The pandemic, which has been going on for over a year, mercilessly took away many precious lives and brought the global economy to a standstill, causing severe damage to various industries. Our way of life has also changed due to social distancing. However, the significant reduction in human activities has given the natural environment a breathing space. The original documentary “The Year Earth Changed,” recently launched on the streaming platform Apple TV+, explores the ecological changes on Earth in the post-pandemic era.
“This year, the Earth has become different” is directed by Tom Beard and narrated by David Attenborough. The documentary production team has been collaborating with over 160 organizations and filming teams around the world since April last year, embarking on a 3-month project. They used drones to capture precious footage in more than 30 cities across five continents, revealing the changes in animal life under reduced human activity.
People’s movements are restricted during the epidemic, while on the other hand, nature gradually regains vitality. In this documentary, you can see sea turtles coming ashore to lay eggs undisturbed, whales “talking” by bumping heads, penguins crossing the road, and other cute and heartwarming scenes, marveling at the vitality of the natural world.
During the epidemic, the tourism industry has been greatly affected, with tourists almost disappearing, allowing nature to gradually regain its balance. In addition to national parks and other natural tourist attractions regaining their greenery, the video also documents the deer in Nara Park in Kyoto, Japan. Due to the drastic decrease in visitors and no one feeding them “shika senbei,” it has awakened their primal instincts for survival and foraging. They now actively search for food with the deer herd, leading to fewer instances of accidental ingestion and improved health due to increased exposure to sunlight.
Seeing animals reclaim their living space makes people reflect repeatedly: how much have humans deprived the natural ecology of its right to survive? “This Year, the Earth Became Different” reminds us of what the true face of life should be, and for us living in the post-pandemic era, it is time to adjust our pace of life, step out of the shadow of the pandemic, and take a moment to reflect, reevaluate our relationship with the natural environment.
