Reflection

I’m fortunate enough to have many experiences with the ocean that make me an avid snorkeler and SCUBA diver. This semester, I took my first Marine Ecology class and learned about plankton all the way to the ocean's top predators such as Orcas. But after learning about plastics, it was clear that the ocean's true top predator is us.

It hurts to know that birds starve on stomachs are full of plastic, turtles and dolphins drown in discarded fishing nets, and animals struggle to survive with plastic restricting one fin, flipper, or paddle. These stories touch animal lovers’ hearts. But what about people who haven’t had intimate experiences with the ocean? What about those who haven’t had the opportunity to study marine life? What about people who claim they “don’t really care”?

My film makes the average person care about keeping plastic out of our ocean. After doing some thinking about communication to the public, I decided to be human centric. Although we don’t like to admit it, humans are very selfish. People pay more attention to whatever impacts them. I presented facts and information through a dialogue to make it more relatable and used video clips and photos from The Internet Archive to supplement my footage since I couldn’t shoot that part myself. Hopefully, I’m able to capture the interest and care of everybody, regardless of their level of personal experience with the ocean.

Remember: Keep Plastic Out of Our Sea, Keep Plastic Out of You And Me.