Hydropower has many detractors. In the inter-war period and in the 1950s, the electricity sector also had its detractors, particularly amid environmentalists. Both sides turned to film to present their point of view. Environmentalists lamented the loss of home, eco-systems and rural beauty. The electricity companies responded with praise for the advantages of electricity, but at the same time tried to instrumentalize the detractors’ fears. All of this can be understood from the commercial films GEFESSELTE NATURKRÄFTE (1932), EINE TALSPERRE WIRD GEBAUT (1935) and STROM AUS DEM SCHWARZWALD (1957), KLEINE URSACHEN – GROSSE WIRKUNGEN (1926) and the environmental movie WASSER – LANDSCHAFT – LEBEN (1955). (fz)
A CineGraph Babelsberg event in cooperation with the Federal Archive / Film Archive and the Deutsche Kinemathek. (16.3.)
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