Manufactured Landscapes. (The Film)

     The film Manufactured Landscapes explores photographer Edward Burtynsky's artistic documentation of Industrial China.  The sheer scale and unexpected beauty of these landscapes evokes a sense of the sublime. Burtynsky's images use mass repetition on an astounding level, as well as rich unexpected complimentary colors  to achieve this level of majestic beauty.
    The idea of the sublime is often conjured in representations of the grand scale of nature. In this film the emphasis is on the human element carving into the behemoth of the landscapes and industry taking the role nature once held on it's own. The film repeatedly emphasizes this theme throughout. Perhaps one of the most poignant examples occurs when the filmmakers follow Burtynksy to the construction of the Three Gorges Damn on the Yangtze river. A project that has taken over a decade to build and has flooded over 200 squares miles of land in order to bring electricity to the people of China. Burtyunsky's work often explores t destruction of nature in order to mine its resource. This often leads to high levels of pollution and an industry seemingly unaware of the growing environmental problems posed by these actions. This film explores this matter on a global level, as China's economy & hunt for resources ties in with the rest of the world's. It does not seek to indict humanity for what it does, the filmmakers very aware of their compliance in all that is happening. The issue is understood as complex. As an artist Burtynsky wants to create a discussion or at least an interest in a discussion.