5 movies teach us to take care of the environment

The Latin American Post Staff October 23, 2018

320 4 minutes read

Find out here 5 films that invite us to take care of the environment and natural resources

Caring for the environment and natural resources is everyone's job. For this reason, different producers have wanted to convey this message in their films. Here, you will find 5 films that invite us to reflect on our use of natural resources and how we take care of the environment.

Leer en español: 5 películas que nos enseñan a cuidar el medio ambiente

1. The day after tomorrow: This film was directed by Ronald Emmerich and released in 2004. The film was starring Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal. The story revolves around Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), a scientist who predicted that global warming would have dire consequences on the planet. Hall says in a conference that the results of climate change would be evident in the not so distant future.

However, what Hall did not imagine, is that his predictions became real a few days after the conference. The plot is further complicated when Hall discovers that he must rescue his son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is trapped in Manhattan after heavy rains, floods, and hurricanes.

The film makes the viewer reflect on the course that humanity is currently following and that could lead us to face serious consequences.

2. Wall E: The film was directed by Andrew Stanton and produced by Pixar Animated Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. Released in 2008, this film tells the story of a robot that is dedicated to compact garbage on a polluted and lifeless planet. Humanity has left the planet after the Earth was filled with debris that makes it uninhabitable. The initial plan was to decontaminate the planet, but the mission fails and the human race is forced to remain in the ships that took them away from Earth.

Also read: Did you know there are plants that shine like Avatar's?

Wall E is dedicated to compact waste and collect items that seem curious. In one of his expeditions, the robot finds a plant that he puts in a boot. Later, a mission arrives to verify the state of the planet and check whether or not it can be inhabited. EVA, the robot in charge of carrying out this mission, meets Wall E and discovers the plant in his home. From that moment, the robots will live a tender love story and will face great adventures to deliver the plant, so humanity can return to the planet.

In a fun and animated way, the film invites us to think to what extent we will let our actions destroy the planet. Will we leave the planet instead of remedying what we have done?

3. Avatar: The film was released in 2009 and directed by James Cameron. The story takes place in the year 2154, when a paraplegic marine, Jake Sully, is selected to carry out a mission in Pandora, a moon of the planet Polyphemus. This moon is inhabited by a race of humanoids (Avatars), has a toxic atmosphere for humans and has unobtainium, a mineral that could solve the energy crisis of the Earth. This mineral is found in the mother tree, a sacred tree that connects nature and the beings that inhabit that moon. The human army wants to obtain the mineral at all costs and regardless of the consequences. For this reason, an armed conflict between the Avatar and humans is unleashed, since the former are not willing to sacrifice their resources and their connection with nature.

The film has two teachings. On the one hand, the film criticizes how humanity is destroying resources without measuring the impact. On the other hand, it invites us to connect with the environment and thus correct our mistakes.

4. The Lorax: The story was originally published in 1971 in a book written by Dr. Seuss. Subsequently, in 2012, a film based on the original story was made. The film was produced by Illumination Entertaiment and tells how Ted Wiggings tries to revive the Trufula tree forest, after that in previous times this species was cut for corporate benefit. Tedd faces Mr. O'Hare, an entrepreneur who runs the bottled oxygen business and who fervently opposes trees being planted again.

Also read: Pollution affects your baby's health

The film exposes the dangers of non-sustainable corporate growth desires and invites us to think that progress must go hand in hand with caring for the environment.

5. Erin Brockovich: Based on a true story, the film tells the story of a divorced woman who starts working at a lawyer's buffet after losing a trial due to the car accident she suffered. While working with the lawyer, Brockovich realizes the relationship between water pollution and the poor health of some clients of the firm. The woman discovers that a large corporation has contaminated the water of an entire community with the perforations it has made. The company uses fracking for gas extraction and the population has developed different diseases such as cancer.

The film shows how the mismanagement of extractive operations ends up affecting the health and well-being of the inhabitants. It not only invites us to think about whether these strategies are adequate, but also that corporate development cannot be above the common good.