| A film by David
Bickerstaff
Video | 4:3 | 3 min 50 sec
Jerusalem is a short film that brings together two English icons
- William Blake’s poem 'Jerusalem' and the M1 motorway.
Blake's short poem eludes to the biblical
notion of Jesus Christ’s second coming and the belief that
the building of a new Jerusalem (a metaphor for heaven), would be
in England. It became popular during the first World War when the
composer C. Hubert H. Parry was asked to write music to Blake's
words that would turn the poem into an anthem. The result is a song
that has become iconic in English national culture.
Post war prosperity grew and the M1 motorway
was constructed through the heart of the English countryside to
serve as the commercial backbone. 20 million tonnes of earth, gravel,
rock and chalk were excavated to build the motorway. It is 193 miles
long and is now used by an average of 88,000 motorists a day.
Is this Jerusalem we built here, or an environmental
pariah on England's green and pleasant land?
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