This is a highly personal account of a filmmaker’s journey into the Amazon to record the gold mining rush and its effects on the region. A visually evocative narrative draws the reader into the struggle over land rights and development in Brazil’s rain forest. Major incursions by rail, road and air were made into the region during the 21-year reign of the country’s military as they encouraged resource extraction in the Amazon. As one would expect, development brought disease and destruction to the people of the Amazon, as well as to the rain forest itself. Less well known is the terror produced as mine owners and large landowners tried to increase and maintain control of the region. As O’Connor relates through personal stories, the terrorism perpetrated by hired guns on indigenous people, rubber tappers, peasants and clergy as they began to organize and resist is one of the particularly brutal and devastating consequences of development in the Amazon.
While creating his documentary film, also called Amazon Journal, O’Connor visited the region extensively. What he discovered as he spent time with the cast of characters that make up this story––heroic resistance activists, socially committed clergy, corrupt power brokers and the bizarre media surrounding the save-the-rain-forest movement––is presented as being both humbling and haunting. The book is highly engrossing for its unusual perspective. As both a filmmaker and freelance journalist, O’Connor lets the reader experience his journey through both the media’s eye––of which he is very critical––and his own personal experiences. His documentary will be running on PBS stations nationwide through this November and December.
