Why You Should Consider Watching ‘Wasteland’

How many people give that much thought to sanitation and what it’s all about? When you use the restroom, do you worry about where the waste goes? Probably not, since a lot of people aren’t too concerned with where the disgusting waste goes, so long as they don’t have to think about it. In the Paramount+, 4-part documentary Wasteland, people are kind of forced to look at the issues that a lot of people who aren’t hooked up to a public sewer system have to deal with, such as their pipes backing up with sewage. Anyone that’s had to deal with this issue in the past will know what it’s like to deal with a toilet, or a shower, or anything in their home backing up thanks to faulty plumbing or the fact that there is no plumbing. Taking a look at several different locations that have dealt with natural disasters or with living conditions that are less than ideal makes a person appreciate a working plumbing system, not to mention the public systems that are well-maintained and kept up to code. 

If you’re of the mind to watch a documentary about a crumbling and/or inefficient infrastructure then you’ve found the right series since Wasteland is one of those shows that manages to make it clear that despite living in the 21st century, America is still dealing with a few very serious issues that should have been handled by now. The individuals that are shown and interviewed in this series make it clear that the problems are not something that can be dealt with overnight since even new septic systems tend to need constant maintenance to work properly. Simply watching this series is enough to make many people want to do whatever they can to help, while others are more than happy to sit as they are and enjoy the fully functional plumbing that they take for granted. 

One might take a look at Lowndes County in Alabama and think that this is a backwoods area that simply hasn’t been given the benefit of belonging to a solid infrastructure, and they’d be right. But the fact is that no matter how one looks at the situation, there is a lot more to this matter than the dire need for a septic tank and a connection to public plumbing. The term ‘environmental racism’ gets tossed about a bit, but one can’t help but think that as true as it might be, it’s also a manner by which people find another way to gain the attention they desire for their cause. The trick is that it’s a worthy cause, but attaching this kind of emotion to it without getting the whole story, in other words, telling a human interest story, is a good way to get people to care. While that might sound entirely too cynical, it has to be factored into the series since there’s no doubt that the counties featured have dropped the ball in some manner, and that many of the people affected haven’t done anything to earn the backed-up pipes and sewage that continues to fill their homes. But there’s still the idea that not everything is being revealed. 

Becoming invested in this story is easy enough as it does show a few cases that one can’t imagine finding themselves in, but thinking that something is missing isn’t something that a lot of people might be willing to admit. With a series such as this, the general feeling is that these people need help, they need a small miracle to get their lives and their homes back on track. Another fact is that raw sewage can seriously damage the health of those that are forced to live with it and have no other recourse but to do what they can to avoid it at all costs. The conditions that some of these folks have to live in are absolutely horrible. When it comes to whether folks should watch this or not it’s kind of a personal matter since people are bound to want to know what’s going on in certain parts of the USA, but some might not care that much about it. And then again, some might be kind of curious. 

The fact is that not every home in the states benefits from plumbing that works as it should, and those that have to worry about sewage backing up in their pipes when it rains do need help, while others might need to have their septic tanks looked at. Being cynical about such a documentary series might sound wrong, but there are too many stories out there are attempting to drum up interest to get a little more help than they really need. In this instance, it does feel as though the help is genuinely needed, as several of these stories appear to be quite genuine.