flow – Kaitlyn's Ap Biology Site

Although water is the majority of the Earth, so many people die from not having water. Water sustains life, and without there is no life. The documentary FLOW discusses the topic of water, water privatization, bottling companies, and the hardships in third world countries on finding clean water sources. The one thing that surprised me the most in the film was that bottled water is not any purer than tap water. I always thought that bottled water was more pure and free of chemicals but it turns out that we don’t know what’s in bottled water. Because of this I have been drinking more tap water rather than bottled water (another perk, using less plastic!).

The entire documentary was very informative and even though I have seen this once before, there were some facts that I forgot and shocked me again. I learned that water companies unrightfully take water from poor families and companies then make these people either pay for the water or not even give them water. The film’s main purpose is to spread awareness of water privatization and companies taking advantage of third world countries. The filmmaker is trying to get across that water is not a privilege but a human right. The filmmaker is ultimately trying to get support for Article 31 to be put into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which establishes access to clean water as a human right.

The documentary was released in 2008 and in the 9 years between then and now there has been a plethora of water charities that fund water to places where clean water is not accessible. However, bottled water companies, especially Nestle, have continued to take water from public sources, claiming its theirs, and selling it for a huge profit margin. As seen in the film, Nestle’s main source for spring water is in Michigan and there were many petitions and court cases saying that what Nestle is doing is inhumane and unconstitutional. With that being said, today Nestle is still pumping from wells and springs from Michigan. Even with successes of educating the population of the water issue, companies are still unrightfully taking water from people who need it most.