone and speak of some of
the benefits of modernity along with the depredations caused by it. It is also clear
that almost none of the villains the documentary names thought of themselves
as such, or are willing to do so now. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide


Cast
Mel Gibson
E.G. Marshall

Jeremy Irons; Karl Malden; Dennis Weaver; Alec Baldwin;
Anthony Hopkins; Gene Hackman; Jack Lemmon; Mary Steenburgen;
Lee Grant; Jeffrey DeMunn; Harrison Ford; Peter Coyote; Rod Steiger;
James Caan; Ed Asner; Robert Hegyes; Sam Waterston; Ed Begley, Jr.;
Christopher Reeve; Bette Midler; Lloyd Bridges; Ned Beatty; Tom Everett;
Glenn Shadix; Dustin Hoffman; Michael Keaton; David Ogden Stiers;
Ellen Burstyn; Dr. Haing S. Ngor; Floyd Red Crow Westerman; Graham Greene

Credit
Todd Boekelheide - Composer (Music Score); Bill Couturie - Director


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