Coolhunt #28: Midway

Midway

Normally I don't like doing negative coolhunts, but I just had to share this with you. And actually it is cool, but in a very, very, VERY sad way. It makes me want to cry and want to punch a lot of people in the face, but at the same time, this can really shock people. It's sad that we have to make people aware of their behaviour via things like this, but sometimes, it's the only solution.

So, it's about Midway: a film project which shows the island called "Midway Atoll", an island which is occupied by thousands of albatrosses. It's a nice island and these birds live in peace, but there's one giant problem: most of these birds die by starvation, because they mistake floating plastic trash for food. Photographer Chris Jordan and the rest of the team have decided to record this horrible happening to share it with the world. They analyze the dead bodies and all they find is plastic, plastic and more plastic. It's absolutely hideous that our thrown away trash ends up here and is being eaten by these desperate birds, who have nothing else to eat. The Midway Team has been filming the island since 2009 and the production of the feature film continues through 2013. You can follow te team by watching short movies and "behind the scenes" clips on their Youtube channel: click here.

But why do they do this? Why are they filming these poor, little birds and share all of this with the world? It's about awareness. "It is here, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that we have the opportunity to see our world in context. On Midway, we can not deny the impact we have on the planet.". With this film, they want to shock people in a positive way, so that they realize we can't continue like this. It's a sick thought that animals have to die because of our culture of throwing things away.

"The viewer will experience stunning juxtapositions of beauty and horror, destruction and renewal, grief and joy, birth and death, coming out the other side with their heart broken open and their worldview shifted."(Beneath you can see the trailer of Midway).

Why it's cool:
Actually, it isn't cool. It's horrific, monstrous and repulsive. But at the same time, they show the beauty of these bird's lifes. They share their gorgeous environment and their way of life. It's just a shame that their lives end so early. You can call this film cool, because it's not a 'normal documentary' that wants to aware people of their behaviour. No, the makers of Midway decided that they wanted to put an extra thing in it; honesty. Mostly, when documentaries are made, the 'sad part' is being left out, because they don't want to frighten the viewing public. Now, the sad part is the basic, that's what it's all about. And it's daring to do something like that. People could feel guilty and could decide to do something against it, but mostly, people get scared off and don't want to see things like this anymore. They decide to ignore it, because they think "It's not happening with me, so why should I care?". I think the viewing public is spoiled. They are used to documentaries with cute, little lions which are playing around. It's time that these spoiled people get to see the truth. I think it's daring of the makers to do something like this. The viewing public has to see real and honest things, because this is the way it is and that means that it's time to change!


(Sources: Link & Link & Link & Link & Link)