Earth Month (April) has come to an end, but sustainability and the planet are likely still top of mind for many of you. Let’s keep that going! This month Troy is sharing his list of top flicks that influenced his journey to environmental sustainability. Check them out and add them to the queue for your next movie night!
Troy’s Watchlist
If you are looking for something to watch that gives insight into the natural world and builds more inspiration than woe, I highly recommend the following movies/documentaries. We can’t completely get away from discussing the damage that is being done to our environment, but we can get excited about solutions. You’ll notice that many of these titles are reflections of my own journey to environmental sustainability. Sharing our process and inspiration is an important part of our culture as we move into a future of altruistic cultivation and away from commodities. What movies and books were inspirational to you?
My Octopus Teacher
My daughter and I can’t stop referencing this documentary. Every chance that is given to show the amazing consciousness of our living environment is a learning lesson for all ages. While I don’t condone eloping with a cephalopod as a mid-life crisis tactic, the journey is an interesting one. Humans are the aliens when exploring the oceans. This story goes into how humans reflect nature upon ourselves and the necessity for us to build from that. This fantastic friendship epic goes through a world of emotion and curiosity by both creatures of the sea and land.
Becoming Cousteau
Jacque Cousteau was a childhood hero of mine. Even though most of his movies were decades old by the time I was born they still held the same bewilderment between magic and fact. Take a historical journey into the life of a scientist, adventurer, inventor, filmer and dreamer as he and his team explore a brave new world and learn the human effects on the natural environment. It is interesting to see the team have so much disregard for pollution in the beginning as they sail away from societal ignorance. Film lovers will enjoy the hue of Kodak film in this retrospection on fantastic voyages.
Baraka /Samsara
Baraka changed my life when I was 11 and Samsara continued the quest when I was 29. While not exactly traditional documentaries, the artistic lens into the connected world brings about the viewers own journey. Spirituality and nature take the center stage as beautifully crafted visuals fill the screen without dialogue or narration. Honestly, they are so compelling that words would only jumble up the brilliance of these movies. Shot on 70mm filmstock these movies are best viewed on very large screens with high definition.
Chasing Coral / Chasing Ice
Most of my recommendations are for the viewers to find their own inspiration in the stories. These recommendations both have a deliberate agenda; to educate us on our effects on the world’s most important resource and the life that depends on it. These exposés bring a call to action as the salinity of oceans decreases and the longest-living animals fade to a bleached white. If you ever wanted to be a scientific diver this is as close as you can get without leaving home.
FernGully: The Last Rainforest
Ok, this one probably isn’t exactly what you think when you hear “environmental movie”, but you have to have something for the kids. If you haven’t seen this one for a while I believe it holds up well and probably inspired the Avatar movies. There are often two sides to how we see nature, embrace it and thrive or subdue it with a conqueror’s ignorance. With an all-star voice cast of Tim Curry, Tone Loc Christian Slater and Robin Williams’s voice acting debut, it’s a fantastic journey into realization for the whole family.