The outrage over the killing of Cecil, the big cat of the savannah, has been comforting and encouraging (gratuitous expressions of aggression aside). The solidarity with a brother species has been an inspiring affirmation of our commonly shared reverence for life.
Cecil made me think of the tiger of the ocean, the tuna.
Last year, when I was at Mountainfilm, oceanographer Sylvia Earle was asked why she had become vegetarian. She replied something along the lines of “If you see what I see, it is a very natural decision.”
When you see what she sees, tuna sandwich lunch boxes and sushi and sashimi dinners become as unthinkable as beheaded lions.
Watch this 2-minute trailer for “Mission Blue,” which explores Sylvia’s environmental activism on behalf of the ocean, and you may feel the same way.
As social innovators, how can we continue to wedge our way into compassionate expressions such as those for Cecil and help expand our overall circle of concern? How can we help people see what we see so that they naturally act upon that realization? How can we continue to leverage short films and video production to share that vision powerfully and widely?