PSA

The Lorax Was Right: Particulate Matter Marks the End of Us All

Contributors

Jamie Lim, Cat Kennedy, Miranda Aquino, Karyna Luna

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

– Dr. Seuss, from the Lorax

The Lorax began for the general public as a Dr. Seuss-esque, rhyming form of entertainment that told youngsters in first grade to “speak for the trees.” Whatever that meant.

But as Team Ant in the Annenberg Youth Academy uncovered in a light discussion about the structure and function of a PSA, the Lorax both spoke the truth and predicted the future.

Really, our united love for the Lorax began us down an unexpected route.

We wanted to shift the buzz on an incorrect notion—the notion that the average citizen was the largest perpetrator of climate change.

So we devised a new idea.

What good will a paper straw do when Earth’s temperatures have peaked outrageously in a never-before-seen record?

What good will a paper straw do when 91% of energy is nonrenewable coal, oil, and gas plants that constantly emit toxic metals?

What good will a paper straw do when society throws these statistics at us, commands us to use less energy, calls us to decrease our footprints further?

It won’t do any good.

Because we aren’t the problem in this climate crisis. Our efforts are entirely misdirected.

The only thing we can—and must—do today is embrace our voices and realize the power of civic engagement to fight against the real problem of climate change.

Thus, we created a call-to-action directing the public in the right direction in the form of a Public Service Announcement.

Here, we wanted to highlight the role large scale corporations play in the pollution of our planet.

Using the Lorax, a popular children’s film based on the 1971 novel that highlights greed and destruction, we sought to familiarize our audience with the topic, and depict how Earth’s situation is identical to Thneedville’s.

Taking place in a dystopian, secluded society, the Lorax’s Thneedville shows a life where air, a critical human necessity, is controlled by a company to be bought and sold by a capitalistic dictator.

Despite warnings from the Lorax, a preceding capitalist disregards their apprehension, continuing in the name of success. This part of the film is told through flashback scenes where the businessman displays sorrow and regret towards a young boy.

He urges the boy to get the Thneedville community to care to revive the state of the environment despite its current hopeless state.

By the end of the film, passion is born anew and the townspeople have started to work together, learning what is best for all of them instead of the individual corporations. 

After being exposed to the compiled statistics that show how large of an impact a company’s pollution plays, the audience will understand that ultimately they cannot heal climate change all by themselves but instead have to hold the biggest polluters responsible through civic engagement.

Clips from the film were integrated into the PSA in hopes of captivating movie-lovers and relating the real situations to its fictional counterpart.

Following true to the theme, the conclusion contains a Dr. Seuss style poem that is meant to inspire the audience members. 

Although completely reversing climate change is unattainable, “The Lorax Was Right” depicts the power of civic engagement in preventing damage on our planet.

Just as the characters in the Lorax were able to make improvements by recognizing the true source of pollution, we as a community have the power to do so, as well.

That prevails as our central message.

Jamie Lim & Cat Kennedy