Over the Line

Werner Boote, the director of Plastic Planet, embarks on a quest to inform the public about plastic toxins.. Werner Boote exhibits moments of disrespect and pushiness in the film. During this quest, he interacts with people who work for plastic corporations or are advocating the dangers of plastic He crosses a line between interviewer and interviewee.

Vicky Zhang is an employee in a Chinese plastic factory that manufactures plastic globes. Werner Boote interviews Zhang until she states that her boss will not let her answer any more questions. Boote continues to root for information from her by asking why her boss will not allow her to say more. The continuation of the interview could compromise her job yet Boote insists on asking more questions.

In another scene, Boote is talking to a woman about her breast implants. He asks her how they feel and if she can tell they are there. This is a documentary about plastic and how it is toxic to the human body. He oversteps a line by asking very personal questions that some would find offensive. This scene was meant to show the viewer how comfortable we are with plastic since we have surgeries to place plastic inside our bodies. However, this scene comes across as creepy and invasive to the woman’s privacy.

Boote attended a plastic convention with a suitcase filled with studies about how plastic is dangerous to the human body. I understand that he wanted to show the viewers how secretive the heads of plastic corporations are. It makes the viewers suspicious of the companies. However, he should have turned the cameras off after the first or second time he was told to turn them off. Boote’s team continued to film which was disrespectful to the wishes of the convention leaders and rude.

There has to be a boundary that film makers and documentarians cannot cross. If this boundary is crossed too many times or ceases to exist, then what will be kept private? An understood boundary allows the interviewer and interviewee to have respect for each other. This boundary will also maintain a better relationship between the two parties.