Elizabeth Veltre: June 2014

The film Manufactured Landscapes (2007) was directed by Jennifer Baichwal for Zeitgeist Films and features the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky. The documentary combines video and still images with Burtynsky’s narration to create a unique perspective on the impacts of industrialization on a global scale. The imagery, mainly taken in Canada, China, and Bangladesh, focuses on the ways that industry has affected the environment, as well as the human population. Burtynsky’s work is simultaneously beautiful and unsettling, capturing our manufactured landscapes with a keen eye but also demonstrating the sheer scale at which human beings have changed the surface of the planet. The images that Burtynsky creates are awakening, intimate, and inspiring. These strange landscapes represent neither right nor wrong, but they demand attention, and as Burtynsky stated, require “a new way of thinking.”

Burtynsky’s photographs serve both as documentation and as art. His images include Canadian hillsides that have been mined and quarried for decades; armies of Chinese factory workers; and rust-laden ships washed ashore in Bangladesh. Burtynsky stresses the importance of documenting these scenes, arguing that they are as relevant to our existence as the natural world. It is important for us to understand the impact that we've had on our environment. However, his photographs are also often beautiful and picturesque. He uses wide angles to capture roads carved into mountains; he uses light to create a colorful sheen on the surface of polluted water. I found the artistic nature of Burtynsky’s photographs to be very effective. After the first glance, it becomes apparent that these beautiful images are not of something naturally occurring, but rather are the result of damage that we have done to the planet.

The images that Burtynsky creates are quite powerful and evoke many emotions in the viewer. At one point, Burtynsky mentions seeing the damaged oil rigs in Bangladesh and thinking to himself that he has probably used oil that had been carried in those ships in his own personal vehicle. Looking at his images, you come to the realization that you as an individual also probably contributed in some small way, just by existing in and accepting our industrial culture. You feel a nagging sense of ownership and responsibility for the scenes that Burtynsky captured. Then as the camera zooms out, the scene becomes wider, vaster, and you develop a new feeling – helplessness. Even if you were to reduce your own impact, it would be such a small fraction of the total that it wouldn't even be noticeable. I felt that this combination of emotions was both eye-opening and humbling, effectively conveying Burtynsky’s argument. There are some obvious negative impacts of industrialization, but there are also equally as many, if not more, positive impacts. Though we have manipulated our planet to a great extent, the quality of life for many people has greatly increased. Industrialization cannot be viewed simply as right or wrong; however, it is a prominent facet of our reality and must be treated as such.

Manufactured Landscapes is neither a call to action nor a skepticism – it simply encourages awareness. Burtynsky is insistent upon this notion in the documentary and it seems to be demonstrated appropriately in his work. Whether the impression that his images leave is positive, negative, or somewhere in between, the impression will surely be a powerful one. Burtynsky’s photographs are capable of evoking multiple emotions, but they are conflicting enough to allow the viewer find their own meaning. I found myself in the same state of turmoil that Burtynsky mentions near the end of the film – while the reality of industrialization is unsettling, I’m probably not going to abandon the modern conveniences that I've come to rely on. One thing is for certain, though – I will never be able to look at my iron in the same way.