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“Water	is	Life”	

	

Hames,	M.	2019.	Thirst	for	Power.	The	Video	Project.		

	

“Water	is	Life”	are	the	first	words	the	viewer	encounters	when	setting	out	to	watch	

“Thirst	for	Power,”	and	I	find	them	capturing	the	overall	theme	of	the	movie	well.	“Thirst	

for	Power”	is	a	media	production	based	on	the	book	by	Michael	E.	Webber	with	the	same	

name	(Webber	2016).	Yet,	the	title	of	the	book	continues	with	“Energy,	Water,	and	

Human	Survival,”	which	are	the	three	core	aspects	of	the	movie	–	and	which	seem	also	to	

connect	to	Webber’s	later	writing	with	his	book	“Power	Tripp:	The	story	of	Energy”	

(2019).	The	first	book	takes	the	vantage	point	of	water,	while	the	second	takes	that	of	

energy.	However,	as	shown	in	the	movie:	they	are	interconnected,	and	both	are	critical	

for	human	survival	in	a	so-called	modern	world.		

	

The	narrative	of	the	movie	is	with	the	author	in	centre,	explaining	his	reasons	for	writing	

the	book	and	some	of	the	events	in	his	life	that	put	him	in	the	position	he	is	now.	It	is	a	

very	personal	narrative,	trying	to	talk	to	the	viewer	instead	of	lecturing,	using	personal	

vignettes	to	illustrate	large	issues	and	how	they	interconnect.	The	movie	does	for	

example	depict	the	author	and	his	family	visiting	the	famous	Roman	aqueduct	in	France,	

Pont	du	Gard,	which	he	visited	as	a	child	and	it	had	a	profound	impact	on	him.	Now	

Webber	shows	this	ancient	construction	also	to	his	children	–	mimicking	the	core	tenet	

of	the	movie:	save	what	we	have	for	the	next	generation	to	come.	This	scene	also	

illustrates	another	of	the	movie’s	main	points,	that	the	capacity	to	move	water	over	

distances,	to	control	its	flow,	is	power	–	which	later	is	shown	with	dams	along	for	

example	the	Colorado	river.		

	

“Thirst	for	Power”	starts	by	showing	how	water	has	been	used	as	a	de	facto	symbol	of	

wealth,	doing	so	with	examples	from	the	roman	empire	and	its	aqueducts,	royal	palaces	



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with	their	fountains	and	lush	gardens,	but	also	more	recently	with	the	construction	of	

large	dams	to	end	floods,	irrigate	land,	and	provide	energy	–	control	over	water	equals	

power,	and	politicians	and	rulers	knew	and	still	know	that,	according	to	Webber.	He	

jokingly	retells	a	saying	from	the	American	West:	“Whisky	is	for	drinking	and	water	is	to	

fight	for.”	

	

The	movie	then	continues	to	outline	how	water,	energy,	and	modern	urban	cities	are	tied	

together	–	illustrating	with	a	few	examples	how	a	deficit	of	water	or	energy	often	leads	

to	a	deficit	of	the	other	which	then	have	grave	consequences	for	society.	This	is	for	

example	clear	with	the	case	of	waste.	Humans	generate	waste,	this	waste	ends	up	in	

water,	and	this	wastewater	needs	to	be	cleaned	–	which	demands	energy.	But	today	a	lot	

of	the	world’s	energy	is	produced	by	water.	So,	under	circumstances	of	drought	there	

might	be	a	lack	of	both	water	for	drinking	and	for	producing	the	energy	needed	to	

transport	water	to	humans,	and	to	clean	that	water	before	and	after	use.	The	demand	

and	supply	relationship	can	crash,	and	following	on	this	a	potential	blackout	–	as	was	the	

case	in	2012	where	large	parts	of	India	ended	up	without	electricity	for	weeks.	

Situations	as	this	clearly	show	how	modern	societies	are	addicted	to	energy	and	

vulnerable	to	shortages	–	and	water	is	a	key	component	of	this	relationship.		

