Although there’s a lot of crap in Hollywood, there aren’t many films being made on the subject–at least that we can recommend. One of the most memorable scenes in Slumdog Millionaire is the one, eleven minutes into the film, where young Jamal is trapped in an outhouse by his older brother, just as the movie star he idolizes is being helicoptered into the neighborhood. So powerful is Jamal’s desire to get an autograph that he takes the fall–into the septic contents below him–runs through the crowds–which part in disgust at the sight and smell of him–to emerge victorious with the treasured signature. It’s a gripping love-horror scene, but one that also shows the sanitation reality for literally billions of people.
Here are two more serious cinematic looks at human waste.
Crapshoot: The gamble with our wastes
Filmmaker Jeff McKay whisks us on an eye-opening journey around the world to explore different approaches to sewage, starting at the 2,500 year old Cloaca Maxima in Rome, where the modern concept of sewers began. Filmed in Italy, India, Sweden, the United States and Canada, this 52-minutes documentary questions whether the sewer is alleviating or compounding our waste problem.
Filmed in Italy, India, Sweden, the United States and Canada—countries that, with the exception of India, reportedly have their sanitation problems “handled”—McKay shows us that the hazardous cocktail of chemicals, solvents, heavy metals, human waste and food that industrialized societies “flush” down the drain haven’t really gone away. Though human excrement is no longer the toxic issue in developed countries, because of herbicides, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, and other poisons now in the mix, even treated or composted sewage can be contaminated with compounds that can’t safely be applied to gardens, rivers, lakes, or even oceans. Though solutions are available for organic wastes, the only solution for persistent poisons would appear to be discontinuing their use. The film notes that the community of Bear River, Nova Scotia, which has placed its water treatment plant in the center of town, has reduced the toxicity of its inputs. Residents are reminded daily that they contribute to the wastewater stream and think twice before pouring toxins down the drain. A disturbing 2003 film that can be watched in its entirety for free online.
Newtown Creek Digester Eggs: The Art of Human Waste is a three-minute short by award-winning director David Leitner. The sludge digesters at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, epitomize a beautiful marriage of form and function created courtesy of New York City’s Percent for Art program, which funded the award-winning architecture and design of the digester “eggs.” Inside the digesters, heat and anaerobic bacteria break down the sludge into water, carbon dioxide and methane gas, leaving what is called “digested sludge.” This material, in turn, is dewatered to form a cake, which, after additional processing, can be used as fertilizer. The film doesn’t delve into the probable heavy metal, herbicidal, or pharmaceutical components of the sludge; just beautifully illustrate thoughtful design applied to a problem few people care to think about. Click on the link to watch the film free online.
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