Movie Gasland: Fact or Fiction?

Gasland, a movie depicting the dangers of drilling for natural gas that recently premiered on HBO, has drawn critics from every side of the isle.

Now, some are saying the movie is a complete manipulation of reality with reviews such as,

Well narrated to put an entertaining spin to support the opposition of natural gas production, and create a false perspective of the natural gas industry. Josh Fox is obviously trying to make a name for himself by presenting a one sided documentary based on questionable facts.

Others are questioning the now well-known video depiction of a Colorado man turning on his faucet and lighting the water on fire.

Recently press reports about the movie Gasland have spotlighted the films central scene, where a man in Colorado lights his tap water on fire. The movie strongly suggests the cause is natural gas activity in the area. But according to documents readily available to the public, Colorado’s state regulators had already investigated the well and concluded the cause was biogenic (i.e. naturally occurring methane).

Many filmmakers allow their bias to permeate their movies, and documentaries are no exception.

Josh Fox stands to become a very controversial director, and some say he has positioned himself in the same way that Michael Moore did with the movie Fahrenheit 911.

Despite the movie’s alleged spin, experts say it is worth watching – but do so knowing that the documentary may be slanted.