Guided Reflection Questions: Chasing Coral

1. There wasn’t exactly a scene that got me mad, or frustrated. However, I was more curious than anything. The idea of these corals in the variety of environments they are involved in, suddenly disappearing, intrigued me. In the beginning of the documentary we see healthy, thriving corals. With their beautiful colors displaying in its full effect. While the documentary continues though, we learn that a lot of corals are actually dying. When these corals die, they get this bleached effect and turn completely white. So with this event occurring, I was curious as to why this is happening. 

   
   

   The scientists involved brought up the idea of global warming. They did an experiment with some corals they were farming, where they raised the degrees in celsius, and the coral essentially died and all that was left was the skeleton. Earlier in the documentary, the scientists discussed how the coral grows. They grow around the skeleton, and also act as a food source for themselves. Moreover, at night, the "animal" within the coral comes out and the polyp from the coral, which are these little tentacles that start to grow once night time hits, and they grab onto anything that moves near them.

   
   

   
   
   
   

   
   

   2. There were many things that surprised me as I watched this documentary. Initially, I was surprised with how involved I was into this film. First off, the visuals were absolutely stunning. So was the whole environment, the music, the people involved, etc. There was not a single point where I found myself bored or dull.

   
   

   3. Some questions that remain after my initial viewing of this film are, "in what ways can I contribute to this problem?", "how can I raise awareness to solve this issue?". An overall interest in this topic carried within me through the entire viewing of the film, and even afterwards. This was something I've heard of in the past, but I did not know it was this extreme.

   
   

   4. We might want to avoid doing research when we write our summaries because it may persuade our thoughts in a way in which we don't want it too. Our summary is meant to be an unbiased writing on the general consensus of the film. There is no room for our opinions. It is just a writing space for us to describe the movie in the order it was shown to us. Included in that, is the message that was portrayed as well.