There is a reason why The Lorax (released in 2012) is entered into the BIOL 4095 film festival as much as it is. It touches on so many topics related to the Applied Plant Ecology course. In summary, there is a city called Thneedville, in which there is nothing organic but the people living there. Every tree is made of plastic, and a greedy tycoon sells air to the people residing in Thneedville, due to no trees producing oxygen for them to breathe. A child in Thneedville wishes to impress his crush, a girl who is obsessed with the now extinct Truffula trees of the past, by finding and gifting her a tree. To do so, he leaves the confines of Thneedville and ventures into the post-apocalyptic wasteland to find the one person to know what happened to the Truffula trees. After finding this person, they regale the tale of what happened to the Truffula trees.
Spoiler warning for the rest of the movie. Essentially, this now barren wasteland was once a biodiverse land with many animals and countless beautiful Truffula trees. But the greed of a tycoon led to the destruction of the habitat, with no plans of rare plant conservation or sustainable forestry, the once filthy rich tycoon had destroyed their source of income and more importantly had harvested every single Truffula tree. With the complete deforestation and habitat loss, the living organisms either died or left for greener pastures, literally. The person telling the story hands the child the last Truffula tree seed left and tells him to plant it in the center of Thneedville. This attempt at reintroducing plant life to Thneedville is heavily combated by the tycoon benefitting off the oxygen-poor environment, along with the general public that was misled to believe that the world is better off without trees. Through scientific conversation and explanation to the masses, the people of Thneedville agree to grow the tree, much to the dismay of the powerful tycoon. This eventually leads to the reintroduction of Truffula trees, improved air quality, and the return of the biodiversity to the once lost habitat. Although an obvious dramatization and simpler take on the work needed to be done in real life, it tackles many aspects we face today. Greedy practices lead to similar situations. Tycoons like this exist in the real world, destroying some of our most biodiverse habitats and forests across the world. We need to face them and the misinformed masses by explaining in a way that will make the people understand and push for what is important for the planet, just like the children in this movie.
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 