Introduction
Climate change awareness has been quite high for a significant period. The effects of climate change, particularly, global warming, have been examined in media thoroughly, with most people having become aware of the drastic effects of ice caps melting. However, due to the lack of grasp on the full extent of effects that global warming has on nature, most people overlook the issue. “Haulout,” a recent documentary, sheds light on the issue, detailing the extent of the problem. Although the documentary lacks coherent criticism of the current attitudes regarding climate change and leans heavily toward the emotional component of its message, it conveys the core idea.
Summary
The problem of climate change and the associated environmental crisis was made aware of quite a while ago, yet it has remained an undeniably distant concern for most people, with its effects being not easy to observe in the urban setting. “Haulout” corrects the specified oversight in communicating the dangers of climate change. Directed and written by Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev, and released in 2023, the documentary addresses the threats to the walrus population caused by ice caps melting (Arbugaeva & Arbugaev, 2023).
Critique
The validity of “Haulout” can be described as debatable due to the presence of several noticeable flaws. Among the core disadvantages of the documentary, one should mention the abundance of content that appeals to the viewers’ emotions and the lack of actual criticism or an overview of the available solutions. For instance, the scene in which the sight of dying walruses makes Maxim shed a single tear represents a clichéd concept that has been overused to the point where it fails to render any sincerity, as Sarkany and Sarkany (2023) assert. As a result, the described scene comes across as manipulative as opposed to conveying a genuine emotion and introducing the audience to a specific argument.
The lack of variety in the arguments that the documentary introduces is another evident problem that reduces its value as an environmental statement. The described effect can be partially attributed to the lack of narration provided in the film. While most documentaries typically suffer from the opposite phenomenon, with the abundance of information narrated over the visuals and overshadowing them, the lack of voiceover in “Haulout” leaves the viewers to their imagination. In a film that featured a plethora of highly varied scenes and environments, the lack of narration would not be a problem (Arbugaeva & Arbugaev, 2023). However, “Haulout” lacks the visual diversity that would compensate for the absence of robust commentaries, which causes the movie to convey a single message stretched to 25 minutes. As a result, the movie appears to be shallow in its message. Consequently, what could have been the dramatic scenes of walruses suffering while having to survive on a tiny strip of land becomes a tiresome and unnecessary long propagation stretched to nearly half an hour.
However, to its credit, the documentary has several obvious advantages that elevate it over other films made on the subject matter. The cinematography is truly stunning, with the shots and the quality of filming allowing viewers to be transported into the Siberian Arctic environment. Similarly, the use of the mise-en-scene is especially powerful at the beginning, where herds of walruses start breaking into the researcher’s house (Arbugaeva & Arbugaev, 2023). Reminding of zombie apocalypse scenes, the specified part of the documentary creates a surreal image of impending doom that renders the catastrophic nature of the current state of affairs and evokes an immediate emotional response in the viewer.
Analysis
Based on the effects that the director’s choices, one could argue that the documentary does not quite achieve its purpose. Arbugaeva and Arbugaev (2023) seek to prompt a change in people’s attitudes toward the issue of climate change and, specifically, the effects that it has on Arctic animals, particularly, the population of walruses. However, while leaving a short-lived effect on the viewer, mostly due to the presence of the content evoking an immediate emotion, the film lacks a coherent argument that has a strong staying power. Though the movie clearly states the problem of walruses and, possibly, other arctic animals, being endangered due to climate change, it does not communicate anything new; neither does it represent its statement in a new and refreshing way. While the scene with walruses breaking into the house does convey a sense of shock content, evoking the imagery of zombie apocalypse movies, it still does not have a strong staying power (Arbugaeva & Arbugaev, 2023). Therefore, supposing that the directors’ goal was to encourage long-lasting discussions on the subject matter, it has not been achieved.
