Review: Disney Nature's 'Oceans'

(from http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/)

This is today's Astronomy Picture of the Day from the Nasa archive collection. I found it heartwarming after hearing the news about the oil spill off the Gulf Coast. I learned about this tragic incident after I had seen Disney's new nature film Oceans... and my upset over the situation was greatly inflamed by the regrettable loss of sea life (not to mention the 11 people presumed dead after the accident occurred). By majority, we don't live in the sea, so, it's a little hard to place how we affect living things in water. We hear about it, read it in the paper, see the occasional educational commercial for water cleaning efforts and funds, but, unless we get into the waves and surf with the shrimp, whales, sharks, and even stranger creatures that swim in the Earth's veins, it's all just news.

(from http://www.hollywoodgo.com)

It is with this tone that Disney chose to open its new nature film. The audience first sees an immense spanse of waters, hears the roar of the waves, the cry of sea fowl. Then we hear the laughter of children. The camera cuts to a group of kids running towards the shore and stops on the face of one little boy staring out thoughtfully towards the ocean. The voice over informs us that we can't know what the ocean is from a book... we have to experience it.

The rest of the film acts as an introduction to the animals and cycles of life that reside in the sea. The cinematography is absolutely mind-blowing. In one long shot that I don't want to understand how they obtained, we see several iguanas, creatures that bridge the gap between water and land dwellers, lounging on the rocks of the shore. Suddenly, way off in the distance, a rocket bursts into ignition sending a long line of smoke and fire into the air. Before it leaves Earth's atmosphere, the camera focuses on the face of one watchful iguana. You can actually see the rocket rising in the great lizard's eyes. It's very humbling. You can't help but wonder what this creature must think... sitting there, not screaming in fear or hiding behind the rock... just observing as though seeing the future.

We wander into the worlds of other fantastic animals for the rest of the movie. One that I have to mention, for pure beauty's sake, is a sea slug known as The Spanish Dancer. As you can see below, the long, richly colored folds resemble the skirts of a flamenco dancer. It's a shame we call this gorgeous thing a sea slug... the word 'slug' brings to mind those ugly, slimy, dark brown and gray things that invade our gardens or occasionally litter our front porches... not this amazingly lovely life form...

(from http://www.ukdivers.net)

There's also the cuttlefish. I've heard of it, I've even seen it on a the menu of an exotic restaurant here and there... but, I'd never actually seen one. These fish are actually masters of disguise. They have the appearance of some benign, sweet, cartoon fish when they're actually on the prowl for food:

(from http://fundiesvatheists.lefora.com)

But, then they unfurl those front folds and snap their... I guess mouths out with fantastic speed to capture an unsuspecting little fish. The film offers some great footage of cuttlefish hunts.

(from http://www.gozoholidayslellux.com)

There are other scenes of amazing sights that you really have to see the movie to appreciate. The herds of dolphins playfully dancing in a mad dash across the sea... the mountains of crabs that march sideways into a sort of bloodless battle... circles of whales, sharks, and diving birds sharing a school of fish for lunch... baby turtles hauling to the ocean to avoid being eaten by sea fowl (if born during the day, maybe one turtle in a thousand will make it to the ocean). For those of you who are quite accustomed to the pesky sea life of America's eastern shore... the round, almost invisible jellyfish discs, the gulls, etc... it's hard to imagine such large, open waters exist, full thousands of animals, no matter how times we hear that there's more water than land on the globe.

There are so many things we wouldn't see anyway... even if we lived on a boat in the middle of the ocean. The creators of the film sent divers into a coral reef where we meet several little night crawlers. The sounds are amazing- apparently, sound travels faster and clearer in the water, so you can hear every grain of sand under the shuffling feet of starfish, the fins of baby sharks, the bellies of eels. You can also hear the sounds of a disagreement between a crab and one of the sea's most grumpy animals, the mantis shrimp.

(from http://www.eco-divers.com)

This funny looking shrimp is the most ornery thing you'll ever meet. Very territorial, the mantis shrimp likes to keep his lair clean. He'll come out at night to kick out sand and grime, all the while cautiously scanning for intruders. Unfortunately for one curious crab, the mantis shrimp found him...

I can now see how the ocean must influence some of our craziest fairy tales. There are fish in the waters around China that greatly resemble fire breathing dragons... large fish in the frigid waters of the Antarctic that look like unicorns... blob-like fish that look like aliens from Dune... and a certain water snake that Tim Burton must have seen when creating Beetlejuice...

(from http://www.divetrip.com)

One fish I was particularly inspired to see was... well, I think it's called a Sheep's Head Fish. The film described healthy waters, and one great indicator that a body of water is clean is the presence of ancient fish. This fish only gets to look this strange, only grows to be this big, if it survives in the waters for many, many years.

