The documentary Home (2009) consists of three parts. Filmmaker Yann Arthus-Bertrand deals with various concepts with a poetic approach and captures spectacular and sometimes ugly images of nature and the artificial environment of human beings, the most important of which is the waste of natural resources that has upset the balance of nature.
In the first part, Arthus-Bertrand considers the planet Earth without the presence of human beings, wise humans. A planet that formed millions of years after the eruption, in which the various elements of nature were in balance, with a relationship that evolved over years. As a result, living conditions were provided for thousands of different creatures to live together, of which the human is one.
The second and major part of the film is about the presence of humans in nature. It is the period when energy and food resources are consumed, and people change the environment for their own survival. Over several thousand years, from the Neolithic period, agriculture and then animal husbandry have played a major role in changing the face of nature, but the great change was dramatic and obvious when consumerism increased day by day during the last century. Improper use of resources and greater access to various materials caused this illusion that these resources will remain forever.
This is what catches the eye throughout the film; two different stages of human life. When everything moved slowly and alongside nature, then the period when artifacts found their way into the lives of humans and other animals. The second period characterizes people in a state where they want more and more, and faster and faster.
When everything becomes fast, we do not give nature a chance to recover. For example, plastic needs 20 to 500 years to decompose, and glass 1 million years! During this time, they have a destructive effect on other organisms and humans as well.
The filmmaker emphasizes the fragile harmony of the earth, but we must look at the fragility and vulnerability of nature in the context of the earth. This is the first time in millions of years that other organisms have been suffocated and destroyed by eating plastic and microplastics, a synthetic material, have been found inside human placentas. Humans broke this chain of connections and cycles between the various components of nature.
Now imbalance is not limited to nature and extends to human life. The countries with the most extractable resources are the poorest countries in the world. And the war has fueled this imbalance and inequality so that powerful countries, with their large corporations and companies, can dominate natural resources more and more.
After the exploitation of oil wells and the mass production of almost anything and the advancement of technology and transportation systems, the face of cities changed, and human beings became more distant from nature. It was as if they were no longer part of nature but rather considered themselves the owners of mountains, oceans, forests, rivers and other animals. As a result, they try to use these resources as much as they can.
Mining was to produce more products to sell and those who owned the production became richer. These products are not necessarily made to meet human needs in general, but to earn more money. Industries such as the fashion industry, for example, prefer to destroy many of their products every year rather than sell them at cheaper prices, and many brands have no management to reduce their production and recycling. Interestingly, some of those who bankrolled this documentary came from the fashion industry.
In addition, we could feed two billion people a year with the money from the food we waste. While more than eight hundred million people do not have access to food. And about two billion people cannot drink safe water.
Arthus-Bertrand does not just support rural life but criticizes consumerism and capitalism, a system that encourages people to buy more and shows a better life by having more products. In this system, if you have money, you can do whatever you want. If you want, you can throw away your food, regardless of the energy and water consumed, because you have paid for it.
When we look around, we see advertisements that are so widespread they do not leave us alone for a minute. In the streets, on television, radio and the Internet, we can clearly see the encouragement that leads people to be consumerists. In this documentary, Arthus-Bertrand tries to show the wounds consumerism has caused to nature. Deforestation, the drying up of rivers, the disappearance of groundwater, and air pollution are some of the issues that are raised, and it is not limited to global warming. The filmmaker shows the result of incorrect political and social thoughts and systems. Systems that provide 80% of the earth’s natural resources – which should belong to all human beings – to 20% of the population.
Although we get to know this irreparable damage throughout the movie, the filmmaker shows in the final part that he has an optimistic outlook and he offers solutions such as using renewable energy and using natural resources properly by not wasting them. He sees planet Earth not as independent countries with historical boundaries but as a common home for all human beings and animals.
Although the documentary focuses on green and clean energies in the end, it does not consider them as the complete solution. The filmmaker has simply tried to show that, unlike in the past, we must look for newer ways to have a healthy nature and life.
In order to survive, it may be time to enter into a sustainable and harmonious relationship with nature instead of confronting it or fighting against it. No matter how flawed the filmmaker’s solutions may be, at least it creates an opportunity for people to talk about problems.
The narration is simple and clear, avoiding specialized and scientific words so that everyone can listen and watch. This movie may not have new information to those who have read about environmental issues and are informed, or it may even be considered preachy, but surely there are millions of people who need to know what irreparable impact every piece of food they throw away, or wasting anything, has on nature and their own lives.
12 years ago, Home was released for free on the internet.