“Earth — Shot on iPhone” was part of a 2017 Apple campaign to showcase the capabilities of their latest iPhone, while doubling up as a protest to the U.S.’s exit from the Paris climate agreement.
The emotive video includes short clips, filmed by everyday iPhone users all over the world. Each clip depicts the natural world in its utmost beauty. The narrator is the late Carl Sagan, a US astronomer, reading from his 1994 book, ‘Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space.’
This simple, yet powerful, video inspires the viewer to overlook the minutiae and become more mindful of the big picture. It is a poignant reminder of how fortunate we are to live on this magnificent planet, and how remarkable it is to have given life. The ad depicts the world as a precious and fragile beauty, to be respected and treasured, prompting a fierce sense of protectiveness.
Arguably, it also stimulates a sense of guilt for the lives of the species that fight to survive around us, shepherding a feeling of sole responsibility for their continued existence. It is a video to be watched time and time again, a welcome and grounding reminder that we must come together to protect our home.
Sagan’s narration:
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the only home we’ve ever known.”
– Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
