It’s amazing that something as simple as a movie can bring so many people together towards such a daunting goal, like saving the planet! Well, that might sound like a little much but isn’t that what we need? We need aggressively passionate people to show us how to forge ahead and ultimately achieve the goal of saving the planet.

On Thursday night in room 103 at Hingham High School, planet Earth enthusiasts from all grades came to watch the movie “Racing Extinction.” The movie followed a few passionate men who hoped to spread awareness of the harm that is being done to the ocean and environment, by exposing problematic behaviors through photography and film. The men made their way to Asia and filmed the wrongdoings they came across, using video cameras hidden in their shirt buttons. The insanity they encountered was astonishing.

From vast rooftops full of a shark fins to sea turtles dried out and shelved, their filming made me uneasy. The honest footage and the pure truth within their work made me realize how many aren’t making the effort they should be to save the planet we live on.

From endangered species to global warming, the film covered it all, and covered it well. By the end of the film the men joined with another planet Earth enthusiast to create projections of what they had seen. These telling projections were displayed on buildings, fountains, steam— essentially everywhere.

The men’s amazing creativity and enthusiasm towards their lifestyle was truly inspiring. When walking out of the movie my friend, Anna Doggett, said she will definitely be a vegan for lent this year. That simple decision to have such a drastic lifestyle change represents the guts we need more people to have to really get the rejuvenation of our planet started. The movie taught me that we need to realize the impact we have on our planet; we don’t want to be the cause of our own extinction.