Chasing Coral: A documentary review

 This past week I recently got assigned to pick a documentary of my choosing and I chose to watch Chasing Coral (2017) directed by Jeff Orlowski. I chose this because I love the ocean and the life that resides in it, and at the base of all ocean life is coral. A scene that got to me was when the director was showing how the vibrant life ridden coral became a very ghostly white. It really got to me and made me realize how fragile life really is. They go on to explain that climate change is the cause of coral bleaching and that the final effects are still unknown, it ranges from just a little bit damaging to full world ecosystem failure. The thing that surprised me the most about this film was the really beautiful underwater cinematography, it really made me as a viewer appreciate sea-life a lot more than before. Then it transitioned to parts of the ocean that have already been coral bleached and showed how scary climate change really is and how it affects life in the ocean. I still wonder how the world could come together to help combat this, yes the film did provide some solutions, but the whole world combating this issue didn't feel too realistic to me. After viewing, I feel kind of empty but at the same time grateful for the oceans, it's saddening to see all the life dying, but I am grateful for what the ocean provides for us and how beautiful it truly is. I just finished this film, but I do expect me to think more about energy usage after this film. I say this because I know that energy usage is linked to carbon emissions and climate change, so I believe I will be more mindful about that. I think we should avoid using research in film summaries because the data might change or it might get confused in translation between platforms. Overall, I enjoyed Chasing Coral and it has opened up my eyes on the health of the ocean and what I can do for it. I would recommend this film to anyone who loves cinematography and has an interest in ocean life.