Educational Media Reviews Online

I do not recommend the four-part film series Cities on Speed.

For librarians and instructors seeking documentaries about 21st century urban issues in developing countries that are objective, I recommend the award-winning Garbage Dreams, the PBS e2 series, or portions of Journey to Planet Earth: Urban Explosion. Or, viewers can find the Cities on Speed promotional videos and similar videos freely available on YouTube.

I was at a loss how to define the Cities on Speed films until I read that the Environmental Media Association (EMA) categorizes the series as a “reality program.” The lead characters in the films do behave more like reality show contestants and much of their discussion is not pertinent. For instance, the environmental activist in the Cairo film is a senior citizen who carries her teddy bear everywhere. Likewise, in the Bogota film one man is filmed in graphic detail mooning an audience. The Shanghai film is the worst as the narrator talks of his brother’s chronic illness unrelated to the film topic. Each film has its flaws and lacks the editing that is needed to make these films about urban issues instead of simply about the narrators’ idiosyncrasies.

Graduate students in urban development studies programs may find interesting portions of the film Mumbai: Traffic to see the complications of large-scale development projects, such as the World Bank funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project and the Sea Link. However, be wary as this series has some stereotypical, nonobjective portrayals of the citizens and governments that are not present in other documentaries.

The price is a major deterrent as well, especially since the film picture quality is poor. Also, the English subtitles for these foreign language films are often difficult to read.