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Under the Dome (film)

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This article is about the documentary on air pollution in China. For the American science fiction drama based on Stephen King's novel, see Under the Dome (TV series).
Under the Dome
Pollution in Chengdu in 2014, as depicted in Under the Dome
Directed byChai Jing
Produced byMing Fan
Narrated byChai Jing
Release date
  • 28 February 2015 (2015-02-28)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageChinese
BudgetCN¥1m (US$160,000)[1]

Under the Dome (Chinese: 穹顶之下; pinyin: qióngdǐng zhī xià) is a 2015 self-financed, Chinese documentary film by Chai Jing, a former China Central Television journalist, concerning air pollution in China. It was viewed over 150 million times on Tencent within three days of its release, and had been viewed a further 150 million times (total 300 million views) by the time it was taken offline four days later.

Chai Jing started making the documentary when her as yet unborn daughter developed a tumour in the womb, which had to be removed very soon after her birth. Chai blames air pollution for the tumour. The film, which combines footage of a lecture with interviews and factory visits, has been compared with Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth in both its style and likely impact. The film openly criticises state-owned energy companies, steel producers and coal factories, as well as showing the inability of the Ministry of Environmental Protection to act against the big polluters.

Despite demonstrating the failure of China's regulations on pollution, the Chinese government at first did not censor the film. Instead, the People's Daily reposted the film alongside an interview with Chai, while Chen Jining, the recently appointed minister for environmental protection, praised the film, comparing its significance with Silent Spring, the 1962 book by US environmentalist Rachel Carson. However, within a week, the Communist Party’s publicity department confidentially ordered the film to be removed. An employee of China Business News was suspended for leaking the order.

Synopsis

Factory on the Yangtze River, China

The documentary is narrated by Chai, who presents the results of her year-long research mostly in the form of a lecture, reminiscent of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. As well as data, she reveals footage from factory visits and interviews with government officials, environmental experts and business owners.[2] She also speaks with officials from London and Los Angeles on how their respective cities have managed to deal with historic issues of pollution.[3]

Chai begins with the story of her daughter's tumour in utero and its removal shortly after her birth. Chai claims the tumour was caused by air pollution.[1][4]

The film shows that China is losing its "war on pollution".[5] The targets of her film include state-owned oil companies such as China National Petroleum Corporation, which has also been the subject of the government's anti-corruption crackdown.[1] Chai also critices PetroChina and Sinopec.[6] These companies set their own production standards and the Ministry of Environmental Protection is largely powerless to respond. Steel producers and coal plants also ignore regulations to maximise profits.[5] Chai visits a steel producer in Hebei province with a government inspector to measure levels of pollutants. Months later, it has yet to pay its fines but a provincial official tells her that it is not possible to shut down such factories and sacrifice employment for the sake of the environment.[4]

Towards the end of the film, Chai urges individuals to take responsibility. She convinces a restaurant to use more environmentally sound equipment. She says: "This is how history is made. With thousands of ordinary people one day saying, 'No, I'm not satisfied, I don't want to wait. I want to stand up and do a little something.'"[7]

Release

The film was released online 28 February 2015, on the Saturday preceding the meetings of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The film was streamed on major internet platforms, such as Tencent and Youku, without interference from censors. Abundant discussion about the film also took place online. It was viewed more than 150 million times on Tencent within three days of its release.[8] China's environmental protection minister, Chen Jining, praised the film as "worthy of admiration" and compared it with Rachel Carson's book of 1962, Silent Spring, which is said to have given impetus to the environmental movement in the United States.[1] People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, reposted the film and published an interview with Chai.[5] Gabriel Wildau of the Financial Times, based in Shanghai, suggested that government support might be linked to criticism of China National Petroleum Corporation, since people associated with the company were facing corruption charges. However, censors on 2 March ordered media to stop publishing articles about the film.[1][8][5]

In his opening address to the National People's Congress on 5 March 2015, Premier Li Keqiang said: "Environmental pollution is a blight on people’s quality of life and a trouble that weighs on their hearts ... We must fight it with all our might."[9] However, two days later, and exactly 1 week after its release, the film was removed from Chinese websites,[10] by which point it had been viewed more than 300 million times.[9][11] Copies (some with English subtitles) are still available on YouTube. An employee of China Business News was suspended for leaking the order.[12]

On 2 March, the first weekday after the film's release, the stocks of several environmental companies traded up to ten percent higher. The stocks were in companies involved in pollutant treatment, air quality monitoring and green technology, including Sail Hero, Top Resource Conservation Engineering, LongKing Environmental and Create Technology & Science.[2] In Hong Kong, the shares of BYD Company, a maker of electric vehicles, rose nearly seven percent.[13]

In forums online, Chai received some criticism for being a tool of hostile foreign forces, after travelling to the US for the birth of her child. Doubts were expressed about the link between air pollution and her child's tumour,[1] and questions asked about the independence and validity of her research.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wildau, Gabriel (2 March 2015). "Smog film captivates Chinese internet". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Shao, Heng (2 March 2015). "Only in China: Why A Smog Documentary Sends Chinese Stocks Soaring To Trading Limit". Forbes Asia. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  3. ^ "Smog film goes viral in China with 155 mil. views in one day". The China Post. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  4. ^ a b Hatton, Celia (2 March 2015). "Under the Dome: The climate film taking China by storm". BBC News China Blog. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d Tiezzi, Shannon (3 March 2015). "Can a Documentary Change the Course of China's 'War on Pollution'?". The Diplomat. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  6. ^ Coonan, Clifford (3 March 2015). "China Pollution Documentary Draws 200 Million Clicks Amid Smog Concerns". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  7. ^ Tharoor, Ishaan (3 March 2015). "China's biggest viral video right now is this two-hour-long documentary on pollution". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  8. ^ a b Wildau, Gabriel (3 March 2015). "China censors curb discussion of pollution documentary". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  9. ^ a b Branigan, Tania (5 March 2015). "Beijing authorities sanguine as pollution documentary takes China by storm". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  10. ^ "China takes Under the Dome anti-pollution film offline". BBC News Asia. BBC. 7 March 2015.
  11. ^ Wong, Edward (8 March 2015). "China Blocks Web Access to 'Under the Dome' Documentary on Pollution". New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  12. ^ Wildau, Gabriel (6 March 2015). "China pulls smog documentary offline after internet storm". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  13. ^ "Film renews focus on Chinese pollution ahead of annual congress". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
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