“Use your talent”
These inspiring words were spoken by Robert Nixon. Last week, the Academy Award nominated director gave a live Skype chat at Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center. A full room of approximately 40 people listened to the director talk about his newest film, “Mission Blue.”
Photo: Robert Nixon, director of “Mission Blue”
“Mission Blue” (2014) tells the story of Sylvia Earle, a world-renowned ocean explorer. She has worked her entire life exploring and fighting for Earth’s oceans with a passion evident in the film. The documentary tells the story of her life; how she balanced a family with a career, broke the glass ceiling, and still remains a prominent figure today.
When asked if she was a radical about protecting the oceans, Earle said, “If others had the opportunity to witness what I have seen in my lifetime, what I see when I go diving, and the perspective that I’ve gained from thousands of hours underwater, I would not seem like a radical at all.”
Climate change, overfishing, ocean acidification, and oil spills are a few of the issues Nixon discusses in his film. Images of dead sea turtles and footage of seagulls covered in oil from spills brought a few members of the audience to tears. But despite the sad outlook depicted, the film aims to inspire viewers to advocate for the protection of our oceans. The documentary lets us know there is still hope, but we need to act now before it gets too late.
The documentary shows a clip of Earle during an interview with Stephen Colbert, where they discuss why people should care about the ocean. “Most of the oxygen that you breathe, that everybody breathes is generated by the ocean,” said Earle during the interview. “No ocean, no life. No ocean, no us.”
Photo: Dr. Sylvia Earle, world-renowned ocean explorer
After the film concluded, Nixon talked to the audience via Skype. He has made over 60 documentaries, including “America the Beautiful” and the short film “Amazon Diary.” Nixon, a talented filmmaker with a good sense of humor, said he always wanted to be a marine biologist, but as a student never did well in math or biology. Instead, he decided to become a filmmaker and serve as a “messenger for the people who got A’s.”
When asked about using film as a means to create environmental awareness, Nixon says it’s mostly about telling stories. He argues these stories sometimes make an impact, which he hopes is the case with “Mission Blue.” He encouraged the audience to use their talents to help the environment, whether it’s writing, researching, or filmmaking. The environment needs our help, and we should be doing whatever we can, however we can to make a difference.