A Plastic Ocean

In 2011, journalist Craig Leeson is doing a nature documentary on the blue whale, a giant of the sea. He is hundreds of miles in the middle of nowhere. He's doing underwater filming and he gets surprised by a floating cloud of plastic garbage. It starts a journey to uncover the damage done by the increasing amount of plastic trash washing out to sea and into the food chain. It's an eye-opening and distressing tale ever since the floating islands of garbage made it into international news.

There is a closing section about solutions. That's probably the only problematic section. It gets preachy with the fast food joints although it's hard to get things done without being preachy. It also highlights recycling but its difficulties are papered over. There is a general Pollyanna tone to some of the mechanical solutions. According to the doc, it is a gold mine ready to be picked through and that's really stretching the truth. I don't mind some blemish with the planet's salvation. Also it gives false hope which could diminish the urgency to reduce plastic use. Overall, it is a compelling piece of advocacy doc.