Cape Spin: An American Power Struggle (2011)
Director: Robbie Gemmel (Nova ScienceNow), John Kirby (The American Ruling Class)
Genre: Documentary (90 minutes)
Images of Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod dance across the screen in harmony with Patti Page singing “Old Cape Cod”… sand dunes and salty air… lobster stew, sky of blue and ocean view. That’s when we meet energy developer, Jim Gordon… the year is 2001. The wind farm he proposes in Nantucket Sound could provide 75% of the area’s electricity with zero pollution… the largest clean energy project in America. New England has a lot of wind and Nantucket Sound is shallow enough to make a wind farm feasible. What’s not to love? “Clearly he underestimated the opposition,” lead by Audra Parker and the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. “All we are saying, is give wind a chance,” sing supporters. Clearly they’ll need more than slogans and songs. Enter, Barbara Hill of Clean Power Now. Like a team of embedded war correspondents, the filmmakers ensconced themselves behind enemy lines with the opposing armies.
Turns out, this isn’t a Democrat or Republican Party issue… it’s more of a Dinner Party issue. For once, we have Mitt Romney, Ted Kennedy and William Koch all on the same side of an issue. Proponents say it’s the elite ruling class protecting their view… and William Koch protecting his fossil-fuel energy interests. “I don’t think burning fossil fuel hurts anything,” says a man on the street. The Alliance says they’re preventing the rape of the setting… not to mention bird interests, fish interests, and Native American interest. The Wampanoag tribe says a wind farm will violate their religious practice of sunrise viewing. Everyone has different PhotoShopped views of the proposed project. Area newspapers all weigh in… some pro, some con. To be fair, many of those who oppose the Cape Wind Project don’t oppose all wind projects; they just don’t want one in Nantucket Sound. NIMBY… Not in my back yard. That leads one advocate to ask, “How big is their fucking back yard?” “It’s never gonna get built,” says an opponent. “It’s gonna end when they either quit or we beat um to death… this project’s going down!”
When this film was screened in the Cape Cod area, proponents and opponents both agreed that their side had been fairly represented… a monumental achievement in such a polarized climate. While the film is about a Cape Cod wind farm, it’s also about how our democracy works. The controversy goes all the way to the White House… and might not end there. It goes all the way to Appalachia, where mountaintops are being blasted off for coal. It’s gotten worldwide news coverage because there are worldwide vested interests. While the controversy is heated, the film takes a satirical view, set to a rollicking soundtrack. It’s fun and easy to watch. What ever happens in Cape Cod… it’s likely to be a starting point for other green energy projects along the Atlantic coast. It’s not easy to separate facts from spin, but Cape Spin will help because it takes an evenhanded view. The opposition thinks, “The truth will kill this project.” They point to problems with European wind farms. But with 55 of them, most Europeans wonder what the fuss is all about. Harry Truman once said, “If you can’t convince them, confuse them.” It’s democracy, American style.
3 popped kernels
A proposed wind farm in Nantucket Sound is at the center of an exercise in democracy
Popcorn Profile
Audience: Grown-ups
Distribution: Art house
Mood: Neutral
Tempo: Cruises comfortably
Visual Style: Unvarnished realism
Character Development: Not that kind of film
Language: True to life
Social Significance: Informative & Thought provoking
