This was a really nice way to spend a wet Sunday evening. We had hoped to have a meetup at the container this week and paint the logo but the wet weather forced a postponement as it did for other plans at the weekend so the idea of a film evening was somewhat last minute. It was a lovely evening though and we’ll do it again - thanks everybody and particular to Lindsay, Maurice and family for the wonderful food.
It was good to have a film as the focus, to generate ideas and discussion. We watched ‘A Trip to Infinity’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNFm_DzHDaE). A nice combination of maths, science and art that generates more questions than it answers. Can our finite brains comprehend an infinite universe? Is the universe infinite? There was a nice moment in the film when physicist Alan Lightman talks about being 10 years old and feeling that life didn't matter - Why were we wasting our time? - That we were just a spec in the vastness in time and space ... and then he fell in love, and that changed everything. That mattered.
We had a good discussion afterwards. Around education, how we don't all think the same way (which can be beneficial if we foster it), about our wasteful society, about the degradation of our soil but also about restoration projects that have worked (James mentioned the new microscope at the Community Compost that allows people to see the life in the compost). We talked about the Earth lab of course - about the lab being an information hub, absorbing knowledge and also broadcasting it. We talked about lost skills and knowledge, how dependent we are and how hooked we are on technology (see the film Terra Blite below to see where some of this technology ends up). We have to be very conscious of this as we develop the Earth Lab.
Some other films ideas I looked at (note that https://www.waterbear.com and https://www.filmsforaction.org/ are great resources for documentaries):
- Kiss the ground (https://kissthegroundmovie.com/ available on Netflix)
- Koyaanisqatsi (https://watchdocumentaries.com/koyaanisqatsi/)
- The Lorax (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lorax_(film) available on Netflix)
- Spirited Away (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirited_Away - Netflix)
- Salt of the Earth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Salt_of_the_Earth_(2014_film)
- Home (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU)
- Princess Mononoke (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Mononoke Netflix)
- TOPOWA! Never Give Up (https://www.waterbear.com/watch/topowa-never-give-up)
- Surviving Progress (https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/surviving-progress-2011/)
- Here’s How We Escape Climate Apocalypse (https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/heres-how-we-escape-climate-apocalypse/)
- Terra Blite (https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/terra-blight-2/)
- Bill Cunngham New York (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkQklk_cfVs)
- Chasing Ice (https://www.waterbear.com/watch/chasing-ice)
- A Trip to Infinity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNFm_DzHDaE)KissKiss) the ground (Netflix)