Cape Spin: An American Power Struggle

In 2001, the proposal was made for the Cape Wind Project, America's first large-scale offshore wind farm, in the state of Massachusetts. The intended location is Nantucket Sound, an area where the rich and famous spend their vacations. This green project meets massive resistance and is transformed into a huge case that lobbyists are so heavily involved in that it becomes unclear what the real issues are. John Kirby and Robbie Gemmel show the many supporters and opponents who have involved themselves in the project over the last decade. Using fast-paced cuts, they present a large amount of information. Increasingly, it's less about the project than the power struggles themselves - although it ultimately proves impossible to get a handle on them. Even interested journalists seem unable to figure out what they're dealing with. "It's about dinner parties, not political parties," explains one of them. As an aid to the viewer, Kirby and Gemmel use icons to indicate who is for and who is against. Their use of old-fashioned music and black-and-white film give a twist of irony to this serious state of affairs. And although they are careful not to choose sides, they do hint at an interesting alternative.