6 Movies to Raise Awareness this Earth Day
Founded in 1970 by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day has become a national wake-up call to pay close attention to our planet’s health and well-being. Yet, despite the increased level of awareness about everything from endangering entire animal species to polluting the very air we breathe, pressing environmental problems still persist. In honor of Earth Day, help educate audiences about some of Earth’s most critical environmental issues with these eco-conscious films.
Blueback
This Australian drama tells the story of a 15-year-old girl named Abby who befriends a wild, blue groper while diving. But when she realizes poachers threaten her friend’s existence, she takes inspiration from her activist mother and passionately works to protect the ecosystem of Australia’s coral reefs from destruction. The film is based on Tim Winton’s 1997 novella of the same name. Not only does the film deliver an ecologically conscious message, but it also serves as a powerful reminder that we all can make a difference.
An Inconvenient Truth
This Davis Guggenheim-directed documentary dives deep into former United States Vice President Al Gore’s plight to educate citizens about the dangers of global warming with a presentation he’s delivered more than a thousand times. By turning this exact keynote speech into a film, “An Inconvenient Truth” went on to win two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song and is credited with raising international public awareness of global warming.
Wall-E
Spotlighting the dangers of our throwaway society for our planet, this animated classic is both hilarious and touching. Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class (WALL-E) is tasked with cleaning up the mess humanity made before they evacuated due to all the debris. Though the film takes place in an environmental apocalypse, it will inspire kids and adults alike to tray and do better now.
“Future generations may well have occasion to ask themselves, ‘What were our parents thinking? Why didn't they wake up when they had a chance?’ We have to hear that question from them, now.” Al Gore, Former United States Vice President
To the End
This documentary was filmed over the course of four years to showcase the emergence of a new generation of leaders and movements behind the most impactful climate change legislations in U.S. history. The film follows four exceptional young women – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, activist Varshini Prakash, climate policy writer Rhiana Gunn-Wright, and political strategist Alexandra Rojas – as they face new challenges of leadership and work together to protect their generation’s future.
No Impact Man
A documentary based off of the book by the same name, “No Impact Man” shows how Manhattan-based author Colin Beavan and his family made drastic adjustments to live 365 days without harming the planet. Abandoning their posh 5th Avenue lifestyle, Beavan's family give up modern-day conveniences, like transportation and electricity, and everyday necessities, like toilet paper, to show what it takes to become truly “eco-friendly.”
Earth
Explore the animal kingdom and learn more about the diverse habitats of the world’s most endangered and vulnerable wild animals as you follow the survival journey of three particular species – the polar bear, African bush elephant and humpback whale. Over the course of a calendar year, this nature documentary highlights threats to the animals’ survival in the face of rapid environmental changes. Beginning with the story of a mother polar bear and her two new cubs, "Earth" gradually moves south to follow a herd of African bush elephants as they try to navigate a dust storm in the Kalahari Desert while avoiding predators. The documentary then turns to a humpback whale mother and calf as they try to find food in the shallow seas of the tropics before concluding in Antarctica in December of the same year.
