“Anthropocene: The Human Epoch”
I have watched the film “Anthropocene: The Human Epoch” and would like to give an opinion about it. The film presents itself as more of a documentary exploring the emerging issues in the world caused by human impact. It displays images and videos that show the effect of human impact in changing the original state of the earth. One can say that the film is a world tour with the crew visiting different regions in the world covering and compiling in the picture and audio-visual form the change human activities have had in the geological nature of the earth. The films present the human race as the cause of most of the global changes currently experienced.
The film features the devastating effects of human activities in twenty countries on six different continents. It begins with a coverage of the burning of elephant tusks in an open field somewhere in Kenya. Norilsk, a mining city in Russia, which is commonly referred to as the “most polluted city,” is featured showing the significant effect of metal mining on the landscape of the city. Visiting areas of the globe which have been affected most y human activities, the next scene is featured in Carrara Italy. Through an aerial shot, three huge machines are seen on a ledge extracting the enormous deposits of marble in the site. In Immerath Germany, there are some of the world’s most giant excavators scour the earth for coal, altering the earth’s surface and, in turn, displacing scores of people. The effects of the coal mine are regarded as the displacement of people, damaging agricultural land, and damage to the natural landscape of the earth. Kenya gives a view of the mountains of plastics in terms of bottles and bags. People are seen scavenging in these heaps of plastics for what might be valuable to them. “Anthropocene: The Human Epoch” presents itself as a critique film that tries to demonstrate by a small percentage the extent to which human activities are damaging to the natural state if the earth. It features the adverse effects of terraforming not only on the landscape but also on the weather, economy, and effect on people in the highlighted regions and all over the globe as a whole.
The film, being a documentary, does not include any physical actors but rather a narrator. Alicia Vikander, who is the documentary narrator, tries to explain extensively the contents of the film such that the audience can understand the movie deeply. Her narration is captivating to the viewer and brings the insight that the film aims at instilling about the effects of human activities on the earth. Narration remains objective. The film also includes instances of interviewees, especially to workers who give reasons and opinions. The audience is given an evident view of the consequence of human activities with the narration of Alicia Vikander, complementing it with her elaborate and objective explanations. She conveys the message of the documentary quite clearly, supplementing the voice of the society and nature itself.
The film has a dominant theme. The choice of places to feature in the movie is unique and gives the movie a strong idea it possesses. The flow of scenes, featuring each site and the vast effect of human activities in each, is quite out of the ordinary. It gives its audience the virtual interaction with the impact social activities have on the natural geological state of the earth is quite a unique way. The film introduces each scene with the original beauty that the surface had or still has in some parts. It then brings a scene featuring the devastating effect of human invasion on the same beautiful landscape. These are some of the features that help the film be outstanding and unique in presenting its theme.
Morally the film tries to present to its audience the effects human activities have on the earth. These effects being detrimental in the existence of the planet, it tries to show the kind of world we will be living in a few more years if the trend on human activities is not checked. The film aims to inspire its audience to be the ambassadors of change who should strive to save the earth. It teaches the importance of preserving mother nature by presenting to us the effects our activities have on the environment.
The film is likely to attract anyone with love for nature. This means that anyone can like the movie. It has no specific audience to which it was meant for. Students researching the effects of human activities on nature might find this film an interesting source. The film is not rated since it is suitable for general viewing. Generally, the film is good. Rating is out of ten; I would give it a seven.