Star-Studded Environmental Documentaries….Worth it? Or not?
By: Emily Bernard, Be Green Living Intern
I recently had the opportunity to see Leonardo DiCaprio’s Before The Flood, a documentary focusing on the rapidly approaching effects of climate change across the world and Zac Efron’s mini-series Down to Earth, focusing on healthy, sustainable living around the globe. I thought it would be interesting to provide a review of these two environmentally based projects, in tandem with a discussion of how this type of media fits in with environmentalism. Do celebrities who travel the world informing their audience about environmental issues and some of the solutions have credibility? Does it help the environmental movement?
In the film, Before the Flood, DiCaprio was recognized as a UN Messenger of Peace related to the climate, for his long-term commitment to environmental issues. The film was sponsored by National Geographic, and produced by Fisher Stevens and Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.
As the UN Messenger of Peace, DiCaprio travels to various places around the world that have been affected by climate change. His trip includes visiting the Arctic Circle measuring the rate at which ice is melting, stopping in Beijing to discuss a new policy that would require companies to be transparent about their polluting, and ending in Paris at the 2016 UN Climate Accords. The film ends with a note about the carbon footprint of the documentary being offset by voluntarily paying a carbon tax that went to supporting rainforests.
The documentary covers a range of topical issues including the effects of deforestation for palm oil plantations, black tar sands in Canada for the purpose of making synthetic oil, and sea level rise on small island nations and here in Miami, Florida. Over the course of the film, Leonardo Dicaprio meets with experts in the fields and important world leaders including US President at the time, Barack Obama, and current leader of the Catholic church, Pope Francis.
Before the Flood is a worthwhile watch, providing concrete evidence and expert testimony on critical environmental issues. It also includes an interesting perspective into Leonardo DiCaprio’s history in the environmental movement including his participation in Earth Day speeches, and a sit-down interview with former Vice President Al Gore. The film takes on a very serious tone, ending with a powerful speech from DiCaprio at the UN Paris Climate Accords, in which he emphasizes the factual nature of climate change, along with the importance of electing leaders and representatives that will be able to make and enforce the necessary changes to slow our emissions of greenhouse gases. While the documentary does include some idolizing by DiCaprio as he discusses a painting that hung above his crib as a child and then links the painting to climate change, it is overall an important documentary on the anthropogenic degradation happening to our planet and some of the political solutions to the problem.
Zac Efron’s mini-series Down to Earth, features Zac and his friend, superfoods expert/lifestyle guru Darin Olein, on a trip around the world. The series is broken into eight episodes, each of which take place in a different country. The series was produced by Nacelle Company, along with Zac Efron and Darin Olein.
In this documentary series, Zac Efron and Darin Olein travel around the world visiting sustainable industries, eating local foods, and meeting with some experts. Over the course of the series they travel to Iceland, France, Costa Rica, Sardinia, Lima, Puerto Rico, and London, with a few clips in New York City and Los Angeles. The series covers topics such as green energy, including geothermal energy and solar energy, farm to table sustainable living, and the expected intensification of tropical storms due to climate change.
Down to Earth is a travel documentary that is being marketed as environmental or sustainability focused. But in actuality, most of the episodes focus more on lifestyle choices, like an entire episode focused on why Sardinia has the most people living to be 100 years old in the world, or the Costa Rica episode, visiting Punta Mona, a totally off the grid community. The episodes mostly have an upbeat, comedic tone, with a lot of brotherly riffing between Zac and Darin. Some critics have pointed out that the documentary series seems like an advertisement for Darin’s work and expertise in superfoods, although apparently a couple of the health benefits he states in the series are unproven claims. Overall, it was a fun, lighthearted series to watch, with visits to some places or businesses that are doing great sustainable work. However, I would be careful to call sustainability the focus of the documentary.
After watching these two documentaries, I want to take a moment to think about why celebrities are interested in making projects such as these. I want to discuss their credibility in delivering these messages and the benefit their influence can have. Celebrities can draw in a wide range of viewers that are not normally interested in environmental topics, but because of this they also have the responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the message being delivered.
In Before the Flood, the Leonardo DiCaprio piece, I would argue that he has strong credibility in the world of climate change. For years he has been involved in spreading awareness about climate change through public appearances, such as the Earth Day rallies, and through the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation which focuses on saving the world’s wild places and the wildlife in those places.
On the other hand, Zac Efron is very new to the world of environmentalism. I think this documentary series was meant to boost his standing with the environmental movement, but unfortunately it did not provide. Many are critiquing the ways in which sustainability was portrayed as the extreme measure of living completely off the grid, instead of more accessible ways, like buying your food locally. However, I would argue that Zac Efron is more likely to attract younger audiences, introducing them to environmentalism and sustainability, which could explain some of the more upbeat, comedic tones of the series.
In summary, I think that both Leonardo DiCaprio and Zac Efron have the opportunity to attract viewers who would not normally be interested in environmental pieces, making it especially important that the message of the pieces are genuine and supported by credible experts.
Next up on my watch list is Kiss the Ground a documentary featuring Woody Harrelson, focusing on soil as the solution to climate change, and Artifishal, a documentary produced by Patagonia, focusing on the decline in wild fish populations.
About the author:
Emily Bernard
Intern
Emily is a Maryland native, born and raised in Damascus. She graduated in December from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s in Government and Politics, and a minor in Sustainability Studies. She is passionate about issues like reducing single-use plastic consumption, recycling as much as possible, and recognizing the impact of your personal carbon footprint. Returning to work with us this summer, Emily will be working on Bethesda Green’s environmental certifications and collecting data on the office’s sustainability metrics. Outside of the office, you will find Emily lounging with her dog, Cleo, or camping with her family.
