Wen | Qi'an
The Hand Of Hands On Earth is an animated short film directed by Jivaway Bird and voiced by Jim Thornton, released in the United States on November 5, 2009, and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Director Deverway Bird is an animation talent from Pixar who has worked on Pixar's Monster Power Company and served as lead designer in Finding Nemo and Beauty and the Beast.
This is an environmental protection film that does the opposite, imitating the style of children's education films in the 50s, and the content of the whole film for more than 6 minutes does not positively promote the awareness of caring for the earth, but it reminds people of the importance and urgency of protecting the environment all the time.
Compared with other fake environmental protection propaganda films, this short film starts from people's "show of hands", and concisely and intuitively describes how human beings have accumulated a sense of pollution bit by bit from ancient times to the present, and caused damage to our homes. If you're used to the incessant chatter of environmentalists about how important environmental protection is, how we should do it, and so on, but it doesn't really make a difference in your heart, then you should come and see this movie.
It uses a hypnotic tone to encourage everyone to pollute the environment together, and then ironically beautifies the consequences of pollution, but it is full of heaviness at ease, funny and humorous but thought-provoking. Below, I will interpret this animated film with special significance from three aspects: unique style, full content, and theme appeal.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >1, unique style: retro rough painting style emphasizes the motif of "pollution", humorous and ironic explanation reveals the depth of "pollution"</h1>
The style of the short film is a retro rough style, supplemented by ironic narration. The film took the director three years to produce, and almost all of it was done by Bird alone at home. He first drew lines with black pencil, then drew textures on plastic sheets with Indian ink, and then scanned them into a computer to complete the editing work. The retro and rough style of this painting emphasizes the theme of "pollution".
In addition, the unique use of narration also adds to the film. Animated short films are a short and pithy art, and it is impossible to express everything in detail in this short period of about 6 minutes, which requires highlighting, detailing properly, rendering the central event in a thick ink, and telling a vivid and interesting but thought-provoking story directly through the picture and the author's commentary.
However, most films are played in the order in which they unfold, and it would seem lengthy to add narration at this point. In order to change this single narrative structure, the director takes another way, using narration with a memorable narrative, at which time the narration narrative becomes an important means of the film's layout, which can organically connect the past, present and future time and space without appearing abrupt, so that the audience can more clearly understand the story of the film, that is, the way of human pollution is "advancing with the times", and the degree of pollution is deepening year by year.
This kind of narration has a certain affinity and credibility, which can make the narrative of the film smoother and more delicate, and highlight the thematic tendency of the film in direct communication with the audience. In the short film, such a funny narration and retro painting style are independent of each other but also achieve each other, the background of the painting style makes the narration more concise, subtle and appropriate, and the use of narration gets rid of the conceptual preaching, and uses humorous and ironic tones to express the connotation of the picture image. The two complement each other, making the film even more attractive.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >2, full of content: from ancient times to the present, exploring the origin and purpose of pollution in time series. </h1>
(1) Layer by layer refers to the source: the rise of the machine age, the rise of consumerism and the drive of corporate interests.
The film begins with the exhaust fumes emitted by congested vehicles outlining the theme: pollution is our tradition, and pollution makes our economy strong. Today, it's much easier to create pollution than ever, so how did all this come about? The author raises this question in a voiceover, thus going back to the industrial revolution.
As early as the last century, human beings have worked hard to pollute, but this is not an easy battle. Even if we are determined, we have gained little after hundreds of years of hard work. To break this deadlock, humans need a new partner: machines. Machines are a good helper of waste, it takes a lot of resources to make a machine, and in order to make it work, it must be constantly fed fuel.
Machines are much more powerful than people, it can create pollution day and night, and then directly throw it away after it is broken. But the bad thing is that the machines at that time were not perfect, and some of the habits of thrifty human beings were contrary to the original intention of pollution. Fortunately, after several years of deliberation and improvement, the machine began to reach the peak of pollution.
However, machines alone are not enough to complete the great cause of pollution. In order to achieve better pollution, humans need a lot of unconstrained behavior. This is where an old saying comes in handy, that is: desire stimulates consumption! So, people began to consume indulgently and endlessly. In order to satisfy selfish desires and increase pollution, it is necessary to buy until the wallet is empty, and as for the broken copper and rotten iron, it is discarded at will, and let it play the effect of pollution.
