The Clean Room

We all know pollution is a huge problem, but how did it get so bad? An Academy Award nominated film attempts to answer that question in a roundabout way.

“Let’s Pollute” is a six-minute animated film that takes a satirical approach to addressing pollution. Presented in 1950’s educational film style, Let’s Pollute plants it’s tongue firmly in cheek as it traces the growth of pollution and instructs us all on how to be “better polluters for a better, more blighted tomorrow!” 

The announcer’s opening lines set the tone for what is to come: “Pollution is our heritage and keeps our economy going strong!” It then takes us back in time to the landing of the pilgrims suggesting we are polluters at heart. We see the invention of the modern machine during the Industrial Revolution and the evolution of trains, planes and automobiles. The film suggests that over the years, machines have been reshaped into “the pinnacle of polluting perfection.”

But there’s more to pollution than just machines, and Let’s Pollute takes aim at a normal family “polluting its way through an average day.” Again, taking a cynical approach to the subject, Let’s Pollute shows just how easy it is to contribute to pollution by simply failing to reuse and recycle. The film targets the old cliché “Want Not, Waste Not” and instead suggests an alternative of “Want It, Waste It!”

Also included in the backhanded message is the economic impact of pollution and how some companies actually benefit from waste. Check out this clip from the film as Let’s Pollute goes after the corporate world.

The film winds down with a checklist known as “The Twice Rule:”

• Always buy TWICE what you need
•  Never use the same thing TWICE
• Waste TWICE as much as yesterday
• Never think TWICE about it

Let’s Pollute ends with this message: “Pollution… It’s your privilege and duty! Do your part! Don’t delay… pollute today!”

Now obviously, children probably shouldn’t view this film as the messaging is likely to get lost in translation, but for the rest of us, Let’s Pollute is a brilliant satire on the current state of pollution.

It preaches to the choir, but the witty message is loud and clear. Presented in vintage animation, Let’s Pollute is an instant classic among eco-friendly films.

(Let’s Pollute is available in the iTunes store.)