‘Blue Planet Now’ Recap: ‘Whale Sanctuary’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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The moment when you discover a powerful documentary that captivates your mind like never before, is a special moment indeed. Because it means you’ve stumbled upon a story that has perfectly captured a moment or a part of our world like never before, and that’s why I’m such a fan of BBC America’s Blue Planet series. For this particular set of stories about our world and the incredible wildlife that inhabits it alongside mankind, have managed to captivate us in ways we never thought possible. And more importantly, these documentaries, Blue Planet II in particular, have started to help us ask important questions about the health of our world and our relationship with it.
 
Which brings us to last night’s premiere of Blue Planet Now. For this particular documentary is one that is designed to raise awareness about our relationship with our oceans, and the precarious place that they currently reside within as mankind pushes into our blue frontier for precious resources needed for our world, alongside how wildlife in the water is adapting and reacting to climate change, and that made the opening chapter of this particular tale, fascinating to say the least. For ‘Whale Sanctuary’ provided the audience with some powerful storytelling, the kind that truly helped us to understand the fragility to nature, all while giving us hope for the future as we watched some people go the extra mile to ensure that our oceans are safe and the creatures there, can thrive for generations to come.
 
But in between those harrowing stories, which we will get to in a moment, we do need to also talk about the fact that this particular documentary did a phenomenal job of educating the audience. For I was unaware of the grey whale sanctuary in Baja, Mexico, and it was just incredible to learn about the journey and the plight of this species of whale and see how majestic and kind these creatures really are and I am thankful that the show took the time to teach us about a place this gentle and kind, along with everything other factoid the show threw our way. Because this opening chapter also took the time to remind us a great deal about the importance of the Great Barrier Reef and its relationship to our world and how a gentle push to preserve some of the creatures that thrive in places like that, such as the Green Sea Turtle, can make quite the difference.
 
Which in turn, brings us to those conservation efforts I mentioned a moment ago. Because I was also blissfully unaware of how many people are trying to save various species that thrive in and around the water. Such as the group that is stationed in Africa. Because they’re working hard to ensure that a species of penguin that resides there, gets a chance to continue to thrive by slowly moving them back near their food source, which has moved thanks to climate change. And in the Caribbean, there are people working to remove the stigma surrounding sharks, so these gentle beasts aren’t hunted anymore. And yes, I called sharks gentle and if you take the time to watch this episode, you will too. For it was simply incredible to see sharks straight up wish to cuddle with a human being and enjoy rubs as a dog would, and that speaks volumes to the fact that these apex predators are more than fodder for horror films, they are beings that feel and should be treated as such.
 
If anything, this was simply a beautiful opening to what is clearly going to be a beautiful documentary and I must admit that I was quite impressed with how many moments and facts the folks behind the scenes packed into this premiere. Because it forces one to put down their phone, or their tablet, and shut the lid on their laptop, since this documentary requires your full attention, and with good reason. Because our oceans are indeed important, and we need to be aware of what’s happening within them and once again, I have to thank BBC America for taking the time to assemble and air a powerful and important documentary. Because knowledge is power and the more people that learn about our oceans and why it is important to save them, the better the odds that such a goal will be accomplished and I am looking forward to every lesson that Blue Planet Now is going to send our way in the weeks to come. Until next time.  

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