Two weeks ago to start our Foundations Course, we watched a great film — 180º South — about a climber retracing the journey of two of his heroes to the tip of South American and Patagonia.

Here’s a description:

Chris Malloy’s film strikes so deeply into the heart of Patagonia’s wilderness we come to feel at home there. 180° South: Conquerors of the Useless follows Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia. Along the way he gets shipwrecked off Easter Island, surfs the longest wave of his life – and prepares himself for a rare ascent of Cerro Corcovado. Jeff’s life turns when he meets up in a rainy hut with Chouinard and Tompkins who, once driven purely by a love of climbing and surfing, now value above all the experience of raw nature – and have come to Patagonia to spend their fortunes to protect it.

What we found useful in the film is the deeper story about sustainability.  Going to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) can’t help but bring up questions about sustainability. Like our own students on study abroad at ISDSI, Jeff Johnson is on a journey — getting to know interesting people, and experiencing first-hand a different way of life .

We used the film as a jumping off point to discuss sustainability and its challenges, and think that this film can be a great way to start thinking about culture and ecology — the core of what we care about at ISDSI.

Here’s the trailer:

Here are some of the questions we used for the film:

• Who are the actors / people / groups in the movie?
• What resources are they interested in / do they have a stake in?
• What is the connection to the natural world do different people / groups have?
• What key issues / questions / problems of sustainability does the film address?
• What expedition / leadership skill are demonstrated during the film?

We then followed up the rest of the week with reading papers and articles related to the sustainability themes in the film. Some of the topics we focused on were:

• Consumerism
• Resource use / management
• Views of nature / people in nature
• Corporate responsibility / sustainable business
• Individual responsibility
• Local costs / distant benefits (externalities)
• Ecological footprints
• Marginalization and sustainability

So yes, it is a fun journey movie, and entertaining.  But there is a deeper message there if you think about it.

Go see it if you can.

For more information go to 18oSouth.com and for information on showings see Patagonia.com.