(from http://content.internetvideoarchive.com)

After we have a chance to see these luck charms dedicated to the health of the sea, the film shows us satellite views of the sea so we can look at the lines of pollution spewing from continents. This movie is not all pretty (or weird) fish. Reality sinks in when you see fishing nets catching more than your local grocer's fish sticks' tuna. So many other fish that we have no interest in eating are captured and, too often, needlessly killed. You see a great turtle tangled in the lines of progress... and after seeing how hard it is for turtles to perpetuate their own species, you have to tear up a bit at such a hideous sight.

However, the film won't leave you in that sadness. There is great footage at the end of the film of the brave underwater camera men and women having the patience to become one of the fish so the wildlife is unmoved by their presence. One of the best clips shows a diver pointing a camera at a shark... and the shark couldn't care less. For those of you who have had nightmares of being eaten by sharks, I'd like to think this scene eases the myth that all sharks are hungry for anything smaller than themselves. We obviously missed a lesson or two in school about the true nature of beasts. Yes, shark attacks have happened, but, it seems as though it's not a guarantee that a nearby shark will take you out.

(from http://www.disneydreaming.com)

This film is pure poetry. You are immersed in water without having to hold your breath... you have time to sit on the bottom of the ocean and watch the dramatic play and grace of water creatures. I think there was only one section that dragged a little... when they demonstrate the frightening might of the ocean with waves higher than lighthouses, boats threatening to topple into the murky deep... it's great stuff, but it goes on maybe a minute too long. There are also a number of holes in terms of information... what some fish are called and other details of their lifespan or habits. I'd like to think that this is somewhat intentional to ignite your interest in seeking out more information on your own. To bring it closer to home, once you've been introduced to all these incredible water animals, the film asks us to wonder who in fact we are, now that we know our neighbors and how we challenge their existence.

It's a beautiful film. Go see it. It looks like Disney will be making another nature film for next year's Earth Day- this time about African cats such as lions and cheetahs. This movie will be centered around a mother cat's mission to protect her cubs... not sure if I'll make it through that one without turning into a blubbering mess.

(For more information, visit Disney's movie website: Click Me)

Memories of Weeks Past: Part Two

This morning, I woke up at 7:45 AM to go to work.

I attribute this significant change in my lack of routine to Lent.

Easter has never been my favorite holiday. It became one of my least favorite holidays after my grandmother died... I guess I started to feel bitter about people getting so excited about Jesus and what Gd did to relieve him from death. How much trouble would it have been for a Gd that could raise the dead to keep my grandmother healthy and alive for another decade or two? That aside, I usually celebrate Easter by relieving myself from whatever Lenten chore I had set for myself over the past 40 days and nights.

While I did sleep in this Easter, it wasn't a great experience.

I felt sort of- off balance. Heavy. I had to make bread for my family gathering Easter eve, so, I had to get up before the late afternoon anyway... I picked something moderately complicated, as you can see below:

I still hold that 40 days and nights is a perfect amount of time to work almost anything out of your system (save nourishment and water... let's not be silly). I was physically uncomfortable sleeping in as late as I did Easter morning. I prefer the sensation of stretching through the grogginess and feeling my body gradually wake as I brush my teeth and put in my contacts. I have been notorious for late nights lasting well into the ung-dly hours of the morning... but, here I am, having slightly less trouble, despite the dreary weather, getting up earlier after 40 days and 40 nights of forcing myself to rise before 12.

I've started craving it- having a little time in the dimly sunlit morning to sip my tea, maybe read, and just spend some time being myself before getting to the details of my day. I am rarely successful- I have yet to convince myself to get out of bed before I actually have to get up in order to be somewhere on time. On a nowhere-to-go, nothing-to-do sort of morning, I'll be in bed until at least 10:30. I still have to take Benadryl at night (thanks to one of my new doctors acquired during the Lenten season), so, that messes a little with my "bright-eyed and bushy tailed-ness," too. And that, sometimes, just gets me down. I just feel lousy for being unable to rise with the light of day...

...but, I try other things. During the Earth Week(s) celebrations, it occurred to me during a few discussions that we mess up our bodies a little, in terms of getting naturally tired, by turning on a bunch of lights at the end of the day. To conserve electricity, and to see if I might get naturally tired earlier at night if it's not so bright in the apartment, we've tried spending a few nights here and there during which we don't use lights. We avoid the TV, too, playing Pandora on the lap top and using candles everywhere to light our way.

And that actually works pretty well... I have started yawning as early as 10:15 PM.

I'd like to think I'm changing my relationship with night and day. There's a certain nostalgia, a certain "me-ness" to thinking of myself as a night owl... sitting awake late into the night writing, listening to music, maybe even feeling sadder or sillier than I allow myself to feel when people are looking. I still like the concealment of the dark for my secrets and pondering... and yet, the morning can hold that feeling as well. Most people are groggy, sleepwalking through their routine... if you can be conscious, and spend some quality time breathing, sipping tea, and being still before the day's chores begin, your secrets will be quietly kept.

(Here's an article I wish had been available when I started Lent... Sheesh...
Body + Soul)