	

This	discussion	on	drought	moved	the	plot	towards	potential	dangers	posed	by	climate	

change	–	with	increasing	temperatures,	risks	for	drought	and	water	shortage	escalates.	

Webber	asks	‘us’	to	be	conservative	with	the	amount	of	water	‘we’	use,	and	to	think	

about	the	energy	consumed	running	our	devices.	Saving	energy	equals	saving	water,	as	

less	water	will	be	required	to	provide	the	needed	energy,	more	is	left	for	human	

consumption.	Webber	argues	that	sustainability	is	an	important	tool	that	should	be	the	

first	one	used	as	it	buys	time	for	other	‘solutions’	to	be	invented	and	implemented.	And	

this	is	where	the	movie	ends,	with	Webber	urging	the	viewer	to	think	through	the	way	

we	use	water	and	energy	so	that	there	will	be	some	left	for	generations	to	come.		

	

“Thirst	for	Power”	is	an	important	movie	as	it	provides	an	easy-to-access	narrative	for	a	

general	public	on	otherwise	hard-to-access	topics.	And	the	movie	is	recommended	for	a	

general	but	curious	audience,	as	well	as	scholars	on	topics	of	water,	energy,	power,	and	

climate	change	that	seek	ways	to	talk	about	these	topics	accessibly.	The	movie	resonates	



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with	what	has	been	told	by	various	anthropologists,	such	as	Orlov	and	Caton	(2010)	

when	they	describe	water	as	“a	total	social	fact,”	or	the	way	that	Andrea	Ballestero	

(2019)	engages	water	from	a	“Future	History”	perspective	–	for	Webber	does	say	that	

history	has	taught	us	much	but	that	we	got	much	more	to	learn	–	the	future	history	of	

water	to	come.		

	

What	I	find	troubling	with	the	movie	is	its	heavy	focus	on	the	human	–	the	wellbeing	of	

other	living	organisms	are	not	dealt	with	or	recognised.	In	the	middle	of	the	plot	the	idea	

of	engineering	and	taming	nature	is	mentioned	but	never	followed	up.	Water	is	

throughout	the	movie	treated	as	a	resource	to	be	used	by	humans,	and	saved	for	humans	

to	use	in	the	future.	The	‘human’	is	also	not	problematized	much,	in	this	narrative	it	is	as	

if	all	humans	have	the	same	impact	on	and	resources	to	make	a	difference	in	relation	to	

the	water	humans	use.	From	an	anthropological	standpoint	these	are	issues	I’d	like	to	

think	careful	about	in	relation	to	this	movie.	Despite	these	caveats,	“Thirst	for	Power”	is	

a	thought-provoking	movie	that	I	am	happy	to	recommend.		

	
Rasmus	Rodineliussen	is	a	PhD	student	at	the	department	of	Social	Anthropology,	
Stockholm	University.	His	current	research	lies	within	the	domain/intersection	of	
environmental	anthropology	and	political	ecology	focusing	on	the	relationship	between	
water	and	waste.	He	has	worked	with	migration	and	refugee	studies,	mainly	focusing	on	
Syria.	Rasmus	has	published	in	peer-reviewed	journals	such	as	Anthropology	Now,	
Anthrovision,	Irish	Journal	of	Anthropology,	and	Visual	studies	and	is	currently	co-editor	
of	the	Anthropology	Book	Forum.	
	
	
References	
Ballestero,	Andrea.	2019.	A	Future	History	of	Water.	Duke	University	Press:	Durham	and	
London.		
	
Orlove,	B.,	and	Caton,	S.	C.		“Water	Sustainability:	Anthropological	Approaches	and	
Prospects,”	Annual	Review	of	Anthropology,	Vol.	39,	2010,	pp.	401-415.	
doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.012809.105045	
	
Webber,	Michael	E.	2016.	Thirst	for	Power.	Energy,	Water,	and	Human	Survival.	Yale	
University	Press:	Danburry.		
	
Webber,	Michael	E.	2019.	Power	Tripp:	The	story	of	Energy.	Ingram	Publisher	Services	US:	
New	York.		
	
	
	



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©	2020	Rasmus	Rodineliussen	
	


