01
DuPont's cross-age innovation has brought more than 3,000 cancer patients!
The prototype story of the movie "Black Water" starts with a cross-age invention in 1954-non-stick pan. The manufacture of non-stick pans requires a toxic substance called PFOA or C8.
DuPont, knowing that PFOA can cause fetal malformations and receptor carcinogenesis, continues to produce non-stick pans, and throws 7,100 tons of PFOA-containing sludge into an open pit next to the factory, and then seeps into Parkersburg and Drinking water system for 100,000 people in three neighboring cities.
In 1984, Bucky, a young boy with a congenital facial deformity, was born, but this was only the beginning. More than 3,000 cancer patients appeared in more than 70,000 local households.
What is even more shocking is that PFOA is present in 99% of people on the earth now that organisms cannot decompose this species!
In September 2004, DuPont filed a settlement with the class action lawsuit, agreeing to install filtering devices in the six affected water areas and pay 70 million US dollars in compensation. But DuPont does not admit that C8 is related to disease.
The representative lawyer Robert Bilot proposed a plan, only to receive a medical examination to get the compensation. Afterwards, 70,000 West Virginia residents underwent a medical examination, each receiving a compensation of $400.
After a long wait of 7 years, scientists finally proved the causal relationship between PFOA and a variety of cancers. In 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned the production of C8.
In fact, the case has actually been filmed into a documentary-"You Know I Know the Devil".
It should be noted that the reason why DuPont will hand over all the materials including the materials proving that PFOA is toxic is because the defendant must unconditionally provide the materials required by the plaintiff in such environmental protection cases under US law.
02
The helplessness of the Hulk under the blue
"Black Water" is adapted from the real experience of the aforementioned lawyer Robert (played by the Hulk Uncle Mark in the film).
The film begins with a group of young people swimming in a river dumping waste water under the blue tones, and then the scene is quickly transferred to the law firm where Uncle Mark worked in 1998. A farmer with a strong accent came to ask for help. The film also began with Uncle Mark’s investigation of DuPont’s emissions of harmful substances, PFOA, telling this long and tortuous true story that lasted for 17 years. The lawsuit he filed exposed the history of DuPont’s chemical pollution for decades.
The most impressive thing in the film is undoubtedly the sense of powerlessness. The farmer’s helplessness in the face of the Fortune 500 companies, the helplessness of Uncle Mark in the face of the tens of thousands of pages of information sent by DuPont, and his helplessness. Frustration of neglecting family members.
This made the film's atmosphere extremely depressing, and Uncle Mark's slightly rickety body seemed to be crushed. When we see the shocking physical defects and disabilities caused by pollution, our helplessness turns into anger.
West Virginia, where the story takes place, was originally one of the 13 birthplaces in the United States, but many places have been dilapidated due to pollution. These shots are equipped with the classic song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" that depicts the beautiful local scenery. It can be said to be full of irony.
In the film, in addition to the wonderful performance of Uncle Mark, the absolute protagonist, there is also Anne Hathaway playing the wife who has always supported him by his side. Before us.
At the same time, the film pays great attention to the real passage of time in 17 years, reminding the audience every time, and the children of the male protagonist in the film also grow up day by day, all reminding us of the difficulty of bringing down DuPont!
03
Why is David's method of defeating the giant so unsatisfactory?
Someone once said that there is only one story template throughout the ages, and that is the story of a small character counterattacking and defeating a giant. This film is undoubtedly another example.
In the beginning, Uncle Mark didn’t care about it. He only saw the satisfaction of becoming a partner in the company and the pursuit of money. But after seeing the peasants’ situation, he decided to do a little favor. He didn’t expect to find it by himself in the process. He is willing to pay a lifetime mission for it.
Think carefully about the hit domestic movie "I'm not the God of Medicine", Xu Zheng seems to have gone through such a mental journey. Although the specific "giants" that everyone faces are different, whether it is the AIDS patient struggling to survive in "Dallas Buyers Club" or the awakened lawyer in "The Defender", what they want to change is actually unreasonable. system.
Although regulation will inevitably lag behind innovation, better and more responsible chemical regulation is always needed.
In an era where smog happens from time to time, the requirements for environmental protection should be higher and higher. After watching this film Uncle Mark’s 17 years of non-stop running, I should realize that social changes are not easy. Many people in the film have not waited for the result. He left the world first. Fortunately, there are always people like Robert Bilot who dared to say no to the "giant".
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