DisneyNature & Earth Day
Saturday, April 23, 2011 Mikentire 0 Comments Category : Causes , Movies , Nature
Yesterday was Earth Day, Good Friday, and the first day of freedom after finals. Thankfully the weather sensed the ecstasy in the air and responded accordingly. Warm sunlight and gentle floating clouds drifted through the sky. I went on a bike ride, worked with horses up at Mountain Horse Medical Center, and watched DisneyNature’s African Cats. The day couldn’t have been better.
I found it beautifully appropriate that Spring waited until this joyous day to come forth. The trees refused to blossom until classes were out, and the weather wouldn’t cooperate fully until we were liberated from the tyrannies of the classroom. I felt uplifted, inspired by the beauties around me. The sun illuminated the world below in her brightest and fullest colors. The Stream and Trail south of campus, Provo Canyon, and even the eyes of a stabled recovering horse all seemed to glow with the celebration of the world they are a part of.
Emily Dickinson’s poem High From the Earth, I Heard a Bird seemed to be reflective of the general mood of the day:
High from the earth I heard a bird,
He trod upon the trees
As he esteemed them trifles,
And then he spied a breeze,
And situated softly
Upon a pile of wind
Which in a perturbation
Nature had left behind.
A joyous going fellow
I gathered from his talk
Which both of benediction
And badinage partook.
Without apparent burden
I subsequently learned
He was the faithful father
Of a dependent brood.
And this untoward transport
His remedy for care.
A contrast to our respites.
How different we are!
He trod upon the trees
As he esteemed them trifles,
And then he spied a breeze,
And situated softly
Upon a pile of wind
Which in a perturbation
Nature had left behind.
A joyous going fellow
I gathered from his talk
Which both of benediction
And badinage partook.
Without apparent burden
I subsequently learned
He was the faithful father
Of a dependent brood.
And this untoward transport
His remedy for care.
A contrast to our respites.
How different we are!
I felt wonderful. Here on this day we were celebrating the sufferings of our Savior for our sins, the beauty of the natural world around us, and the triumph over another semester of academia. What could possibly make this day better? Trying to make a difference in the world.
Since its inception, I have made it a tradition to see the DisneyNature film of the year each Earth Day. Two years ago DisneyNature produced Earth, a celebration of life that followed the families of a polar bear, a humpback whale, and an African elephant. Last year Oceans debuted and celebrated the beauties of the seas. Each year, a portion of the ticket price for each ticket purchased opening week is donated to making the earth a better place. Earth resulted in the planting of thousands of trees, and Oceans made a substantial donation to the Bahamas Reef Foundation.
This year the film African Cats follows the exploits of a lion pride and a cheetah family. In my opinion it is the most beautiful of the three films so far. The filming is incredible, the narration though clearly anthropomorphized is touching and captivating. African Cats captures the dangers and beauties of birth, life, and death on the African Savannah. Each ticket purchased this year goes to helping the African Wildlife Foundation protect the Amboseli Wildlife Corridor – the migratory route of large herds and the predators that trail them between the Amboseli National Park and the Chyulu and Tsavo West National Parks.
If you weren’t able to see it on Earth Day, or if Earth Day went by uncelebrated, take a chance to go see it now. You can make a difference in this world and the best part is you get to be entertained and amazed while you’re doing it.
Don't Blow It - Good Planets Are Hard To Find
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Mikentire 0 Comments Category : Causes , Nature
On Saturday I had my final for my Environmental Humanities class. We handed in our papers (mine was awesome and I might put in on here, but haven't decided yet), ate lunch, and shared our student action lists. Dr. Oscarson wanted us to create a list of steps that we could take to live more sustainably. As a student, with nothing it was kind of hard to come up with things I could do. Most of us talked about gardening, composting, recycling, buying local food, and being cautious with transportation. It was nice to be in a class with a group of students who care about the environment. Our readings focused on man's interactions with nature.
Throughout the course we discussed different genres of environmental discourse and read about the philosophies of gardening and ecological restoration. We each sought to "see" as Annie Dillard taught, to
live more in harmony with nature and to not be so restricted by anthropomorphism and words. I loved this class because here at BYU - a school known for its amazing conservative character - there was a group of kids taking a class on Environmental Humanities who are strong enough to see the doctrine of the church and practice it despite the apathy of their fellow schoolmates. We hiked together, read each others papers, and had some amazing discussions. And then at our final, we discussed staying active with the things we were sharing. Our professor is going to contact us in one year to see how we're doing. So today I'm sharing my list with you. Here it is:
1) Hike at least once a month. The Nature Journal I wrote for class really stretched me in that it got me to engage with nature more than I normally do. I love hiking, but somehow I never get around to it. Hiking helps us to connect to the environment and feel grateful to it and responsible for it. I feel at peace when I hike, in tune with nature and God, and it’s good for me.
