In Cameron Helps with Anti-Dam Films, I noted James Cameron's contributions to the battle against the Belo Monte Dam. Now here are the two films in question:
A Message from Pandora
James Cameron produced this special feature about the battle to stop the Belo Monte Dam and defend the Amazon Rainforest.
Sigourney Weaver Narrates New Google Earth Animation on Brazil's Controversial Belo Monte Dam
10-minute Tour in 3-D Highlights the Dam's Harmful Impacts on Xingu River and Greener Alternatives
Comment: The second film especially is a devastating indictment of the Belo Monte dam. It's hard to believe anyone would support the dam after watching it.
Really, the age of massive engineering projects is or should be over. We need to start living with nature instead of trying to destroy it.
You can see another point that I make frequently: that Amazon Indians are no longer primitive spearchuckers, if they ever were. Sure, these people sometimes dress in traditional costumes, but they also wear shirts and pants, use modern implements, live in villages, speak Portuguese, go to schools, etc.
Like most indigenous people around the world, they live in two worlds. Portraying them as hidebound captives of their old lifestyle is a blatant stereotype.
For more on Cameron's efforts, see Cameron to Film Tribe Opposing Dam. For more on Amazon Indians, see Amazon Indians Weren't Savages and Amazon Indian Students on the Net.
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