Of course, you can't change the earth from green water and green mountains to life on your own, you still need teamwork. Thankfully, businesses are your best partners. You can buy a lot of good things from here, companies themselves can also produce a lot of harmful gases, and some large companies can also guarantee to work for your pollution needs. With these companies leading the way for us, I believe they will do whatever it takes to complete the task of pollution.
In this way, the machine age, consumerism and industrial enterprises, all of which help each other, can create pollution. But this pollution is not enough, what else can individuals do? The following guidelines are mainly observed:
First, always buy multiply, over-processed things; second, insist on using disposable things to maintain a good attitude; third, waste is getting stronger and stronger every day; fourth, don't think too much, everyone unconsciously creates pollution together. In this way, even the most extensive forests can be wiped out, and even the most majestic mountains can be bulldozed. Don't say "I don't care", be positive, you can care less. Therefore, use hard, waste hard, and never worry too much.
"How monotonous and tedious is a peaceful life, move it, burn off a few tons of oil, pure air does not exist, don't believe it, there is still gasoline to live comfortably." 」
Remember: pollution is your right and your obligation. Start polluting now, and the catastrophe will be waiting for you in the near future. The reason why the short film has been talking about the opposite is to let the protagonist, human beings, understand that the natural environment has deteriorated to a certain extent, which is about to lead mankind to destruction, and for this reason, people must make a wise choice from the destruction and protection of the earth as soon as possible.
(2) With the contrast of small and large, use the "small" of "raising hands" to reflect the "big" of "harming the earth".
We often say "what is the work of raising one's hand", but it turns out that some "hands-raising" are indeed full of harmfulness, such as repeated purchase of unnecessary things, excessive packaging of goods in the production process, and the use of warm and cold air in any season, resulting in a waste of various resources and destroying various ecological balances...
In the 2019 World Economic Forum's Global Crisis Report, it was clearly pointed out that environmental problems are the common "nightmare" of mankind. Seven of the ten crises with the greatest global impact have addressed environmental issues, namely:
Climate change mitigation has failed
Extreme weather events (floods, storms, etc.)
Water crisis
Major natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, geomagnetic storms)
Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse (terrestrial or marine)
Anthropogenic environmental damage and disasters (e.g. oil and gas spills, radioactive contamination, etc.)
Infectious diseases spread rapidly and on a large scale
Similarly, in the Global Resource Outlook 2019 issued by THE United Nations Environment Programme, the rapid growth of contemporary resource extraction is the main culprit for accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss, and the associated environmental challenges will worsen unless the world takes action to reform the use of resources systematized.
If the seriousness is not realized, it is even more obvious to look at the data: nearly half of global greenhouse gas emissions in the past decade or so, as well as more than 90% of biodiversity loss and water shortages, have been caused by the extraction and processing of materials, fuels and food.
On this basis, nine out of ten people breathe unsafe air every day, resulting in nearly 20,000 deaths, while nearly 2,000 children under the age of five die from diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. In addition, humans dump up to 13 million tons of plastic into the oceans each year and discard 50 million tons of e-waste on land, which directly contributes to the health problems of millions of people.
Environmental degradation causes 12.6 million deaths worldwide each year, which equates to 1 in 4 deaths; air pollution claims 6.5 million lives each year and is known as the number one environmental killer. The harm caused by pollution such as land, fresh water, marine pollution, chemicals and waste to people and the planet is also shocking.
In response, Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director of UN Environment, said: "Humanity is grabbing the cream of the earth without restraint, regardless of the risks it may face in the future, and these short-sighted behaviors are leading to increased climate change and biodiversity loss." To put it bluntly, if we don't stop the current madness, many of us may not see tomorrow. ”
On the other hand, the exuberance of consumerism has also facilitated pollution, and if the economy and consumption are allowed to continue to grow at the current rate, humanity will have to pay a great price to ensure that positive economic growth does not have a negative impact on the environment.
Over the past 50 years, as the global population has doubled, global GDP has quadrupled, and global resource extraction has risen from 27 billion tonnes to 92 billion tonnes (by 2017). If this trend continues, by 2060, this number will double, and the consequent damage to the environment will be even more serious.
In the past, the beautiful global environment was seriously polluted due to the rapid development of society and the overexploitation of human beings, but people were ashamed of environmental pollution in order to pursue rapid development. Although some people witness such a vicious situation and speak out passionately, it turns out that some positive guidance is not as good as a few negative stimuli.
