Promised Land Review

Over the weekend I went to see the new Matt Damon/John Krasinski movie, Promised Land. This was an entertaining film bringing to light the issues of fracking in small American towns and the juxtaposition of economic sustainability with environmental sustainability.
Fracking is the method used to drill natural gas out of the earth. It is done miles beneath the surface of the earth. Natural gas is a safe, clean energy, but the method for obtaining it is not. Big energy companies often go into small towns and lease their land from them for this reason, and this is the idea behind Promised Land.
The film shows the complex issue from many sides: the environmental destruction and damage are placed alongside the idea of a struggling farming community getting rich and sustaining their town, improving their schools, and finding better jobs and opportunities for their children. The movie does a good job of illustrating both sides of the issue and not just preaching the issues with fracking.
Viewers are left with many ideas to consider, such as the safety of the method, the economic development that would come or not--there is the risk that many farms would be permanently destroyed, drinking water contaminated, animals and quality of life affected.
As far as the issue goes, I disagree with the idea of fracking. It is not a clean energy solution, and it destroys small- town farming communities and comes at a great cost to the health of  the planet. Many towns do not get the economic sustainability they are promised, as crops and animals become sick. This technology has also not been around long enough for us to know what sort of damage drilling deep into the earth is doing.
As far as the movie goes, I recommend seeing it. There is a surprise plot twist at the end that I really enjoyed and think demonstrates the problem that comes with corporations having so much power and influence through money and information. You can literally buy anything you want in this country, provided you can pay the price.

--Megan