language: english
subtitles: english

"The 8th Wonder of the World" is a visual critique and analysis of the United States communicated through an experimental documentary on the Dwight D. Eisenhower Interstate System and Defense Highways. The video focuses on the Interstate in order to communicate to the viewer about current day United States life and culture. The Interstate is used as a platform because it is what connects US cities, towns, and citizens in regards to transportation. However, it is also what separates this country in regards to physical division of the land, both throughout the countryside and within urban areas, often conveniently displacing poor communities within a city in order to provide a connection to the suburbs and reconstruct the cities layout to the officials liking. Though the US Interstate cannot be solely held responsible for how the US is and how it functions, it is highly influential and has definitely been a major factor in the shaping of the country during the past 50 years. The US would be a different place without it in regards to both internal and external affairs.
Internally, the Interstate has lead to the replacement of communities for shopping centers, home-cooked meals for fast food, street cars and trolleys for personal vehicles and replaced individuality for homogenization. Communal interaction has diminished. Who actually knows his/her neighbor? Who is concerned about what goes on beyond his/her tangible life? Granted, this is not to say that people do not care about anything other than themselves, but what matters most is what goes on within their own home. Home > Car > Store/Work > Car > Home. This lack of caring is created from apathy, which the use of a car only aids. When one does community service, it is considered out of the norm. The US is a consumer society, which has and continues to consume the people. It is inescapable. It is practically impossible to lead a life without driving. If one lives, one drives; if one drives, one consumes; if one consumes, one lives. Even if one does not drive, one can still not escape the Interstate. When one purchases something, how did it get to that shelf? Most likely, on a tractor trailer that drove down I-any number.
Externally, the Interstate connects the US to the world through the country’s need for foreign oil. The country runs on gasoline. Without it, it would seize. I question the current war and past wars intentions. Is it coincidence that the US invades countries that are major oil exporters? Though the government would never say so, all signs point to no. Interestingly, the Interstate was built not only to connect the country, but also to defend it. In 1919 the first Transcontinental Motor Vehicle Convoy was launched. The army was road testing army vehicles in order to see how long it would take to cross the country. It took 58 days, which showed the necessity for better roads in order to defend the land. Dwight D. Eisenhower was a young colonel among the convoy. He also was the president who signed the 1956 Highway Act, which is what put the Interstate construction underway, providing 90% of the costs from federal funding. These roads have had little use in internal defense, but without them would our troops be in other countries fighting “oil driven wars”?
In the video, none of this is said directly, but alluded to through historical reenactment, a news report and a loose narrative, that when put all together create the experimental documentary which is "The 8th Wonder of the World" The intention is to show bits and pieces of the US and give facts to guide the viewer to these ideas, some more prevalent than others. Through the clean, crisp aesthetic, I hope to show that the reality within which we live is not exactly what it seems, as well as mimic the media that tells US citizens what is “true”. Although the US is a beautiful place, what goes on inside and out is not. The flashiness of the media only masks the ugly truth, thus making it harder to differentiate reality from facade. Due to this country’s auto and consumer culture, it will take great effort to break the cycle. I wonder what will come first, oil depletion or civil action?