>> when i was a kid, my grandparents teach that there are some people who have been in madagascar before. they were very little people and they live in forests and they respect their environment. but then comes many people from other countries, from africa, from asia, spain, from france. many of us don't know the history. ♪ i took a walk through this beautiful world ♪ ♪ felt the cool rain on my shoulder ♪ ♪ found something good in this beautiful world ♪ ♪ i felt the rain getting colder ♪ ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, la, ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, la ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, la, ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, [drums] ♪ >> market. >> over the years i've let a lot of extraordinary landscapes recede into a blur outside my windows. i've looked, maybe seen, maybe noticed, then gone. we all carry different experiences inside us. we see things differently, don't we? madagascar, exotic unspoiled paradise... or microcosm for the end of times. antananarivo, tana for short, madagascar's crowded chaotic capital city. >> how are you doing, man? base camp. >> that's quite a rain. i don't know. i'm not sure if i can be in front of the camera. >> i'm so used to controlling everything. >> darren aronofsky, director of films, pi, requiem for a dream the wrestler, black swan, and sort of appropriate to our location noah. he asked me if he could go along on a trip with us. i said where do you want to go. >> madagascar, i knew almost nothing about it. i knew it was an animated film i've seen a lot of times in my car. >> it's one of the more extreme distant places that you hear about but you know you'll never go to unless something weird summons you. you're sort of that weird force. >> we're on an island in the indian ocean with this amazing ethnic mix, an incredible landscape. 80% of the animals here don't exist anywhere else. what does it mean when an ecosystem goes out of balance? what is the blowback? here, you can see the blowback. the people have been chopping down the forest. all of a sudden you don't have soil anymore and you can't grow anything anymore. it's a... situation. there we go. >> an important question. you are a vegetarian? >> yes. and it just sort of happened with the release of noah. in scripture he was a vegetarian as was adam and eve. humans weren't given permission to eat animals till after the flood. >> so we'll see who is doing better after the end of 10 days. little social experiment here. >> madagascar was settled, best we can tell, around 700 a.d. by people from what is know indonesia, later africans. in 1895, the french took it, killed off a substantial number of people in the process, and as they do, left behind beautiful buildings and the french language. when independence came in 1960, it was sudden and ill prepared for. continuing political incompetence has left most of madagascar's 22 million people living on less than $2 a day. >> do you know this place? you been here? >> yes. wednesday, saturday, before going out, before going to night club. >> first meal in country and i suggested this place. i thought it would be perfect with darren being a vegetarian and all. this is what you call being passive aggressive, i think. >> so what's good here? >> pork. >> pork, my favorite vegetable. >> just the head of the pork. >> it sounds good. >> i'm not going to have it. i'm going to go just with vegetables. >> ooohh. >> beans and... >> you don't want to taste it? >> i'm not going to taste pig head, not today. this is gonna be fun. torture of darren. >> mmm. always take it with beans. >> rossi the famous musician here is out of a period out of favor with the previous government back home and elected to parliament. >> this is... the leaves are from... >> there we go. that's excellent. >> these days what are the big issues that are not being taken care of. >> poverty. not enough education. we are very rich. we have oil, but our political leaders most of the time are crooks. >> how much does the environmental issues matter to the people or is it just about survival? >> they don't care. the international community, they've paid a lot of money to protect the forest. you don't protect the monkey, not the people. i eat the monkey. if i'm hungry, i eat them. they don't care about the world is going more and more war. >> climate change. >> okay. you are going to die, yes? okay. that's life. for them, just normal. >> a lot of people feel that the future should be ecotourism, essentially working in hotels and restaurants for tourists. >> yeah. >> that's kind of a return to colonialism, isn't it? >> exactly. lowe's knows it's time to paint, the second you get inspired. that's why lowe's has the best deals happening now. buy one get one 50% off on 1-gallon cans and 5-gallon pails of hgtv home by sherwin-williams, valspar, and cabot. only at lowe's. ♪ chevy silverado has what it takes to do it all. with up to 13 camera views. and the z71 off-road package. ♪ you ok? yeah. any truck can help you make a living. this one helps you build a life. chevy silverado. this is how tosin lost 33 pounds on noom weight. i'm tosin. noom gave her a psychological approach to weight loss. noom has taught me how you think about food has such a... huge impact on your relationship with it. visit noom.com and start your trial today. let me be direct... you're watching football wrong! what do you call a guy in face paint that