Reflection

Oceans and Ourselves is a short animation about how when we trawl, overfish, deep sea mine, acidify the ocean, spill oil or pump plastic into the ocean we are not just hurting marine life we are also directly hurting ourselves because every human depends on the ocean for life. I am passionate about art and social justice. Animation allows me to combine many art forms like, drawing, music and storytelling. Through animation I think I can speak to people’s emotions. A lot of my inspiration comes from Hayao Miyazaki’s films. I love his attention to detail, the strong female heroines, and his message about conserving nature. The process of making this animation was slow but rewarding. It is one of the first longer animations I have made, so it is a big accomplishment for me. I have worked at several art activism organizations in Seattle which help empower the voices of marginalized communities and make sure that everyone has access to an arts education no matter what their background is. Social justice informs how I view the climate crisis. Ocean pollution does not affect everyone the same way. Poor communities, marginalized communities and communities of color in the U.S. are not the ones who are causing the climate crisis, but they are the ones suffering the huge consequences. They are also the ones leading the fight to end inequality and the climate crisis. Ending the climate crisis and restoring our oceans can only happen if everyone works towards racial equality.