A Plastic Ocean Film Analysis

We are living on a plastic planet. Starting from the air that we breathe, the food that we eat, and the soil that we live on, plastic is everywhere. It may be hard to believe that a substance that was made for convenience would turn into a product that could ultimately destroy our planet. Plastic is a non-biodegradable material that has been mass produced for our convenience since the 1950’s. Today, over 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into the ocean each year and is estimated to increase to 800 million tons by the year 2025. The film “A Plastic Ocean” uncovers the plastic issue that is ever so prevalent in today’s world and shines a light on the reality of what we as humans are doing to our oceans. The documentary “A Plastic Ocean” is filmed and directed by the Australian journalist Craig Lesson in 2012. His journey with

Lesson teamed up with the infamous free diver Tanya Streeter along with an international team of researchers and scientist to travel to over 20 locations worldwide over four years to explore the alarming truths about the plastic pollution problem this world is facing. The film uncovers the ugly impact of what our overdependence on plastic is doing to our oceans. From a social conflict theorist perspective, the film can be examined in many ways starting with the repercussions that come hand-and-hand with the plastic pollution issue we face. Many of the places that were visited in the film that were affected first hand by plastic were in areas that were greatly impoverished and lacked the necessary tools to dispose of plastic properly. In these impoverished areas, locals either disposed of plastic by burning it