“There’s nothing more fundamental to your life than water”

Flint (Baxter, 2020) documents the fight for the right to have access to safe water, due to a switch of Lake Huron to the Flint River as a water source. However, because of this switch, residents reported the water to have an abnormal smell and taste, coinciding with new health issues many faced. Despite being deemed to be safe, the water was found to consist of a dangerous amount of lead. Rightly so, this caused outrage, with locals claiming the government poisoned them.

Before watching this documentary, I had very little knowledge on the water crisis in Flint. I remembered seeing it being mentioned on twitter campaigns and the news, but I had never educated myself to find out what was going on. Therefore, I found Anthony Baxter’s film so insightful, yet shocking. The citizens of Flint were left unsafe in their own homes, unable to drink, cook with, or bathe in the water they were being charged upwards of $600 a month for – despite not being able to use it. No one should be forced to use plastic water bottles to do basic tasks. It is impossible to sustain a normal, healthy life without any access to safe water.

Furthermore, Baxter brilliantly explores the nuance of the water crisis by illustrating the many different point-of-views, for example interviewing paediatricians to explain the effects the water can have on children, to outsider scientists demonstrating the non-bias testing of the water. Throughout the documentary, I felt so well-informed that the twists and turns of the crisis were completely unexpected, leaving me aghast at this man-made disaster. Having access to water is a human right and I am left appalled and saddened for the residents of Flint, many of whom will not face the effects of the water until years to come.

Written by Gabriella Ingamells