Jodi Rave: Count me among America's lawn freaks

"Count me among America's lawn freaks - a multimillion-member mass of people who wished our neighbors cared as much about the lawn as we do.

The makers of a short film called 'Gimme Green' take a humorous look at the American obsession with the residential lawn and the effects it has on 'our environment, our wallets and our outlook on life.'

Filmmakers Eric Flagg and Isaac Brown ask questions like: How did lawns become status symbols in our lives? And what do green lawns really symbolize?

Pride and prosperity?

Or waste and conformity?

'Gimme Green' premiered during the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula, which ends Wednesday.

The film explores everything from the subdivisions of Florida to sod farms in the arid Southwest and takes a ground-level look at our nation's largest irrigated crop - the lawn.

I haven't always been an avid waterer. When I rented, the ground sometimes hardened, cracked and the grass stood like little brown sentinels that might break in half if the wind blew too hard.

But as a homeowner, well, if I don't keep the yard up, who will?"

Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: Lush lawn? Film may have you rethink it (The Missoulian 2/20)

Relevant Links:
Jodi Rave - http://www.missoulian.com/jodirave

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