can't get the game? ...a clown! sorry, what app was it again? no, no. just give me a second... amateurs. ohhh! sorry, everybody. directv sports central gives you access to every game... ...so you never have to compromise on gameday. eh...was that necessary? i was just illustrating a point. access nfl sunday ticket on us, get a $400 reward card. okay... at the alzheimer's association walk to end alzheimer's, this is why we walk. ♪ they're why we walk. ♪ we walk in the alzheimer's association walk to end alzheimer's because we're getting closer to beating this disease. join us. we, the first generation of moms to lose our kids to social media, are sick of waiting. for 25 years, there's been no new laws protecting kids online. while our children are dying. we can pass the kids online safety act. join us. join us. join us. join us. ♪ let's lead the way. [shouting] >> tell me what you think of this. >> i'm looking forward to this. it's a very famous dish, goose. >> goose and shredded meat. >> very cool. >> there's always someplace where the flame is kept burning, history kept alive however faintly. >> this is the stuffing. >> these days in madagascar's capital city it's left to mariette. >> the epitome of the cooking is the way mariette cooks it. [laughter] ♪ ♪ you are, you are like a sweet perfect bloom ♪ >> during the colonial period mariette was a frequent culinary ambassador. >> ♪ you are, you are like the sun on my skin ♪ >> harry bellefonte. >> the go-to chef for visiting presidents and royalty. there's roberto monaco. the success story her mansion high atop oatville, the former neighborhood of choice for aristocrats and colonizers alike. [singing continues] [thunder rolling] though semi-retired, mariette continues to entertain guests from time to time. >> [laughs] >> so this is broth with chicken and ginger. >> these dishes mari mostly disappeared royal cuisine with the techniques of the classical french. >> so moisten the rice with the broth? >> exactly. with the broth. >> wow, look at this. >> this is a vegetable la salle. one of the side dishes. it's like a salad. >> mm-hmm. >> string beans. we don't eat meat at every meal. 'cause it's expensive. most would eat rice broth with vegetables and that's it. >> i'd do fine here. >> yeah, absolutely. >> this is a country that is very rich in natural resources. >> madagascar we have a lot of things that a lot of people want. for example, the trafficking of rosewood, prospecting for oil and gas, and don't leave anything for the rest of the country. this is an island paradise. >> and it is disappearing very, very quickly. >> a lot of our forests are being burned down because people don't have land to grow there crops. >> the best scenario that everybody raises is ecotourism will save the day. the local people will be cleaning rooms, cooking, and performing traditional ethnic dances. >> yeah, absolutely. >> to me, this is not an ideal option. and we see it... >> what's and ideal option, though? >> heading south from tana, it's a very different country out there where rice is the difference between life and death. between the traditional slash and burn agriculture that's existed here since this island was first settled and the imperative of charcoal as heat source, 90% of the forests and jungles that covered madagascar are gone. >> anything? >> not yet. they're very elusive. they're very difficult to see. thanks largely to the work of dr. patricia wright, over 40,000 hectares of forest have been set aside, and protected for the creation of ranomafana national park. her recently completed research station is a state-of-the-art complex that reminds one of that cynical spielberg franchise-- what was it -- jurassic merch. >> he's right next to me. can you see him? >> wow. >> really right next to me. hello. >> the area provides essential habitat the golden bamboo lemur, a species dr. wright discovered here in 1986. and the greater bamboo lemur, previously thought extinct. >> there's only 500 of these in the wild in the whole world. >> wow, really? what's the biggest pressure on the population? >> slash and burn agriculture. some places they're hunted. >> there he is. look at it. beautiful. it's so nice. >> whoa. he's pissing on you... he's taking a leak right now. >> yeah, watch. >> hopefully that's not an editorial statement. >> look. this is the kind of bamboo chute that the lemurs love. it's full of protein and it's full of cyanide. >> the cyanide not a problem for them. >> they can tolerate all kinds of cyanide. it comes straight through when they poop. >> do they know how they get it through their system? >> we're working on that. >> what is the dew on the outside of it? just dew? >> careful. >> don't touch. >> how is your finger feeling? >> it felt sharp, but a fuzziness. >> yeah, just wait a bit. >> it's just like fiberglass actually. >> tiny, tiny... >> if i lick my finger am i going to die? >> probably. >> are you serious? can it go through the skin now that i've touched it? >> no, you have to eat it. >> hopes of a black swan 2 were dashed today when -- >> wow. >> one right above you. >> has the film madagascar been good for the lemur business? >> the cartoon woke up the world that there is a place called madagascar although a lot of people don't think it really exists. >> so what do you think happens? how hard is it to maintain the forests? >> it's incredibly hard. we've been working with the villagers around the park and i think they understand the value of these extraordinary lemurs, and the value of the forest. and the economic value of tourism is tremendous for this country. you've evolved. ♪ you've changed. so have we. that's why dove body wash now has 24 hour renewing micro moisture for continuous care. dove body wash. change is beautiful. i'm hungry, i'm in a hurry, i don't have time to make anything healthy. you could if you had a blendjet. blendjet? 