I thought this was going to be about Mars. But this atmospheric little documentary keeps us anchored to Mother Earth, and, specifically, to the tiny subdivision of Boca Chica, TX.
That's where a handful of holdouts are adjusting to being neighbors with a property of SpaceX, from which wealthy entrepreneur Elon Musk plans to launch a spacecraft designed to help colonize Mars.
Boca Chica sits on the Gulf Coast near the mouth of the Rio Grande, on a bit of real estate that hadn't changed much for years. Except for a handful of year-round or seasonal residents, the only traffic you'd see were a random fisherman or birder. Now, all manner of industrial vehicle trundle down a connecting road that can apparently be opened or closed at the company's will (although they do provide notice).
We're told that Musk declined to be interviewed for this production, and that's a shame. We do hear from a handful of local leaders who laud the jobs and economic boost that SpaceX was expected to bring to the struggling Brownsville area. However, we don't get any hard numbers on what has actually transpired on that front.
We also hear from a sprinkling of local residents, mostly women, with an understandably strong attachment to their modest home turf. "Why should I give up my dream for Elon to accomplish history?" asks one.
Home owners were offered a triple-value buyout to pick up stakes and leave, and it seems at least one of them said no. As one resident reasons, where could she buy a replacement property on the water -- for $150,000?
I wouldn't be happy if something like this happened on my street. I also understand that free enterprise is the backbone of this country. I'd have welcomed hearing Musk's side of the story.
That's where a handful of holdouts are adjusting to being neighbors with a property of SpaceX, from which wealthy entrepreneur Elon Musk plans to launch a spacecraft designed to help colonize Mars.
Boca Chica sits on the Gulf Coast near the mouth of the Rio Grande, on a bit of real estate that hadn't changed much for years. Except for a handful of year-round or seasonal residents, the only traffic you'd see were a random fisherman or birder. Now, all manner of industrial vehicle trundle down a connecting road that can apparently be opened or closed at the company's will (although they do provide notice).
We're told that Musk declined to be interviewed for this production, and that's a shame. We do hear from a handful of local leaders who laud the jobs and economic boost that SpaceX was expected to bring to the struggling Brownsville area. However, we don't get any hard numbers on what has actually transpired on that front.
We also hear from a sprinkling of local residents, mostly women, with an understandably strong attachment to their modest home turf. "Why should I give up my dream for Elon to accomplish history?" asks one.
Home owners were offered a triple-value buyout to pick up stakes and leave, and it seems at least one of them said no. As one resident reasons, where could she buy a replacement property on the water -- for $150,000?
I wouldn't be happy if something like this happened on my street. I also understand that free enterprise is the backbone of this country. I'd have welcomed hearing Musk's side of the story.
