WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Didn’t you hear me the first time? How many times do I have to tell you before you listen?? While one might immediately associate this line of questioning to a parent chastising their child or a couple having a minor (or, ok, major) squabble, either one is not the direction intended for this particular instance. No, rather, it’s about the need to revisit, remind, and reemphasize that which is important to be aware of, even when we can so often find ourselves being oblivious to the plights and needs of others outside of our own often too-highly-condensed circles of influence. For the residents of Simi Valley, CA, the ongoing realities of a 20-year cover-up involving radiological pollution instigated by the long-since shut down Santa Susana Field Laboratory–and the tragic legacy of deception they still must fight against just to say they’re alive.
Next, my Mind:
When ONE MILLIONTH of an OUNCE of a given substance (shall we say, perhaps, Plutonium 238 or 239) can be a catalyst for cancer, this is truly a scientifically proven fact that cannot and certainly SHOULD NOT be ignored or swept under the proverbial rug. Not when a corporation decided decades ago that the innocence and hence lasting downgrading of 100,000 lives would be less worthy of concern than the “benefits” of their research. The Santa Susana Field Laboratory and its owner Rocketdyne spent countless years choosing to casually dispose of toxic waste, whether via allowing seepage into the local water systems due to rainfall thanks to non-existent efforts to prevent it, or through burying or burning the substances illegally, it all played into what would become the still-present and shockingly unresolved circumstances and ramifications faced by the residents of Simi Valley, CA, a disaster to men, women, and children unlucky enough to experience the results of a company’s full knowledge yet poor managing of radioactive materials.
These harsh, candid, unfiltered, SUBSTANTIATED actualities that manifested due to Rocketdyne and the Santa Susana Field Laboratory are revisited in just over sixty minutes through this newest indie documentary sequel to “The Golden Rule” as created by director Stacey Stone , executive producer Diane Mellen, and narrated by the dearly missed Ed Asner, carrying forward its deeply potent impact and effect, once more pulling no punches, aiming to shine an unrelenting light on a thematic core boldly illustrating sheer irresponsibility, and also showcasing its primary subject NOT as some callous “witch hunt”-minded, propaganda laden, needlessly vilifying or vicious agenda-driven cinematic effort, but rather a blunt, candid, research-backed dose of real life as seen through the eyes of those regular citizens and experts in the fields of science involved. As you may see, some of my previous thoughts remain intact about this and the previous effort, and why not, because this is ALL about raising awareness and NOT letting these truths vanish unheard or ignored.
After multiple occurrences involving everything from nuclear meltdown and illegal dumping to contaminated building materials being sold off, all amidst the most stringent denials of wrongdoing by the companies involved, we are entreated to fresh opinions though repeated concepts by Simi Valley residents such as Milissa Ospina, Roger Wight, and Alysia Deza as well as stalwart warriors for justice like retired Director of Program on Environmental & Nuclear Policy-UC Santa Cruz/former UCLA professor Dan Hirsch, whose students actually uncovered the first evidences of the fallout occurring from SSFL’s activities. Additionally, new interviews with residents “Barry” and Don Tabak as well as the film’s own executive producer Mellen all weigh in on the downright wrong, maddening, heartrending, and head-shakingly intolerable kind of careless dereliction of responsibility which exists, much less knowledgeably, on the part of these large companies who value return on investment over people’s lives.
With illnesses ranging across cancer, thyroid, and auto-immune arenas, it’s incontrovertibly and wholly transparent that those struck with, dying from, or already passed from these were or are within specific proximity of the SSFL site in the wake of each incident that manifested yet got dismissed or “bought” away by the corporations in play. Then, Mellen exposes a highly personal reality involving her own childhood in Stratford, CT that reveals she and her two brothers, one of which now has bladder cancer, grew up near a superfund site that housed former company Raybestos, who dumped their asbestos-related chemicals across the town for close to sixty years, yet fully denied any poisoning of the community existed. Former Stratford residents Amy and Ted Russell and Dr. Kristina and Martin Wittig also provide insight into their own experiences from the aftermath of Raybestos, who ultimately went bankrupt due to the lawsuits filed against them.
One more reminder we’re given highlights San Francisco’s Hunter’s Point Shipyards, a superfund site where warships were originally brought for radioactive decontamination post-nuclear tests, all “conveniently” located near a low income community by the company behind it, Lennar. With those residents kept in the dark about the radiation dangers, the cheap housing and those who moved into it have now had to realize that their exposure to radioactive material is a tangible threat, despite (once MORE) denials by even the EPA that any actual danger is present from the site. Even back in Simi Valley, residential developers created new housing communities and dismissed any presence of contamination to the areas these homes were located, despite them all being within proximity of the SSFL site and established presence of pollution, all due to a “lack of evidence”.
Yet, even in the face of obviously unmitigated facts and directly encountered physical ailments that have devastated so many individuals and their families, the need for further action remains strong. When people choose to do their own research and find verity in those elements that get exposed, these are the voices that we need to rise up and take a stand. Therefore, in total, “Toxic Sh!t” is a needed documentary sequel that should absolutely be taken in so that we never tire from encountering bitter realities, for out of that we can only hope that more awareness will be raised, more action will be born, more stories of justice prevailing, more people’s lives being transformed again for the better, and MUCH higher levels of liability and visibility will come about, all to hold large corporations to their word when they say, INSIST, everything is “all safe”. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW. SILENCE IS THE KILLER. Can we find the means to STOP this kind of gross misconduct? I hope so.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
