What the HELL??!!!

[aadler]

 
I just watched a new episode of Rizzoli & Isles, the first in weeks. I love Rizzoli & Isles, and had been looking forward to the end of the latest hiatus.

Unfortunately, tonight’s episode centered around fracking. And the writers were wrong in just about everything they presented.

One: Fracking is not illegal. It’s a mature technology, the foundation of most of the new petroleum extraction in the United States. (And around the world, probably, but I’m not concerned with that.) You don’t have to do it on the sly, or kill anybody who finds out about it.

Two: Fracking does not contaminate groundwater (one of the principal points of the story). It doesn’t. The case most widely-cited by anti-fracking activists involved a particular company being held ‘liable’ when it was found that the local water table was contaminated by one particular chemical that had NOT BEEN USED in the fracking process. In other words, the contaminant was there, and it had clearly come from somewhere, but not from the company being sued; they were just a handy target.

Three: Fracking is not something that can be done on a small scale. Or in concealment. Even if it were in fact dangerous and illegal, you can’t hide such an operation, keep it secret behind the camouflage of a yoga retreat, and use mercenaries to hunt down anyone who might reveal the secret. It simply isn’t possible. Specialized equipment is necessary, trained crews, dedicated transport … This is not a meth lab, this is a major undertaking that requires a sophisticated support structure and evinces an extremely prominent footprint, and can’t be profitable (which is the whole point of such a thing) unless done on a massive scale.

The whole business was ridiculous. It wasn’t even an ideological polemic, it was just some careless hacks pulling out a scary-sounding buzz-word, doing a cut-and-paste from some anti-fracking Web site, and using it to turn out a muddled, one-dimensional conspiracy theory plot that was seriously unworthy of what has otherwise been a well-written and delightful show.

Comments

[skarman.livejournal.com]

Welcome to Hollywood, where popular shows use liberal talking points to indoctrinate the masses. Didn't you know that they worship at the feet of Riefenstahl? I'm betting that if you check out who's bankrolling the show, you'll find a lot of people who have their fingers in 'green' technologies, maybe are even shorting oil and gas companies AND donating to those who are anti-oil and gas.

[aadler]

Actually, what I saw was almost the opposite of that. This wasn’t a serious, focused attempt at indoctrination, but a matter of taking the lazy way out on an important plot point because ‘everybody knows’ how bad hydraulic fracturing is. The conventional wisdom among all the people who agree with you (who are, of course, the only ones who actually matter) … Disagreement on what certain facts mean is one thing; disagreeing on what those facts actually are carries the inquiry into a deeper level; but simply making crap up — or casually repeating someone else’s propaganda without bothering even to learn the facts — is worthy of no respect whatsoever.

[skarman.livejournal.com]

Let me ask you this, how many people that watch the show actually think it through for themselves and try to find out more about what is portrayed there? It is safe to say that maybe ten percent of viewers actually take the time to investigate such issues themselves, find out about all sides of the situation. The remaining ninety percent will take it as gospel.

"It's on TV so it must be true! I hear about fracking on the news every day and those journalists don't lie!"

That is the problem I'm trying to highlight and something the people in Hollywood and the Centers of Power use to their advantage. We live in an era where the ten-second soundbite is King of the Hill and will run the narrative even if the background clearly refutes it. With fracking one side claims it's responsible for everything from groundwater contamination to earthquakes in certain regions. They claim companies use harmful ingredients in the various fracking fluids and are not receptive to actually naming those ingredients. I know of companies that actually try and come up with better fracking fluids.

On the other side, you have the actual companies who use fracking processes. You hardly hear their side, apart from in professional publications in the energy or investment sector. Most of the media, however, when reporting about it, almost exclusively trot out opponents and when they do deign to invite or interview someone who actually is in the industry, they use talking points, don't let them finish answering, hammer them with all kinds of nonsense etc. that in the end, it looks like the oil and gas industry has something to hide. After all, it's called investigative reporting, right? We all know reporters are supposed to be objective and impartial, right? So, them hammering that naughty oil man must mean that he's guilty, guilty, guilty, right? He's a junior J.R. Ewing and we know how bad he is.

The generation we live with now has learned everything they need to know from watching TV. They can not get it into their minds to actually crack open a book or anything to find out how things, events etc. actually are. They see it on TV, on the news, read it in the papers and to them, it's Gospel from on High. There is no more curiosity.

http://goo.gl/ij6Ob

The link above, though it only has one comment, shows exactly what I mean:

'The underlying important story of "fracking" is America's dirty laundry (not just a Dirty Little Secret) and I was pleased to see the subject addressed in prime time on a great show! If you don't know how hazardous fracking is and how it damages the environment and peoples' health....google it and get angry! Energy companies are, once again, lying through their perverbial teeth...for profit regardless of the consequences.'

The ignorance drips off of it. It doesn't matter if it's true or not, to this viewer it is. And with him/her, there are many more who believe the same.

"It was on TV! So it must be true and you're an idiot if you don't believe it! Or you're in the pocket of the oil companies!!!!!!"

If you really think that it was just a careless hack, think again. TNT aka Ted Turner's pride and joy can and will do whatever it takes to push their agendas. And the majority of people will follow like sheep instead of using their brains and actually dig deeper.

[mymatedave.livejournal.com]

TV shows are almost universally terrible at science, and movies are even worse.

But most of it really is laziness, because there is actually an organisation of scientists called The Science & Entertainment Exchange who exist almost solely to help make sure these simple mistakes don't happen.

[aadler]

I’ve seen plenty of that, and not just in scientific matters. My wife hates medical shows because of the sloppiness where accuracy is concerned; I myself hate seeing the presentation of military matters screwed up; and, when we’re watching any episode of Army Wives (which we both like) that’s centered inside the base hospital, well, it’s open season for “They don’t DO it that way!”

Laziness in anything is annoying. Laziness from people whose income is anywhere from five to a hundred times mine … for that, I have no tolerance at all.