Thursday, April 22, 2021, is Earth Day. Therefore, this week is the best time (although we should always be celebrating and giving back) to celebrate the earth and its environment. I thought to myself, “What better way to become educated about something than by watching movies?” Everyone enjoys them, so let us learn something as well. Through research, I have listed what I believe to be the top five movies/documentaries to watch this Earth Day.
#1. “Food, Inc.”
This film is number one because I have personally watched it and felt the impact it has. I have seen this film around three times, and each time I gain a new perspective. It is grueling and exposing; it shows the truth behind our food industry. It explains how we get our food and the environmental impact the processes cause. It is a documentary that is 1h 34min long and can be found on Amazon Prime and Hulu.
#2. “A Plastic Ocean”
According to aplasticocean.movie, this film is a documentary that started with a journalist searching for a blue whale. While he was searching, instead of finding whales he finds an unexplainable amount of plastic in the ocean. This film is to raise awareness of the increase of plastic expanding into our oceans that is polluting and killing marine life. The website, aplasticocean.movie, is the film’s website that explains the mission of the documentary and how people can share the movie with others. The film can be found on Amazon Prime or downloaded for personal viewing from the website.
#3. “Before the Flood”
This is an incredible film featuring a well-known actor, Leonardo DiCaprio. According to beforetheflood.com, DiCaprio travels to five different continents to understand how climate change is affecting the world, specifically how it is affecting each continent individually. DiCaprio gave a review of the film stating, “This documentary shows how interconnected the fate of all humanity is — but also the power we all possess as individuals to build a better future for our planet.” This documentary can be found on Amazon Prime, Google Play, and iTunes.
#4. “The Cove”
According to RogerEbert.com, the film is about a small village in Japan known as Taiji, that has been trapping and killing dolphins. The documentary features hidden cameras that capture real footage of dolphins being killed. The Washington Post commented on Metacritic.com stating, “The slaughter is part of a traditional fishing culture, according to the Japanese. But if you succumb to the emotional appeal of this documentary, it emerges not just as a bloody and brutal business but almost as bad as genocide.” This is a heart-wrenching film, but one that is important to be aware of. It can be found on Amazon Prime and YouTube.
#5. “Earth”
The last film is a more light-hearted documentary featuring photos of various animals and environments around the globe. The film is created by Disneynature depicting humans and the amazing world that we live in. According to a review writer on IMDb.com, “The footage is, quite simply, some of the most stunning ever captured on film, in any genre.” The documentary can be found on Amazon Prime.
This week, remember to not only celebrate our earth, but become informed about the things that are hurting it, and what we can all do to help. Happy Earth Week!