Nonetheless, the lack of consistency and coherence in the argument put forward by Arbugaeva and Arbugaev (2023) does not mean that there is no substance in the film or that its message is wrong. I agree with the documentary, particularly, the fact that climate change has caused dire consequences for the environment and a range of species, particularly, the Arctic endemics (Arbugaeva & Arbugaev, 2023). I also agree that it is truly heartbreaking to see these gorgeous animals in such a drastic and deplorable state and watch them dying without the ability to help. The sense of helplessness is what the movie renders particularly effectively, leaving a rather painful aftertaste. The scene with the walrus cub being injured was especially painful to watch. Therefore, I quite agree that the problem of climate change is huge and that it must be tackled by making a major change.
Evaluation
The video introduces a rather limited range of ideas, which makes it quite easy to establish the core theme, namely, one of the effects of climate change on arctic species. Moreover, to the director’s credit, the issue that the documentary raises does bear major importance for the present-day world. The problem of walruses becoming an endangered species and being drastically affected by the melting ice caps has been growing out of proportion lately due to the aggravated environmental conditions (Arbugaeva & Arbugaev, 2023). Recent studies mention the decline in the available land for walruses to use during the mating season, connecting the observed outcomes to the phenomenon of land fragmentation: “The later sea-ice freeze-up and earlier melting periods, coupled with first-year ice, will lead to even earlier fragmentation, creating icescapes with low SIC, and ice-floe dynamics” (Himmelberger et al., 2022, para. 27).
The specified phenomenon leads to the outcomes demonstrated in the documentary, namely, the rapidly decreasing space for walruses and the resulting risks of their injury and death en masse. Thus, there is an evident problem of climate change affecting the population of walruses, among a multitude of other Arctic species, which warrants further change in the approach to climate change management.
Furthermore, though the film neither addresses nor mentions the cause of the problem and the solutions that have already been implemented, yielding almost no result, it encourages further exploration. Exploring climate change and the melting of ice caps will illustrate that the issue is rooted primarily in the current agricultural practices, deforestation, and CO2 emissions produced by vehicles (Amjad et al., 2019). Therefore, while individual contributions to the problem must be recognized, organizations causing deforestation and depletion of resources must also be held accountable, as Carodenuto and Buluran (2021) establish. The specified issue also needs to be linked to the increasing consumerism rates, which tether the issue back to individual responsibility (Amjad et al., 2019). Thus, change must start at a community level with the transition toward more sustainable choices, which, in turn, will encourage companies to abandon their current harmful practices.
Conclusion
Though “Haulout” fails at articulating specific criticisms regarding the problem that it tackles, it succeeds at communicating the core idea of the harms that climate change causes, which is achieved by the integration of a clear appeal to emotion. Nonetheless, the approach that the documentary undertakes in its effort to convince the audience to address the issue of climate change and the dire consequences that it has on nature can be interpreted as manipulative by some viewers. The over-reliance on the call for empathy and the use of visuals that seek to evoke immediate sympathy reduces the critical value of the documentary, while also diluting the call to action that it seeks to promote. As a result, the documentary leaves little impact, causing viewers to feel emotional for a short period yet failing to encourage long-term discussions with the general public.
References
Arbugaeva, E., & Arbugaev, M. (Directors). (2023). Haulout [Film]. Albireo Films.
Amjad, D., Kausar, S., Waqar, R., & Sarwar, F. (2019). Land cover change analysis and impacts of deforestation on the climate of District Mansehra, Pakistan. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences, 14(6), 103-113. Web.
Carodenuto, S., & Buluran, M. (2021). The effect of supply chain position on zero-deforestation commitments: evidence from the cocoa industry. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 23(6), 716-731. Web.
Himmelberger, A., Frey, K. E., & Sangermano, F. (2022). Applying landscape fragmentation analysis to icescape environments: Potential impacts for the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergence). Polar Research, 41. Web.
Sarkany, L., & Sarkany, E. (2023). When there is no script, all that is left is instinct, love, and Thanksgiving! Canadian Journal of Theology, Mental Health and Disability, 3(1), 92-96. Web.