A Plastic Ocean

Documentaries help us change perspectives. Or, at least, they should. This one, for instance, achieved its goal and its audience (hopefully). It is approachable, making people realize the impact of their unconscious decisions and, therefore, they become more aware of their actions and start to shift plans. It's hard to believe, but true, that through visual example humans are more willing to change behaviour than from receiving the same information through speech or from having it written down. We don't predict the future, we shape it by determination and desire to strive for a better day.

This film is an eye-opening education for all the world to see! A global disaster has begun and this amazing documentary brings awareness and solutions to save this planet and our most valuable resource, the oceans. Please sit for 90-minutes and learn about this very important issue, and find ways that you can be part of the solution, instead of part of the problem.

This film is so anxious to blame the US with its net non recycled production of all plastic slightly higher than Europe that it fails to even mention once that the types of plastics that are believed by the science to be the biggest contributors are in fact sourced form Asia and Europe at much higher rate per capita. It also when needed for its narrative switches between consumption and production, as if Europe's higher consumption than production makes it more benign. kind of reminds me of "Inconvenient Truth" and its manipulation of data, making the US the leading contributor to carbon output when not mention hat because of the huge efficiencies of the US, the US is producing more goods and food with less carbon per ton grown than Asia, Africa or Europe. The reason for the low acceptance of the science on global warming is an effect of the obscene level of manipulation of figures on production and consumption to resulting production, that allows the US to be blamed, and using this to rationalize subjecting the US to super-national redistribution of money and wealth. The science on the problem is real, the science on the solutions is flat earth junk science and statistical manipulation. Productivity in its ratio to carbon and plastic use matters.

the makers of this film would have been much better off in science communications if they had stuck to the science, instead of promulgating poltical diatribes that do not stand scrutiny of some basic logical controls

I attended the premiere of this documentary in Beverly Hills. Watched the film - listened to the panel after the documentary AND left the theater....thoroughly disappointed.

As an individual who understands that plastic, at large, is a dangerous commodity, I was expecting more from this film. The wow factor evidence, to show the masses that we have a tragic and colossal problem with plastic in our oceans simply wasn't there.

Profiling this individual and that individual AND this scientist and that scientist (this regarding their knowledge and/or experience with plastic at sea) and concentrating on a beachfront village of destitute locals where plastic has washed ashore -- the film, in my opinion, did not show enough enough devastation to convince and persuade governments to change anything.

Here's the deal: ALL consumer PLASTIC PACKAGING (including bags, straws, cup lids, etc,) needs to be banned. Period. This film, although well-intentioned, missed its mark. To this, the panel at the premiere (less the teenage girl who was outstanding) kinda' had me shaking my head. One outspoken person, on the panel, who had his set of rah - rah cheerleaders in the audience, had me thinking that this cause was his life's profession. Almost as though, if some sort of miracle occurred, wherein plastic packaging was eradicated tomorrow, that his life would be ruined. I may be wrong about this individual BUT for whatever reason, he kinda' turned me off.

Want to know why plastic packaging needs to be banned...? Don't be lazy. Research it and get involved. Please write to your Local - State and Federal Representatives to ban all plastic packaging.

I mainly enjoyed the documentary, could be a bit more well produced though. It should be, in my opinion, more about the plastic in the ocean per se, the consequences, direct and indirect, the study cases (and there are thousands of those), as it was in the first part, and less about the human self-destruction with garbage (2nd part).

All in all this documentary is a 50% of good scientific proof of the damage plastic is to our environment/our possible future, and 50% of opinion journalism. I don't dislike the opinions, but most are uninformed and there are some scientific errors here and there.

Still I give it a positive review, as it can achieve its goal into showing people what our mindless action can do to the environment and, in the midle/long term, to us! I would recommend it, but be aware of some sensasionalistic opinions.