TLE–EX 113 INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRIAL ARTS

Name: Batis, Nalyn E.

Grade, Year, and Section: BTLED-IA 1C

"THE CURRENT WAR"

(ESSAY)
The current war film centers on Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, two of the
greatest industrial-age inventors who compete in a war of ideas and technology to see
whose electrical system will run the new century. supported by J.P. Morgan, Edison
illuminates Manhattan, dazzling the world. However, Westinghouse recognizes severe
weaknesses in Edison's direct current system with the help of Nikola Tesla. Tesla and
Westinghouse staked everything on alternating current, which is risky and lethal.

"The Current War" depicts a 13-year span at the end of the 19th century as these two
fearless creative forces battle with one another for the honor of illuminating this rapidly
changing world. One of their most prickly and potentially unsettling traits was their role
in the development of the electric chair. This story point, however, is shallow and
superficial when it could have provided a more in-depth ethical discussion, just like so
many others in "The Current War."

The Current War is a fun and insightful look at a significant historical moment. The war
of words and innovations between these two businessmen makes for a tremendous big
screen struggle, and its visual creativity is joyful even if it occasionally piles on the
mayhem a little too much. One gets the impression that this might be a subject that is a
bit too broad for a two-hour film, with so much plot that some of the people and larger
themes fade into the background, as if there were only so much electric light
available.The film attempts to cover a lot, both technically and thematically, in a
relatively brief amount of time (the director's edit is only a few minutes shorter than its
predecessor). However, the result appears hasty and incomplete.