ab•surd•i•ty | əbˈsərditē; -ˈzərd- |Yes, for life on this planet, that sounds about right.
noun ( pl. -ties): the quality or state of being ridiculous or wildly unreasonable
So it was with great pleasure that I encountered "Plastic Bag," a remarkable 18-minute short film by Ramin Bahrani and narrated by the great German director Werner Herzog. The protaganist is no ordinary plastic bag, but one with an existential crisis of epic proportions. This is a beautifully shot, poignant film about the environment (particularly the horrendous plastic vortex in the Pacific), but it is also a fun exercise in existentialism. Enjoy.
LAW NOTE: In response to your comment, Tony, several U.S. cities have passed ordinances banning plastic bags as well, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, and several others, such as Madison, require that plastic bags be recycled. No state has yet banned plastic bags (Virginia's legislature has killed such a plan, unsurprisingly). L.A.'s ban, which is set to start July 1, will not go into effect if California imposes a 25-cent tax first. China banned plastic bags prior to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
1 comment:
I'm now watching the video... but before forming opinions around that, thought that I might quickly point out that Rwanda - where I was for the past 2 weeks - has banned plastic bags. People coming into the country by plane are checked for plastic bags, and of course, the plastic bags are not available within the country. Pretty cool.
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