“Play Again” - A film about ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’
Friday, May 27 , 2011 6:00-9:00 pm
At Audubon Greenwich
What are the consequences of a childhood removed from nature? Come watch our ‘screen’ and learn from top experts who discuss the toll this is taking on youth. This emotionally moving and humorous documentary follows six teenagers who, like the “average American child,” spend five to fifteen hours a day behind screens. PLAY AGAIN unplugs these teens and takes them on their first wilderness adventure – no electricity, no cell phone coverage, no virtual reality.
Reception: 6-7 pm. Film suitable for all ages. $12/adult. Youth: free.
RSVP required for all film events to Jeff: 203-869-5272 x239 or email.
What they do not know, they will not protect. And what they do not protect, they will lose.
-Charles Jordan, PLAY AGAIN
Everyone should see this film! — Richard Louv, Author of Last Child in the Woods
A festival of wisdom! — Bill Bigelow, Rethinking Schools
Thank you for making a film that inspires everyone, but judges no one. — A young biologist and gamer, Orem, Utah
FILM SYNOPSIS
One generation from now most people in the U.S. will have spent more time in the virtual world than in nature. New media technologies have improved our lives in
countless ways. Information now appears with a click. Overseas friends are part of our daily lives. And even grandma loves Wii.
But what are we missing when we are behind screens? And how will this impact our children, our society, and eventually, our planet?
At a time when children play more behind screens than outside, PLAY AGAIN explores the changing balance between the virtual and natural worlds. Is our connection to nature disappearing down the digital rabbit hole?
This emotionally moving and humorous documentary follows six teenagers who, like the “average American child,” spend five to fifteen hours a day behind screens. PLAY AGAIN unplugs these teens and takes them on their first wilderness adventure – no electricity, no cell phone coverage, no virtual reality.
Through the voices of children and leading experts including journalist Richard Louv, sociologist Juliet Schor, environmental writer Bill McKibben, educators Diane Levin and Nancy Carlsson-Paige, neuroscientist Gary Small, parks advocate Charles Jordan, and geneticist David Suzuki, PLAY AGAIN investigates the consequences of a childhood removed from nature and encourages action for a sustainable future.
BACKGROUND
Seventy years ago, the first televisions became commercially available. The first desktop computers went on sale 30 years ago, and the first cell phones a mere 15 years ago. During their relatively short tenure these three technologies have changed the way we live. Some of these changes are good. Television can now rapidly disseminate vital information. Computers turned that flow of information into a two-way street. Cell phones enable unprecedented connectivity with our fellow human beings.
And the merging of cell phones and the internet has even allowed protest movements, like those in Iran, to organize and thrive. But there's also a down side. For many people, especially children, screens have become the de facto medium by which the greater world is experienced. A virtual world of digitally transmitted pictures, voices, and scenarios has become more real to this generation than the world of sun, water, air, and living organisms, including fellow humans.
The average American child now spends over 8 hours in front of a screen each day. She emails, texts, and updates her status incessantly. He can name hundreds of corporate logos, but less than ten native plants. She aspires to have hundreds of online friends, most she may never meet in person. He masters complicated situations presented in game after game, but often avoids simple person-to-person conversation. They are almost entirely out of contact with the world that, over millions of years of evolution, shaped human beings — the natural world.
The long-term consequences of this experiment on human development remain to be seen, but the stakes couldn't be higher. By most accounts, this generation will face multiple crises — environmental, economic and social. Will this screen world - and its bevy of virtual experiences — have adequately prepared these "digital natives" to address the problems they'll face, problems on whose resolution their own survival may depend?
As we stand at a turning point in our relationship with earth, we find ourselves immersed in the gray area between the natural and virtual worlds. From a global perspective of wonder and hope, PLAY AGAIN examines this unique point in history.
"I believe this is one of the great challenges facing us today. The consequences of our estrangement from nature will be devastating for us as individuals and for society. Well done and may your film have a big impact! - David Suzuki, world-renowned Canadian science broadcaster
This is a very old piece used to raise funds for the production a newly released film called PLAY AGAIN, about the consequences of a childhood removed from nature. It is resonating deeply with audiences around the world.
OTHER QUOTES TO SAVOR (via J. Cordulack):
"God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools." John Muir
"When all the dangerous cliffs are fenced off, all the trees that might fall on people are cut down, all of the insects that bite have been poisoned...and all of the grizzlies are dead because they are occasionally dangerous, the wilderness will not be made safe. Rather, the safety will have destroyed the wilderness." R. Yorke Edwards
"The earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations." Pope John Paul II
“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.” Naguib Mahfouz
To learn more about this film and see other PLAY AGAIN trailers, visit the website.
2010 AWARDS FOR PLAY AGAIN
WINNER! Best Educational Film - EKOFILM, Prague Int'l Environmental Film Festival
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
WINNER! Special Mention - FICMA, Barcelona Int'l Environmental Film Festival
BARCELONA, SPAIN
DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT
I love technology, as a filmmaker I thrive on it. I see the incredible benefits of our information society, but in our excitement and consumption of technical progress we are cutting ourselves off from the basics. As our children play more in front of screens than outside we face an alarming and potentially dangerous imbalance between the natural and virtual worlds.
Today children recognize more corporate logos than they do common plants in their own backyard. There are serious consequences of a childhood removed from nature, and we are now facing new challenges that impact our children’s well being, our society and the very future of our planet.
I grew up in Norway, roaming in the woods all year round. Rain, snow, sleet - you name it, we were outside. This is a stark contrast to how my children are growing up. I would be lost without nature. It is where I find meaning and inspiration. It is where I find perspective and peace. To me the issues of PLAY AGAIN are at the core of who we are, why we are here and where we are going.
In making this film it was important for me to give children a voice. PLAY AGAIN is a character-driven film that follows 6 teenagers from their virtual worlds out into the wilderness. Working with the teens and watching their individual stories unfold has been a powerful experience.
PLAY AGAIN is structured around the interwoven storylines of the teens and the experts without narration. I framed the film to play with what is real and what is not, using high tech images from the virtual world juxtaposed with nature footage that take us from the powerful vastness of nature down to the micro level of the seasons. In contrasting the two worlds we also use animation, and in effect set the mood for the issues of the film. The cinematography in PLAY AGAIN is crucial, and we played with various techniques to show the wonder and mystery of nature from children’s perspectives. In doing so we let their experiences unfold candidly before an “invisible” camera. Hard-hitting montages and reflective slow sequences are supported by our powerful soundtrack, which includes bands like Sigur Ròs and organic campfire songs.
As a filmmaker and parent I know that what we are up against today can be overwhelming. How do we change the way we think? Play? And live? Technology is
here to stay and we rely on it in today's world. So what do we do? Like Howard Zinn said: To know where you are going you have to look at where you have been. As humans we NEED nature. It is who we are and where we come from. It is crucial that we find a balance between the natural and virtual worlds for all of us, especially our children. Reconnecting them to nature will take all of us working together. Turning off the screen and getting outside is a small first step towards finding a path.
