Life on the Mississippi

An essay film about a river and the limits of knowing it Using Mark Twains Life On The Mississippi as a road map Brown travels along the Mississippi River from Memphis Tennessee to New Orleans and considers ways that river pilots paddlers historical reenactors and civil engineers attempt to know the river through modeling measurement and simulation Along the way Brown attempts to survey the river and the landscapes and land uses along its banks as a visible expression of economic transition political polarization and environmental change