Netflix — Our Planet, Frozen Worlds
not just another “ nature documentary”
To continue in this series following the Netflix original docu-series Our Planet, season 1 episode 2 Frozen Worlds is not for the faint of heart. In fact, Netflix released some information following the episode to warn animal lovers of some of the disturbing scenes to avoid.
But as tough as some of the footage was to watch, I do think we all must watch. We can no longer keep our hands over our eyes and ears. Our world is changing — faster than it can adjust.
Episode 2 features the ecosystems at Antarctica and in the Arctic.
We begin with Antarctica and follow the food chain from krill to killer whales. Penguins and seals. Algae and humpback whales. The cuteness overload of baby albatrosses is alone worth the time to watch this episode!
Once again the series dazzles with breathtaking scenery, tense footage, and perfectly matched scores of music and sound which earned the episode a nomination for an Emmy for sound editing and deservedly so.
One scene detailing the hunting of penguins by killer whales was uncomfortable to watch but the narrative quickly reminds the viewer that the Orcas too have mouths to feed and young to teach.
The second portion of the episode is considerably more difficult to watch but all the more important as climate change has had a more devastating impact there. We are all aware for the most part of the plight of the polar bears and have images of polar bears traveling far and wide for food or stranded on floating chunks of ice as the arctic melts sooner and more extensively than ever.
But I doubt too many of us are aware of what it is doing to the walrus. Forced off what is normally extensive areas of ice onto a small space of rocky real estate in Russia, thousands of walruses are packed on top of each other. The jostling for space leads many of them into danger or peril — and these perils are important for us to see. As hard as it is to watch — we simply can no longer turn our heads to the plights of ecosystems in peril around our globe.
