The film Pumzi, the novel Oil on Water, and the short story “The Petrol Pump” all were inspired by the unsustainable actions of mankind and set out to deliver warnings or raise awareness of this vast issue. Nevertheless, each story had its own unique way of portraying the urgency of its message. Therefore, each story also differed in how it made me feel and want to act moving forward.
Pumzi takes the viewer into the future to a time following a devastating war over water. It is the story of a young woman who fights to conserve what may very well be the last living plant in the world. In the end, she values the plant over everything and gives her life to it upon a treacherous journey in the desert where the tree can grow and prosper away from the fatal human touch of her civilization. This film instilled a strange sense of remorse and guilt in me. I say strange because this story is about a society in East Africa far from my home and an entire World War into the future. Nevertheless, it still made me recognize the need for change because this distant future did not feel so far. Specifically, it made me want to tell my government to change their policies right now before it is too late.
Oil on Water by Helon Habila had a similar effect on me as Pumzi did. Through the story of a journalist observing the fight over oil between Nigerian militants and oil manufacturers, Habila shows very clearly the destructive effects of the unsustainable practices of the developed world, such as the exploitation of oil-containing lands. The novel is full of emotion, devastation, and most importantly, truth. It is a fictional story yet this destruction is happening in Nigeria today. As I read the novel, I again yearned for my government to simply fix this – to stop all their ruinous practices and help the Nigerians. As unlikely as my appeal may be, it still made me look towards change. In fact, it was even more effective in grabbing my attention than Pumzi was because it raised concerns about the present rather than the future.
Lastly, “The Petrol Pump” had an entirely different effect upon me. By focusing on the thoughts of a single individual as he pumps his gas and contemplates sustainability, I too focused on my own actions. The short story made me question how I react when I am driving and my fuel reserves get low. In this case, I was not considering what society needed to do to avoid a disastrous future or alleviate the problems of the present. Instead, I realized that maybe I should be the one changing my unsustainable ways. Thus, I found “The Petrol Pump” to be the most effective story in producing change towards sustainability in the mindset of the reader.
Works Cited
Calvino, Italo, and Tim Parks. “The Petrol Pump.” Numbers in the Dark: And Other Stories. New York: Pantheon, 1995. 170-75. Print.
Habila, Helon. Oil on Water: A Novel. New York: W.W. Norton, 2011. Print.
Dodocutepoison. “Pumzi”. Youtube. Youtube, LLC. 2013.
