When news of Biosphere 2 first broke in the early '90s, the media went into a frenzy. What was really going on in there? Was the crew involved in constructing it part of a cult? Is it something that would actually pan out to be a successful experiment? Unfortunately, in regard to the latter, Biosphere 2's sci-fi style vivarium went on to become widely known as a failed project. Although it's now owned by the University of Arizona and used as a research facility, it wasn't always viewed this way. Director Matt Wolf's latest film takes a peek behind the curtain of this experiment, the suspicions that initially surrounded it, and ultimately the good intentions that helped form its foundations. Spaceship Earth shines a light on the charismatic people behind Biosphere 2 but emphasizes the importance of climate change, especially today.
This documentary centers on a number of individuals who were all brought together in the late '60s by a man named John Allen. Dubbed the Theatre of All Possibilities Touring Company, the commune celebrated all aspects of life. From the arts to science to architecture, nothing was off-limits. After moving from San Francisco to a ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the group's ideas truly began to flourish. First, they were able to successfully live off their new plot of land, completely cut off from the rest of society, then the projects started to grow at an exceptional rate.
The community often referred to themselves as Synergists, believing that the "magic of the enterprise was to always increase the challenges." Following their successful beginnings with the farm, this ambitious group of individuals then decided to build a ship. Coined "The Heraclitus", the group managed to successfully build and set sail on the high seas. It wasn't long after this point that they decided to reach even greater heights - for the stars, even. In 1981, they started holding conferences centered on ecosystems, biomes, and the planet's rapid decline. With climate change on the rise, they pitched plans for biospheric and sustainable living sources, with their main inspiration deriving from the 1972 feature Silent Running (funny enough). It's from this discussion that Biosphere 2 was born, and nothing was about to get in this group's way of finding new ways to live sustainably.
Biosphere 1 is, of course, Earth. The group was very adamant about the need to protect this Biosphere, so the second one wouldn't truly be needed. Ultimately, Biosphere 2 was created to help research what life would be like inside of a closed-off dome, in the event that Earth crumbled due to the human race's carelessness. Wolf focuses largely on the group's passion for discussing and combatting climate change (a conversation that is, unfortunately, still being argued about to this day). Through a variety of archival footage, coupled with many well-done interviews, Wolf explores the group's many ideas and inspirations, even playing Devil's Advocate a bit when analyzing their cult-like mentality.
However, Wolf tends to favor the Biospherian's point of view a majority of the time rather than lending a 50/50 perspective. That's not to say the controversies surrounding them aren't explored, as there are a number of scenes dedicated to the media's reaction to them and their projects (which the Biospherian's often refer to as sensationalized ecological entertainment). The documentary simply finds its gravity in the group's friendly, supportive dynamic, along with their passion to help save the planet. It's a true story that could easily be written off as science fiction, but the heart of Wolf's documentary lies in the humanity of it all.
There's a strange sense of inspiration that derives from watching this eccentric group of individuals. Sure, their group's cult-like personality is unsettling to watch play out at times (especially when they wear matching Star Trek-esque uniforms on day 1 of entering Biosphere 2), but their collective want to save the planet and create a healthy future for all is inspiring to see. It's the kind of passion that's rarely seen nowadays, with conversations around it igniting more controversy than action most of the time. Even though Biosphere 2 failed as an ecological experiment, the Biospherian's dedication to following through and attempting to create a long-term sustainable living option for humanity is heartening. Spaceship Earth is a call-to-action about climate change, and hopefully, viewers will find valuable pieces of information to take away from it.
Spaceship Earth is now playing in participating drive-ins and select pop-up city-scape projections, and is also available digitally. It is 115 minutes long and is Not Rated.