Event 3: Jessica Irish

 On May 12, 2022 I attended Jessica Irish's event where she played the short film/ documentary, This Mortal Plastik, which she created to center around the issue of single use plastics. In the beginning of the film, Irish begins to question what plastic even is which allows her to delve into the origins of plastic. I found this part of the film particularly interesting because, despite plastic being a norm in all of our lives, I have not once stopped to think about how and why it was created. 

According to Irish, the creation of petroleum based plastic emerged as a replacement to tortoise shell, elephant ivory, and beetle shellac, and whale. She takes time to focus specifically on whales and covers the history of their time here on Earth from their evolution, to their near extinction prior to the twentieth century, to the extraction of their ancestor's fossils which helps create the plastic we are all accustomed to using and purchasing today. 

As the film continues, she questions whether plastic is useful, necessary, or required enough to justify the the constant cycle of digging, burning, packaging, shipping. I think this is an incredibly important question that not only the common consumer must ask themselves, but larger corporations and government bodies as well.  Like most—if not all—environmental issues, the negative impacts of plastic are felt by BIPOC and low income communities (Arellano and Cervantes), however, one must also consider the repercussions of restrictions. According to Balzer, plastic may be necessary to mitigate issues such as food waste which can also negatively impact the environment. I also think it is important to consider lower income people and families whose access to certain consumer products and even food is dependent on plastic before any restrictions are made ("Plastics Rile in Social Justice and Equity). 

Overall, I really enjoyed the documentary, not only because of the issue it tackled, but also because it represents perfectly what this class is about. This short film is the perfect example of the arts and sciences coming together for the purpose of spreading awareness and educating others.

Works Cited

Arellano, Yvette, and Valle Prieto Cervantes. “Who's paying the human costs of plastic pollution?” Prism Reports, 2 June 2021, https://prismreports.org/2021/06/02/whos-paying-the-human-costs-of-plastic-pollution/. Accessed 4 June 2022.

Balzer, Ashley. “We need plastics. What we don't need is plastic waste.” Sustainability Times, 26 April 2019, https://www.sustainability-times.com/green-consumerism/we-need-plastics-what-we-dont-need-is-plastic-waste/. Accessed 4 June 2022.

“Plastics Role in Social Justice and Equity.” This Is Plastics, https://thisisplastics.com/economics/plastics-social-justice-equity/. Accessed 4 June 2022.