The short film educates the public in the way of beautifying the crime and the voice of the irony, directly opening the wound to everyone, and such a full body scale wound is caused by the accumulation of waste that human beings usually feel insignificant, so as to "contrast the big with the small", which can give people a psychological blow and ideological enlightenment, which triggers human beings to actively respond to the crisis, be prepared, and protect the environment is really urgent.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >3, theme appeal: the surface is a rough painting style and ironic tone, and the in-depth investigation is to call on human beings to increase the efforts to clean the earth, save the environment and life. </h1>
There is a news that there is a large bright red persimmon garden next to a road in northern Korea. Whenever the picking season is over, the locals always leave some ripe persimmons on the branches. Tourists here are very curious, and they think it is a pity to hang these big and red fruits on the trees.
Later, the tour guide told them a story, and the crowd suddenly realized and secretly admired. It turns out that persimmon gardens have become a habitat for magpies in the local area, and every winter birds will nest in trees for the winter. One winter was particularly cold, with heavy snow falling for several days, and hundreds of magpies who could not find food all died overnight. The following autumn, when the persimmons were about to ripen, they were spoiled by a pest, resulting in no harvest that year. Later, when looking for the reason, the growers invariably thought of the magpies. If the magpies hadn't starved to death the first winter, the insect plague wouldn't have come.
Since then, people have left some persimmons every year when harvesting to feed the magpies for winter. These sympathetic birds are also grateful and are busy catching the pests every spring. That's how the magpies come to repay the favor. Although some persimmons were left behind, they also ensured a large harvest of persimmons.
"Staying" here is a kind of realm. Human beings always take from nature endlessly, which is "not left"; and leaving some persimmons on the branches of magpies like this is equivalent to leaving a little for nature, and in the final analysis, leaving a little for human beings themselves. In the use of nature, human beings should insist on keeping more, predatory development will only exacerbate environmental pollution, and in the end it is also the consequences of human self-inflicted.
If human beings want to draw nutrients from nature to create civilization, but at the same time are not willing to bear the revenge of nature, they must learn to respect nature, treat nature kindly, and live in harmony with nature. Don't forget that no matter how human beings evolve, they are only an integral part of nature, they are children of nature, and all human activities must be bound by the laws of nature.
Engels pointed out: "Let us not be too intoxicated by our human triumph over the natural world. For every such victory, nature retaliates against us. ”
In the case of outbreaks and natural disasters, the natural retribution caused by ecological destruction in recent years has made human beings gradually realize that the natural environment is not a function of our desires. Our hand-raising efforts can not only harm the earth, but also protect our planet very well. If so, why can't we protect and cherish nature with a positive and proactive attitude?
Nature can not and can not bear the endless desire of human beings to squeeze, only cherish and save resources, repair and love the environment, maintain the balance of natural ecosystems, in order to ensure that human beings can always benefit from nature; only become a consciously kind to nature "friend", in order to live in harmony with nature. And this will also be the rational choice of human beings at a higher level, the profound awakening of human consciousness, and another deep transformation of human roles.
We should abandon the self-destructive and self-abandoning indiscriminate pollution and indulgent waste in the short film, be ashamed of the attitude of complacentity due to the conquest of nature, learn to extract delicacy from roughness, reflect on ourselves in irony; learn to carry out environmental governance and ecological construction step by step, call on everyone to do some useful hands-raising work for the earth's homeland, establish a sense of saving resources and protecting the environment in the whole society, and form a production mode and consumption mode conducive to reducing pollution and waste.
Only in this way can we truly achieve the goal of building a resource-saving and environment-friendly society, so that the forests that support the "edifice of civilization" of mankind can flourish and flourish and live green; so that all life can love each other harmoniously and coexist for a long time; so that human civilization can live and flourish.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > written at the end</h1>
Although the work "The Labor of Raising Hands to Harm the Earth" has mixed praise, in my opinion, it is similar to "1984", which uses the presentation of dystopian society to expose the many contradictions and darkness in an industrial society, and to warn human beings in ironic ways. The content of the film is short, but there is a lot of thinking behind it.
Extravagance and waste and rush to make quick profits really harm the planet, harming both oneself and future generations. We should look at the environment, forests, grasslands and various animals with the value of ecological function and the long-term value of the future, and exchange our sincerity, love and responsibility for a blue sky, a green land and a clear spring, so that our earth can always be clean and green, and the apes and deer are often heard.
So, cherish the earth and protect the environment! Only when environmental protection becomes an action and fashion that everyone can participate in, and green also penetrates our culture and civilization, can human beings return and benefit from nature forever.
@Moon see seven an take you to see the story, taste life, welcome to pay attention.