Paper Example on Slab City: The Last Free City

Introduction

One of the most profound facts in this world is that human greed has permeated the lives of everyone. Bombay Beach is a firm describing the impact of human greed and carelessness on nature and how nature can pay back. In the film Bombay beach (2011) by the Israeli filmmaker Alma Har'el, a human being has destroyed the once beautiful destination where people used to consider a paradise on earth but the short-lived paradise that once sprang up by the Salton Sea is no longer the paradise because of man's greed. Each one in Bombay beach can attribute his current state to the corporate or individual greed. By examining the theme of greed, the researcher argues that it is the individual and corporate greed that destroys both the environment and human population.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The Characters

The Bombay beach was once a very interesting place to be because of the ambiance and the people who lived there. The community was unique with people of different background despite the fact that there was no power grid, gas, running water or other social amenities of today. Life was simple and this was the perfect place for people who wanted to reboot from their previous lives of crime or who wanted to escape from the drudgery of life or enemies (Palleau-Papin 387-396). Coyle reports that Ceejay Thompson came to Bombay beach to escape from the gang that killed his cousin in south central Los Angeles. On the other hand, Benny Parish the grade schooler who left his parent back in the year 2002 at only 3 weeks after they were arrested is also in Bombay beach. However, this essay looks at the life of Benny. Benny is unique because he suffers from bipolar disorders which also make him hyperactive. He lives with his nuclear family in a love and hate relationship because he is unpredictable (Love 111-111). However, it is not the disorders that the family is scared of but the effects of the drugs that are making him more unstable and dysfunctional. Benny is often drugged by the doctors and the family has to faithfully follow the doctor's prescription despite the fact that Benny's condition is worsening.

Individual Greed: Consumerism

When the water level rose in 1950, people deserted Bombay beach only to come later to destroy the once beautiful place. The seedy chalets and the abandoned trailers are currently occupied by the needy people who live off the grid. However, it is also interesting to note that the corporation that once occupied the beach to offer the tourists the much needy hospitality left a lot of destruction from plastic bags to metals and other structures that are not maintained. The day to day lives of the people living in Bombay beach is described. The once a beautiful beach is littered with carcass and dirty which symbolizes man's wanton destruction of all form of life in the area. Those who previously occupied Bombay beach destroyed the place, followed by the army that occupied the place for their military training which they abandoned after completing their training. In such places, there is nothing to report about but only the people who need solace can find solace in Bombay beach where they live off the grid. They are at peace in their off-grid life and they are happy in such an environment. The film teaches that only greed drives man wanton destruction of the environment to be happy not knowing that they can be happy with very little like the people currently living in Bombay Beach. The doctor kept Benny drugged to reduce the symptoms not knowing her long-term impact of the drugs on the Benny. Their main focus was to make more money from poor people.

Corporate Greed

Benny may be suffering from bipolar disorders but the corporate greed is what makes Benny sicker. For example, Benny has been taken from one doctor to another and his situation is worsening despite taking several drugs from the same company (Kendall 665-680). Benny has taken Ritalin, Risperdal, Abilify, and lithium in incremental doses but he is more unstable and dysfunctional as he is kept drugged to drive the sales of those drugs. The corporation is focusing on profit. The drugs handed out are defective which means that he has to pay for the drugs that are purported to be effective but his family cannot afford such drugs.

Conclusion

Human greed is seen in the life of Benny. Just the way the people destroyed the last free city, the doctor's focus on financial gain makes him overlook the boy's worsening condition. Human destructiveness whether they destroy the environment or other human begins can be stopped or controlled. That paradise is lost only if the people enjoying the hospitality of the paradise can sustain the glory. People in Bombay beach have their reason to smile and live in the area and appreciate the little they have because they have no other place. A human can appreciate lack only after experiencing lack. Currently, the community living there with their art installation is at the threats of destruction by private developers which still shows the wanton and greedy nature of man. The open water levels have significantly reduced and trees that once covered the area are no more. Drugs, crime, and other vices are commonplace in the area but the people who live there cherish freedom. In the backdrop of greed, there are people who do not need much to live and those people include those living in Bombay beach.

Works Cited

Coyle, Jake "`Bombay Beach,' `The Guard' highlight Tribes". Boston.com. (2011). Print

Catterall, Bob. "Civilisation's Last Stand?: Some Sources & Resources." City 1.5-6 (1996): 185-192. Web.

Kendall, Paul. "Between Big City And Authentic Village." City 19.5 (2015): 665-680. Web.

Love, Adam. "After Your Last Poker Hand, You Bought Cocaine And A Pistol." Cream City Review 38.1 (2014): 111-111. Web.

Palleau-Papin, Francoise. "A Pilgrim'S Progress To Slab City In The Royal Family By William T. Vollmann." Caliban 25 (2009): 387-396. Web.