Gasland the Documentary

Gasland, a documentary produced and directed by Josh Fox, focuses on communities in the United States that have been impacted by natural gas drilling. It shows an in-depth look at a method known as fracking which horizontally drills into deep rock in search of the black gold. Josh Fox lives in Pennsylvania and when he was asked to lease his families land out to an oil company so they could drill on his property, he refused and decided to take action. Fox traveled all around the country and visited residencies in communities that were badly hit by this sudden rush for the natural gas. There are many scenes in the documentary which illustrate three key aspects to a film, subject, credibility, and impact.
Gasland shows a very important story and Fox does a very good job in convincing the viewer to understand such importance. This success is due mainly to the visual aspect of this documentary. The format and “In your face” style of showing facts and numbers is very appealing to the viewer. When Fox was showing the amount of water used nationwide in order to drill he mixed in video footage and the actual display of adding the numbers together, it was something we could easily understand and learn from. In addition to having strong graphic displays all throughout the film, Fox flourished in doing interviews with the people affected by the drilling. In most documentaries, it is a main focus to go out and interview different people to see where they stand on an issue. Fox does a very good job at this and takes a stand for the people that wouldn’t be able to get their word out. The people he spends time with are really the foundation to the film because without their stories the film would just be filled with factual information that isn’t as appealing. Also, interviewing people adds a side of distress and need for change or help in this particular documentary. Fox does a wonderful job in describing the subject of the film and it’s clear to the viewer what the problem