2) Bike to school. Gasoline is expensive and pollutes the air. And gas mileage in the car I drive is ridiculous so both problems are awful. I got a bike for Christmas, and as the weather has been warming up I’ve discovered that biking to school saves me money and is actually faster than driving. Plus it’s fun, it reminds me of my mission and I get to be outside so it’s just great all around.
3) Buy local produce. I’d really like to have a garden and to compost…but I live in an apartment complex so we’ll start here for now. I think understanding where your food comes from keeps you ground in reality. Getting food from gardens and farmer’s markets contributes to a sense of place and saves on transportation costs. Buy Low has some nice stuff and it labels food when it comes from far away!
4) Continue to read environmental literature. This class provided me with a lot of ideas I hadn’t 
encountered before. Each work we read cites more works that can further expand my connection with environmental humanities. This is important to me because I need to grow and expand in my knowledge and my commitment to environmental issues in order to interact with nature in correct ways.
encountered before. Each work we read cites more works that can further expand my connection with environmental humanities. This is important to me because I need to grow and expand in my knowledge and my commitment to environmental issues in order to interact with nature in correct ways.5) Recycle. Cliché. I know. But as a college student with limited means living in an apartment complex, this is more difficult than it seems. Having volunteered at the Zoo and the Aquarium I hear Reduce, Reuse, Recycle a lot. But then I got to thinking. Reusing isn’t so bad. Reducing isn’t that hard either – I don’t really have that much to begin with. But recycling programs are not provided to me. I have to go above and beyond to find places that will recycle. But there are places for newspaper, paper, boxes, and plastics on campus. I’ve started to save up stuff at home to bring.
6) Establish traditions. Every year I go and see DisneyNature’s film on Earth day. Each year, for every ticket purchased, Disney makes a donation to enhance the earth – from planting trees to saving the reefs. Every year, Earth day is special to me because of this. I want to find other ways to give back to the Earth and make these traditions I carry with me for the rest of my life.
Now I'm committed. There's an old Native American proverb: We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. What are you going to do?
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| The White Swan |
Tonight I watched Black Swan for the first time. It was an interesting film that delved into some fascinating topics and was beautifully and artistically done. Natalie Portman completely deserves her Oscar®. But as much as I love her, she’s not what I want to talk about.
This film is about a dancer who is cast as The Swan Queen in Swan Lake. For those of you who don’t know about the basic plot here it is: This beautiful and naïve virgin is trapped into the body of a swan. Only true love can free her. Unfortunately her prince is seduced by the Black Swan, a seductive twin played by the same dancer. In the end the White Swan only finds freedom in her own suicide.
Natalie’s character Nina, who very much typifies the character of the White Swan, finds herself in the demanding pressure of playing both parts all the while under the overbearing burdens given to her from her director, her mother, and her understudy. In an effort to achieve perfection, Nina loses her mind as she becomes the two characters she so desperately strives to portray – alternating between the innocence and fragility of the White Swan and the seduction and violence of the Black Swan throughout the film. Her schizophrenia causes her to lose herself and give the performance of a lifetime. Even her fading words, “I felt it. Perfect. I was perfect,” convey the completeness of her transformation.
I find the film a beautiful description of what actors and artists really strive to do, though parts of it clearly don’t fit my taste. But I think what is really interesting is the subject of duality that the film breaches. The Black and White Swans live within each of us. And we are acutely aware of the battles they wage inside. Here is why I love the film: Nina’s complete embrace of both the swans as absolute and complete opposites is the destruction of her. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde portrays a similar ruin as Dr. Jekyll releases his darker side out as Mr. Hyde.
King Benjamin taught, “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19)
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| The Black Swan |
It’s easy to see how the complexity of the internal wars that are waged inside of each of us makes its way into so many works of art. Even God has something to say about it. So how are we to deal with all of this? We are literally Children of God living in very real, very carnal bodies. Is there any way that such powerful opposition can be dealt with? Is there any harmony to our being? Thankfully yes. Most of our problems come when we deal solely with one aspect of our dual nature. As we do so we become slaves to passions or pass our lives as hermits in isolation. Neither is what God intended.
We have to remember that He also taught that “the spirit and the body are the soul of man” (D&C 88:15). This union is what makes us happy. The spirit and the body are enriched and taught by one another. There are times for the proper expression of physical desires and appetites. There are other times of spiritual transcendence. But it is the union of these two natures that brings fulfillment. This is why we were sent here to learn and this was one of the lessons our Father intends us to master.
Neither the ignorant naïvety of the White Swan nor the base sensuality of the Black Swan captures who we are. The dichotomy that spirit is good and body is evil is not true either. I hope we never forget that. Because while the embrace of either side or both sides of our duality as separate and extreme can lead to fantastic performances, it will ultimately be our destruction. It is the proper treatment and sanctity for their combination that brings enlightenment. “For the spirit and body are the soul of man.”
