discover the cove

i love a good documentary. i’m not talking about your al gore powerpoint nonsense, i’m talking about the ‘real’ documentary, where there is real footage with real people in real situations.
‘the cove’ is one such documentary.
it’s true that the best documentary is one that manipulates audience into accepting it’s viewpoint as the truth and nothing but the truth, but when the subject matter is as visceral as it is in this movie, it’s difficult to feel anything other than sickened.
‘the cove’ is directed by louie psihoyos, the founder of ops [oceanic preservation society], and his movie documents the goings-on in taiji, japan. taiji is a small place that to your normal visitor gives the impression that it loves sealife – there are boats shaped like whales and giftshops packed with fluffy dolphins and whales, flags, and other paraphernalia. however what actually happens in the town of taiji, between september and march every year, is the slaughter of thousands of dolphins!
ironically, the crusader for this cause is ric o'barry, the guy who trained and stared in ‘flipper’ in the 60s, and introduced the idea of capturing dolphins for ‘entertainment’. he has dedicated the last 35 years of his life as an activist against the capture and senseless killing of these beautiful, intelligent creatures.
the power and message of this movie is very hard to ignore.

as we grow up we are aware of certain causes that are fighting for the restoration of order to so much of this world. these kind of things have been happening for years, but i find it deeply disturbing that the older i get the more i discover about the wanton destruction of our planets habitats and life in almost every area.
we cannot be in-activists when we see so much that is wrong with this world that needs putting right. and as the movie says, we cannot wait for governments to make the changes that are needed, as the governments are part of the problem. we as individuals need to make a stand.
save the dolphin
save the whale
save the brown bear
save the trees
for goodness sake, we are stewards of this world. charged with it’s care and nurture by it’s creator.
…save the planet!