Abstract
There is a Tibetan proverb that says, “With a stout heart, a mouse can lift an elephant.” But the bravest of mice with the stoutest of hearts wouldn’t have much luck without knowing what an elephant looks like. We must be able to visualize the kind of world in which we want to live, and documentaries like Mission Blue show us both that possible world and the terrifying alternative. To fight for the environment is to cultivate social and ecological connections (Bell 1998) for our collective restoration—our hearts, bodies, and souls alongside animals and plants, soil, and streams. To fight for that better world means asking hard questions of truth, and of commitment, and as we move toward the brink of irreparable damage, questions of survival.
In Mission Blue, Sylvia Earle contends that our answer must be to advocate for the sea. One of the foremost oceanographers of our time, as well as a world-renowned scientist, engineer, teacher, and explorer, Earle speaks with the bittersweet humility of great knowledge. The thousands of hours she spent underwater gave her a unique clarity, and it deepened her connection with the ocean with what she calls “the blue heart of our planet.” As directors Fisher Stevens and Robert Nixon journey across the globe, it is still through her eyes that we witness the heartbreaking vulnerability of our waters. Equal parts environmental documentary and personal biography, Mission Blue successfully layers the unfolding saga of the ocean, with the fascinating story of this legendary eco-activist.
Highlighting the spirit of exploration that was rampant in the 1960s, the film devotes considerable time to Earle’s personal life, her youth growing up on the Gulf of Mexico, her marital difficulties, and the challenges of balancing her academic career and family life. With controversial promotional material from some of her early and high-profile projects, Mission Blue touches on the changes in attitude over four decades with regard to women’s roles in society and in scientific fields in particular, reflecting scholarship on ecofeminism (e.g., Plumwood 1994). The historical context is underscored by deliberate visual choices. Incorporating period footage, vintage images are juxtaposed with breathtaking shots of the present-day ocean in its current and unapologetic state. The camera makes no distinction between the visual drama of beauty and that of devastation. Several scenes are clearly reenactments of Earle’s youth; they contextualize once again the human life span in the broad realm of possibilities for global change.
The dramatic transformation in our oceans, witnessed firsthand and powerfully framed in the context of a single fragile human life (Loeb 2010), provides a powerful launching point for environmental activism, and the film’s striking aesthetic highlights this to great effect. Organizations such as Greenpeace have successfully used such spectacular visual and novel imagery to catch the public’s attention via what the New Testament refers to as “lust of the eye.” The use of evocative images like those offered in Mission Blue to educate and to shift public opinion is a common strategy of environmental advocacy, inviting society to bear witness to actions and environmental abuses that may have otherwise flown under the radar (Wapner 1996). This strategy of engagement has the potential to span the demographic spectrum and use the cinematic experience to unite us in compassion and endeavor.
With striking frankness, Mission Blue does not gloss over environmental mistakes that were made in the early days of oceanic exploration. It was inconceivable, at the time, that human behavior could radically and detrimentally alter the global environment. The evidence of human interference is now apparent on every dive, and it is laudable to acknowledge that things like deep sixing trash were once done by the very people most invested in exploring and caring for the waters. In discussing the shift in environmental responsibility, it would be easy to assume that this documentation of devastating environmental impact would make for a depressing tale. To the contrary, it manages to convey a sense of hope through various symbolic and discursive frames for mobilization. As shown in seminal work on environmental social movements from Robert Brulle (2000) and others, we understand reality through symbolism and discursive frames. From Earle and others who offer discursive frames like those produced in Mission Blue, we are shown strong symbolic leaders in the battle to save our oceans.
Sylvia Earle is knowledgeable, passionate, well respected, and charismatic, but better yet, she has a plan. Earle’s tireless mission is to protect these waters that she holds so dear. Her focus is on championing the protection and preservation of the ocean through her nonprofit organization—“Mission Blue”—from which the film derives its title. An initiative of the Sylvia Earle Alliance, her plan to establish “Hope Spots,” a global network of protected marine sanctuaries, is one tangible solution to protect ocean life and regenerate degraded ecosystems. Networks of marine protected areas are vital to the health of the ocean-maintaining critical biodiversity, preserving essential habitat, and working to educate and engage the public. While some such locations are already formally protected, others still need defined sanctuary. Aptly named, these refuges strive to foster a realistic hope, a hope without blinders, perpetuating the idea that while nature may recover, unless we take action, humanity might not. The message from Earle is clear and cogent: The ocean’s fate will become our fate.
In conclusion, Mission Blue manages to make a vast global issue both accessible and urgent by showing the huge changes that can be made in one person’s lifetime. The new knowledge offered, the exploration of literally uncharted waters, the leaps made in understanding our roles and responsibilities to our oceans are presented in a way that makes positive change feel possible, even in the face of vast negligence and destruction. This reflects scholarship on environmental activism and advances an important socioenvironmental agenda. A rich, enthralling movie, Mission Blue, is relevant, a modern day Lorax tale, at a poignant time when our future could be slipping through our fingers.