Origins
Four years in the making, Origins is an ambitious new documentary that challenges us to reevaluate our existence in the modern world and embrace the simplicity that defines our species’ origins. “I believe that in order to understand our present and plan for our future, we have to go back in time,” says ecology teacher Alan McSmith, who is also the subject of the film’s main interview.
Like McSmith, Origins believes that the key to understanding the survival of humans and the planet around us can only be understood by looking back at the origin of our species nearly 200,000 years ago. From the vast plains of Africa to the microbes that live in our guts, Origins shows that only if we can create deep and positive change can we stand against the forces that stand in the way of our potential for success.
The basis for this variation can be gleaned from simple studies of our ancestors. The earliest humans laid the evolutionary building blocks that have proven most important to our continued survival as a species. They maintain a respectful and harmonious connection with nature, developing an incredible resilience and building the tools needed to ensure all their basic needs are met.
These basic needs have remained constant in the face of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, yet our modern technology often jeopardizes the elements we depend on to survive and sustain ourselves. We are more isolated than ever from our natural environment, a dynamic that has resulted in unprecedented levels of chronic health problems, planetary degradation, and increasing handicaps for our children and grandchildren.
The purity of our being is threatened by temporary comfort. Pesticides, hormones and sugar have stripped most of the nutrients from the food we eat, weakening our immune systems and making us more susceptible to illness. Pollution and toxicity are perhaps the greatest threats to civilization, and their ill effects can be seen in forms as diverse as the sunscreen we slather on our skin and the air we inhale into our lungs.
While the challenges we face may seem insurmountable and complex, the solutions are anything but. Filled with impassioned and compelling testimonies from a group of esteemed experts from anthropology to medicine, Origins shows us that the power to turn back destruction is as simple as eating clean food, rejecting a sedentary lifestyle, Embrace the circle of life we all participate in. These revelations make Origins truly inspiring, and a must for any audience striving to change the world.
