Dark Waters
Most of the world suffers because of the unfathomable greed of a select few.
Watched the movie ‘Dark Waters’. It is scary to see how companies we admire and deem as pioneers can have such dark sides to them. And this is when we are clueless about most of the evil being done.
Every time you watch something of this sort, it makes you wonder about what else it is that is being hidden from you. What other evil are you partaking in unintentionally? What other health hazards are you being sold? It is truly shocking how we live in a world where we allow companies, people to get away with the harm they cause, the lives they disrupt. They get to “settle” the damages. How do you measure damages to someone’s childhood, how do you measure the loss of someone’s loved one, how do you measure the misery?
I loved the movie to the core. It showed how Robert Bilott is fighting a battle against the Titans. How a man is trying to give voice to the countless anguished people, to the point where he is neglecting his own life. Here is a man who is trying to do good, but that is not easy. And a good man’s conscience does not allow for peace till he can get justice for all. The fact that he has to hear from the devastated victims, who are expecting justice to not take forever, weighs down on him. He is taking pay cuts, his personal life has also taken a toll. His wife has given him support, but she can also take on so much. I loved how the movie tried to show different perspectives directly or indirectly (via the exhibits he presents to the DuPont CEO, the summary he gives to his wife), some glimpse into the lives of those impacted. There are truly heart-wrenching moments in the movie. You feel outraged at all the injustice, all the suffering caused to the common man, the uphill battle for justice, the sheer heartlessness of corporates. The movie had a cameo of the true heroes, another thing that I appreciated. I am sad that I did not get to know of this astounding work sooner. This is how movie making and art should be used- to reflect the society, its flaws, and virtues all bared.
It is disheartening that fighting a battle for a good cause is so arduous. That we know of film stars and sports celebrities, but not of such heroes, the social activists and good samaritans of the world. That we are all so driven by making money, that we are trapped in this mechanical work, where we go on about our day, uncaring of everyone and everything else. That we are all being manipulated by people in power, distracted, too busy putting out one small fire, followed by the next. Not once able to see the chaos we are engulfed in, too focused on the small discrepancy that we are made to believe as the critical problem.
Sometimes it feels better to not know. Ignorance truly is bliss. Cause the more you know, the more disturbing the world seems to be. Which issue do you start with? Yes, there are many good people in the world. But they do not have enough power, the balance of power is not symmetrical. And you know the problem with good people? Their conscience. They can’t allow for bad things, but that is never a problem with those they are fighting against. They suffer because the ones causing suffering never care.
