The blog formerly known as   Fake Plastic Fish

Category Archives: Movies

April 21, 2009

Addicted to Plastic – Must-see film not made by Disney

While everyone’s going nuts about Disney’s Earth (which I fully intend to see), I want to tell you about another film that readers of Fake Plastic Fish should not miss.

Back in January, I had the opportunity to see an amazing film by Ian Connacher called Addicted to Plastic. Addicted to Plastic is the result of three years of filming in 12 countries on 5 continents, including trips to the North Pacific Gyre with the Algalita crew… the area that has become a plastic soup bigger than the state of Texas. It starts with Ian waking up one morning and noticing all the plastic items in his house, from his alarm clock and mattress to this clothing and kitchenware. He wonders if all this plastic is safe and what can be done about it.

The film provides a history of plastic and includes interviews with several scientists studying toxicity issues such as BPA, phthalates, and antimony. There is also an interview with a plastics industry spokesperson… Read the rest

April 14, 2009

Throwing up Plastic. It’s the Green Moms Carnival!

Welcome to the April edition of the Green Moms Carnival. Fake Plastic Fish is thrilled to be the receptacle of this Pile of Plastic Posts. And speaking of piles of plastic, did you ever wonder what it feels like to throw up a plastic bag? Then you must see this brand new video (just released today) by Free Range Studios, the guys who brought us The Meatrix and The Story of Stuff. Here is The Bay vs. The Bag:

And now, let’s hear what others have to say about plastic!

Marianna from Green Mama’s Pad presents a comprehensive guide to plastics recycling, including a cute video showing a simplified version of the process, as well as facts about bottled water, in her post, Recycling Plastic. She also submitted a post on having an Eco-Friendly Easter when the carnival was originally scheduled to post before Easter.

Speaking of recycling, Diane from Big Green Purse asks, “If it’s not easy to recycle something, is it really recyclable?”… Read the rest

April 8, 2009

Future Weather – My Interview with an Eco-Conscious Filmmaker

Thanks to Green L.A. Girl Siel for pointing out a Philadelphia filmmaker who wants to change the way movies are made.

Jenny Deller wrote the script for the film, Future Weather, a drama centered around a teenage girl who is not only worried about the future of the planet but also the changes taking place within her own family. In an email to me, Jenny wrote:

Essentially, Future Weather is a story about leaving home and facing change, a rite of passage that I think will be necessary for our society to confront the uncertainty of a changing planet. Part of my desire to tell this story came from my own anxiety about global warming and questions I had about procreation in the 21st century — how do you bring children into such a compromised and potentially dire situation?

What attracted me to this project, even more than the theme of the film itself, was Jenny’s blog and her concern with conducting a movie shoot (scheduled for this summer) as greenly… Read the rest

September 18, 2008

Brita Subvertisement: a gift that dropped into our laps tonight!

Please don’t let me interrupt the conversation happening on the previous post. I’ve been reading your comments, even though I don’t really have time to respond right now. But I just had to jump in and tell you about a wonderful gift that the Take Back The Filter campaign received today.

First, have you seen the Brita filter ads discouraging bottled water that go “X minutes in/on the XYZ, Forever in the landfill”? For example, a woman on a treadmill with a disposable plastic water bottle that goes, “30 minutes on the treadmill. Forever in a landfill.” If you haven’t, it might be worthwhile to check them out here.

First, I am not disparaging Brita’s campaign. If it’s helping to slow the sales of bottled water, I am all for it. But as you know, the plastic Brita filters are also not recyclable, which is why we started the Take Back The Filter campaign to urge Brita to create a way to recycle the… Read the rest

June 13, 2008

Activism, Religion, and Despair – What Would Jesus Buy?

Last weekend I finally saw the documentary What Would Jesus Buy? on DVD. It follows the crusade of “Reverend Billy” and the “Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir” during this past Christmas season as they traveled across the country spreading a message of anti-commercialism, support for local businesses, and hairspray. Well, the hairspray was more method than message, but I digress.

Say what you want about environmentalists taking on the language of the Church to make their points, (and by the way, there’s been quite a bit of debate about that very issue this week on several blogs I read) Reverend Billy’s evangelical escapades, offensive or not, grab attention and draw converts to the cause. He exorcises shopping demons from Wal-mart and Disneyland. He gets himself banned for life from Starbucks. He’s been arrested more times than his wife Savitri can count.

But flamboyant showmanship aside,… Read the rest

March 18, 2008

Blue Vinyl: A Toxic Love Story

I was sick as a dog this weekend and spent all day Saturday on the couch watching videos. Many readers, after reading about my purges (here and here and here) of #3 PVC containers and a MultiPure water filter system containing PVC, recommended Blue Vinyl to me. But I just never had time to sit down and watch it until I was too sick to do anything else.

Wow. Thank you to everyone who recommended this film. And for those who haven’t seen it, run out NOW and get it. Rent it from Netflix, borrow it from the library or from a friend who has it, or buy your own copy to share with your friends.  (If you purchase via links in this post, My Plastic-Free Life earns a small percentage!)  I just ordered mine, as this DVD is one piece of plastic I hope to get a lot of use from.

Watching this film gave me such hope for what we can do as individuals if we put our minds to it. It’s the personal story of the filmmaker, Judith Helfand, who reveals right from the start that she’s… Read the rest