The Planet

There are many movies in the world that try to get humans as a race to better understand our place in preserving what we have. The Planet (2006) is one such movie, but instead of being filled with action and adventure, this is a documentary. In 2006 three people (Michael Stenberg, Johan Söderberg and Linus Torell) set out to create a movie in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark that would help people to realize that our planet was not only a living thing, but we had to be able to take care of it in order for both it and us to survive. Not only did this movie make its mark in Europe, but it made its mark worldwide as the issues brought to life in the movie effect everybody on the planet.

Unlike many documentaries of its kind, The Planet doesn't have an 'all star cast', but rather a cast of nearly 30 different professionals known as environmental scientists. These people are the ones responsible for trying to make the world a better and healthier place. A few of the names are Will Steffen, Dr. Stephen Peake, Herman Daly, Gretchen Daily, Mathis Wackernagel, and Jared Diamond. The movie follows each of these people on a wonderful journey that helps to explain and elaborate exactly what it is that environmentalists do so that it is no longer a mystery to the general public.

Although the movie was originally created to be one large piece to be watched, it was broken down into 4 different segments to better fit the busy daily lives of those who may want to watch it. These sections started out as The Earth's Systems to explain exactly what happens inside of the planet, Nature's Resources to explain the valuable assets our planet has and why they are important, Humankind and Nature explain the conflict between the two, and finally the finale called Choice and Consequences that go into detail about what will happen to Earth if we do not take care of it. This is an emotional movie that is based on vast scientific research.