Here’s an utterly gripping two minute video that I downloaded from the Oceana website a while back. I tried to find it again today to link to the original but I couldn’t. It cuts between footage of the wonders of the ocean with horrific shots of bottom trawling — you can see the nets literally scouring the ocean floor, transforming a rich environment into what looks like the sahara desert underwater.
The footage is so powerful. I really wish they had… well… finished the video. The filmmakers seem to have the assumption that if they reveal the shocking truth, the viewers will figure out for themselves how to act on those feelings constructively. A few will. But for most, it’ll just be another briefly disturbing image they encounter and forget that day.
Everyday citizens perceive the world as a fucked up place. It’s hard to make your problem seem bigger than all the others. So make your problem stand out from the rest by empowering people to solve it: Encourage them they can make a difference, tell them what they can do, remind them that others are pitching in.
In a future post, I’ll show a video prepared by another cause that provides some shocking information, and then follows up with a clear call to action. In the meantime, after watching the video, if you have thoughts on how to improve it, please share!
Comments
I think you need some sort of personal testimony at the end of the video. You see this damage then you should see a human face that tells you about the impact and what you can do.
Add this to my list of “didn’t know it was an issue”. I am going to go live in a hole somewhere…
I agree, a human face telling folks what we can do on our small level would be an enormous thing — end on a positive, pro-active note instead of “Oh, here’s something ELSE you can panic about and wring your hands over!” I’m personally sick and tired of being told the world is going to hell in a hand-basket, it’s all our fault, and we probably SHOULD go live in a hole somewhere, as Robert said. 
Let’s find out what the problems are and work on a practical and meaningful solution, based on science and cooperation and creativity.
Kelly
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[…] weeks back or so, I gave an Oceana video on bottom trawling a big thumbs down for being simultaneously depressing and unempowering. Today I’m giving the […]
