Prophecy, 1979
Cringeworthy is the first word that comes to mind when I think of John Frankenheimer's 1979 eco-horror, written by David Seltzer who also penned a novelization of the film. A collection of unseemly features, Prophecy has white actors playing native people, a crop of cardboard characters, a pregnancy/abortion subplot that goes nowhere, a surface-level analysis of important environmental issues, some poor special effects that include a man in a bear suit, and a tired, white-savior story. With the exception of one moment in the film where a kid blows up in a sleeping bag, Prophecy also misses the so-bad-it's-good mark.
The plot of the film follows a medical doctor who somehow has the qualifications to obtain a job as an environmental inspector for the EPA. The doctor, played by Robert Foxworth, and his wife, played by Talia Shire, travel to Maine to write a report regarding a dispute between a native tribe and a logging company who is polluting the environment. There is a nice line referencing the interconnection of people and the natural world from one of the native tribe members where he says to the doctor, "Don't talk about the environment as though it has nothing to do with us." Of course, the logging company's activities have wreaked havoc, creating a mutant bear reminiscent of the bear from Annihilation (2018), but not as terrifying or well put together. On top of this, the doctor happens to be a traditional anti-natalist, and his wife is pregnant and wants to keep the baby. Although this story thread gets lost as the film progresses, it reminds me one of my favorite non-horror, environmental films First Reformed (2017). Prophecy closes with several mutant bear attacks and the possibility of more to come.
The logging company's manager in the film says about the pollution, "I didn't want to know." This is a common attitude toward environmental issues that I encounter all the time. People will say, "don't tell me about that," or "I don't want to think about that" in response to pressing environmental issues that literally mean life or death for so many living beings on this planet. However, some groups have been fighting for hundreds of years against the destruction of the natural world. Native peoples are often on the front lines of environmental defense (Cooper, 2016), as we see reflected in Prophecy. And also like in the film, many native individuals end up arrested or killed because of their willingness to stand up against oppressive forces (Watts, 2019). A contemporary example of native environmental activism are the pipeline protests (Martin, 2019). While our country should be moving toward robust green-energy solutions, instead we consistently put our efforts into non-renewable energy sources and systems that we all know are destroying our environment and our future. In response to protesters, governments and corporations have attempted to shut down the constitutional right to assemble (Frazin, 2019). And in the factory-farming world, states and corporations have been very successful in passing anti-transparency, Ag-Gag laws (ALDF, 2020).
It's difficult to get people en masse to realize that the government, the corporations, and the mutant bears are working together against the best interests of the people and the planet. We're going to need to force change, and we can start by supporting (and becoming) environmental activists and making more thoughtful personal choices about what we consume. The two biggest-impact changes you can make now are abstaining from animal products and buying things used instead of new. Here are some more ideas on becoming environmentally friendlier.
References
ALDF. “Ag-Gag Laws - Why Are Ag-Gag Laws Harmful?” Animal Legal Defense Fund, 2020, aldf.org/issue/ag-gag/.
Cooper, Lauren. “Native American Activism: 1960s to Present.” Zinn Education Project, 2016, www.zinnedproject.org/materials/native-american-activism-1960s-to-present/.
Frazin, Rachel. “South Dakota Drops Pipeline Protest Laws after Lawsuit.” TheHill, The Hill, 24 Oct. 2019, thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/467325-south-dakota-drops-pipeline-protest-laws-after-suit.
Martin, Nick. “The Next Standing Rock Is Everywhere.” The New Republic, 7 Oct. 2019, newrepublic.com/article/155209/next-standing-rock-everywhere.
Watts, Jonathan. “Environmental Activist Murders Double in 15 Years.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 5 Aug. 2019, www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/05/environmental-activist-murders-double.
