Chasing Coral (Documentary Reflection)
Like the creators of Chasing Coral the oceans fascinate my curiosity for the planet I was born to. In fact, my sole purpose for going to college is to attain accreditation in environmental science and obtain employment through NOAA so that I may do my part in some way to save our planets diminishing ecosystem. The awe inspiring colors and diversity beneath the surface of Earth's waters ought to be enough for us to want to protect them. However, if not solely for their beauty is critical for our own prosperity and survival as humans to preserve these ecosystems that carry the back bone supports for life as we know it.
There is a scene in which Zackary Rago, a camera operator and coral fanatic, is setting up a time lapse and in real time watching miles of living coral approach their last moments before death along the great barrier reef. It is a very emotional moment for Zackary and even if you do not care one bit about the environment you can feel his distraught for such a devastating loss.
The vulnerability to show the crew's mistakes really surprised me. It seemed at time through out the film that some of these individuals handling extremely expensive equipment in fragile ecosystems had no idea what they were doing. That's not to take away the impact they have on helping to save the environment. I just find some of the interactions and mistakes that take place in the movie humorous.
Two major questions I have after watching the film is first the movie came out 4 years ago now and I'm left wondering what the crew is up to now in their efforts. The second question I have is if there is anything on a personal individual basis that I can do to help further preserve our oceans? I like to believe that individual responsibility is important amongst everything else. It's the philosophy of making sure your own home is in order before you go out trying to fix the world. With that I carry a great deal of action in doing things that are barely an inconvenience to me such as driving a motorcycle most of the time in order to produce less emissions, I don't support animal agriculture, take short showers, as well as my job being a reservist in the Coast Guard is to regulate oil facilities along the waterways.
The thing that is difficult for me to some to terms with is that there truly are a seemingly infinite injustices in our imperfect society and there is only so much time in the day. How do I balance pursuing my own goals and aspirations while devoting some of my time to helping solve these crisis? If I were to devote all my time to altruistically preserving all the coral then by that logic I should also devote all my time to stopping world hunger and oh I should also devote all my time to stopping intercity violence. It is impossible for us as individuals to take part in solving every single crisis that faces humanity. So how do we decide in what hierarchy of crisis some order of importance for each issue? The thing is we can't and that is where conflict as well as politics come into play. When we get incredibly passionate about an issue we think it's the most important issue in existence and that nobody else is paying attention or cares so we feel the need to shove that down everyone else's throats. When in reality it's not that people don't care, it's that the individual you're trying to persuade already has their own issues they're trying to deal with. It is a very sad realization that we cannot solve every issue facing humanity, however that does not mean we should not try.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Gavin,
ReplyDeleteYou raise important questions about vulnerability. You also explore what we can do as individuals. Interesting to look at the team in the film — from across Arts, Sciences, and Business — to see everyone working toward their shared goal. I do see collective action as "the way." But of course, personal ethics is important.
Most good docs WANT to share their follow up news! There's good news about the Hawaiian coral farming project mentioned toward the end of the film. See Where Are They Now, para 1: https://www.chasingcoral.com/2020/10/22/chasing-coral-turns-3/!
Also, most docs have robust websites devoted to cultivating their followers to update and further inspire action. See: https://www.chasingcoral.com/. Both the Take Action page, and the Blog feature specific things we an do to keep the information and awareness circulating. Check it out!
You know, you might enlarge that wonderful image (to get more eyes on your page) :)
Thanks, Gavin!
Gavin,
ReplyDeleteI often wonder too what efforts we can make to keep our ecosystem as pure as possible to better our lives and the animals and creatures that roam the oceans. I donate to a company called 4oceans. Their intent is that every purchase of their bracelet is donated back to cleaning trash out the ocean. I liked the fact you pointed out that we truly can never win the never ending battle of our own conscience. Where do we start? Where does it end? Will our efforts ever make a difference?
Hello Gavin, I find the ocean intimidating but very beautiful and interesting as well. I feel like it is a resource we do not know enough about and it is very heartbreaking to hear how it is struggling. I could not imagine actually witnessing the coral die. It is hard to feel like any one person can make a difference but you never know how your interactions with a person can change their thoughts or actions. Hopefully the more you educate yourself on the environment you can continue to lead by example and spread awareness.
ReplyDeleteGavin, I respect and appreciate your willingness to make the world a better place. Although you may not be happy that you aren't doing enough, the fact that you're doing whatever you can and care so much is great. We as humans may overlook the idea of making an impact in the time we have in life. I hope you succeed in your future endeavors, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete