Review of Murder on the Reef

Where is the border between the global progress and destructive force from it? The authors of the film Murder on the Reef do not answer the question, but rather show the crumble of a delicate balance of the unity between the nature and mankind. They emphasise on the importance of each group of the society acting separately and in unison: the government, businesses and NGOs. Similarities with the Chernobyl tragedy is quite to the point. The Chernobyl disaster happened lightning fast, however, we have been observing the consequences of it for more than 30 years now. The history of the Great Barrier Reef is millions of years old and right now we are the witnesses, or, to be more precise, accomplices of the irreversible consequences. The film triggers an internal dialogue, a feel of the audience's relevancy and a search for personal influence onto the situation, an understanding that each of us is a part of a living social and natural being in which continuous interactions and impulses occur. By our actions with a mentality of a consumer, and sometimes, on the contrary, by the inactivity of a silent observer, we participate in the destruction of one of the most beautiful natural wonders of the world. In the film, there are no hyper-emotional shots and reinforcing boosters, which are usually used to emphasis the severity of global environmental problems. At the same time, a balanced professional assessment of the narrator gives a complete picture of the scale of the tragedy. After watching the film, you will likely have more questions, which is, I guess, the aim of the authors. If this unique natural wonder, which extends along 2500 km of the shoreline and can be seen from space, is irreversibly ill, then what are we, each of us, doing wrong?