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Before the Flood was a powerful, eye-opening documentary. With sights of landscapes effected by climate change, this documentary goes into detail on the importance of taking action on being environmentally responsible right now. In the documentary, Leonardo DiCaprio talks to experts and those effected by climate change about solutions to the problem.
Before the Flood starts with DiCaprio’s child-hood story about a painting his father had of The Garden of Eden and how it became overabundant and then how it eventually decayed into a bitter wasteland in three portraits. DiCaprio said this image reminded him of the real world right now. He says that we’re in the second part of the picture and we are heading toward the third image if we don’t make a change. This hook is very effective in drawing in the watcher and have them think about the reality they are living in. DiCaprio then travels the four corners of the Earth. He goes to Greenland where ice is melting faster than ever. DiCaprio asks if the melted ice would just freeze again when hitting the ice, but the expert said no that it actually causes the frozen ice to melt. If this continues, according to the expert, a lot of the world will be under water. This scene is very awakening to the viewer because a lot of people’s homes will be under water and they will either die or must relocate if this continues. After traveling to the places effected by climate change, DiCaprio travels to Paris to speak at the Paris Climate Deal meeting. He gives a powerful speech to many of the world’s leaders about why signing this agreement is important and doing your country’s part in reducing fossil fuel usage will help preserve the planet for future generations. After the success in the signing of The Paris Agreement, DiCaprio speaks to then President Barack Obama about the future of energy in America and around the world. Obama says that things may look bad now but that he is very optimistic about the future of our planet thanks to the agreement. After the interview, the documentary wraps up with a call to action for everyone to be more environmentally friendly and help change the course of history for the better; alluding to the painting from the beginning of the documentary. This documentary is very excellent, and I would recommend it to everyone, both interested and uninterested in climate change science. The documentary not only effects the feelings of the viewer through images of the effects, but also provides a solid, clear argument for fighting against climate change. This documentary is one of the best ones out there and is definitely rewatchable.
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  There is an old saying, “The Jack of All Trades, The Master of nothing.” A lot of people like this idea and live by it. I believe however that it’s incomplete. I believe the full statement goes “The Jack of All Trades, The Master of nothing, but the master of one is the true fool.” I believe this because if a person masters just one thing in life then what else are they good for?
Take for example a professional athlete who knows nothing else. What happens to that athlete once they get injured or get too old to play anymore? If they do not know anything else, then; how can they sustain an income to continue their lifestyle? The answer is that they usually go broke and lose everything because they never acquired skills that can be useful in their life besides athletics. If that athlete would have learned how to do comedy, they could have done comedy after retirement. If they would have learned how to write poems, they could have been a poet. If they learned how to run a business and be an entrepreneur, then they could have been a business owner or CEO. Whatever it is, acquiring more than one skill would have helped the athlete later in life after the sports were over. I knew a business owner once who went to school for horticulture. He only knew horticulture and focused solely on horticulture. He did not learn anything about running a business or anything of the sort. Later in life after college years, he ran a plant shop and business was good for a while. This was only possible because he was the only flower shop in his little town. That town started to grow and eventually Home Depot came in. Home Depot ended up taking all his customers. Without inquiring the proper knowledge of business, that would have led him to compete against his competition, he instead went out of business and lost all of his money. To this day he still blames Home Depot for him going out of business instead of looking at himself and realizing that he shouldn’t have put all of his eggs in one basket. These stories illustrate that only mastering one skill and not learning other trades is more of a hindrance than anything. Focusing on one skill alone is a greater risk to take than just knowing a moderate amount of everything. Therefore, I believe that the master of one is a fool and the jack of all trades is the real winner. I would advise everyone to learn many skills so that they can have a more secure life where they do not have to be unsuccessful if they cannot do the one skill that they mastered anymore. Like I always like to say, “Better safe than sorry.” |