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[speaking foreign language] >> this ceremony today is a ceremony to celebrate the fact that 17 people from the village are going to donate their land to conservation. it won't be cut down. ♪ >> before the tenalla land can officially become a part of the park, the gods, the ancestors somebody must be appeased, and that often means that something must die. >> you see this a lot? >> i usually don't go when this is happening. >> wow. >> for someone with as dark a world view judging from his films anyway, the newly vegetarian aronofsky seems unusually uncomfortable with the bleeding realities of local custom. >> see him? >> preferring instead to trip the light fantastic in the rain forest idle. [speaking in a foreign language] [singing in foreign language] >> how do you make the argument that it's in your interest to protect the forest when the forest means fuel, food? >> what we've had to do, of course, is make their lives better in exchange. health projects, education projects, tourism. many of the people work as tour guides. they work in hotels. they have work. they didn't have any work when they got here, but also the benefits of researchers. we hire 85 people full-time. the director of the national park, where's your village that you lived in when you were a little girl? that's on one side of the park. [speaking in a foreign language] >> the ancestors presumably okay with the land transfer. it's time to party. dr. wright worked hard to establish the park with the stated aim of protecting the absolutely unique flora and fauna here and reducing human pressures on the area. this, however, is the face of human pressure, just so we're clear. >> take care, guys. >> we're right on the edge of the park. and right on the edge, literally, is where they built the power lines and where they're slashing and burning. we were trying for landscapes like this in noah. >> sort of a cormac mccarthy post-apocalyptic wasteland thing going on, right? >> the road. look, all the original fauna and flora in new york city and chicago and detroit are gone. we don't feel too guilty about that. >> that's the argument of all these developing countries, you did it. didn't they teach us in the third grade, two wrongs don't make a right? here's how tommy lost 30 lbs on noom weight. i'm tom. noom helped him use psychology to lose weight. the mindful aspect made me feel more conscious about what i was eating and why i was eating it. it's actually working. lose weight and make it last with noom weight. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ wherever you go. wherever you stay. all you need is one key. earn and use rewards across expedia, hotels.com, and vrbo. from big cities, to small towns, and on main streets across the us, you'll find pnc bank. helping businesses both large and small, communities and the people who live and work there grow and thrive. we're proud to call these places home too. they're where we put down roots, and where together, we work to help move everyone's financial goals forward. pnc bank. lowe's knows that fall's shorter days... call for bigger deals. get the most out of your fall projects... by getting the most out of our deals now. and with lowe's pay, it's never been easier to shop at lowe's. labor day savings are here. in-store and online. ♪ ("un monde pliable" by jeongpill song) ♪ ( ♪ ♪ ) (camera shutters) ( ♪ ♪ ) (camera shutters) ( ♪ ♪ ) ( ♪ ♪ ) ( ♪ ♪ ) that's why comcast business de is launching theal. mobile made free event. with our business internet, new and existing customers can get one year of unlimited mobile for free. it's our best internet. powered by the next generation 10g network and with 99.9% reliability. plus one line of free mobile for an entire year. it's the mobile made free event-happening now. get started for just $49.99 a month. plus, ask how to get one free line of unlimited mobile. comcast business, powering possibilities. here's why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. [train horn blaring] >> what were they welding on? >> oil pan. [speaking in a foreign language] >> most of madagascar's french built rail network has crumbled into nothingness, but this train still runs. >> look how it's painted. >> it's first class. >> yeah, yeah. >> we ride in style. how old is this train? [horn] >> wow, it works. >> oil pan worked. >> i hope that's not a pitying look i see on some of their faces. they're all looking on. it's like -- >> it's 163 kilometers to the one time major port town. it's both the greatest thing ever, meaning a fantastically scenic emersion that most visitors never get to see, and at times punishing crawl. for the majority of the 17 station stops along the line, this train provides the only connection to the outside world. people hop off and on, load and unload fruit, leechees, bananas while a few foreigners on board watch. >> can we get some peanuts? thank you. and there are vendors selling food and drink which is a necessity since the supposed eight-hour trip is said to approach 18. >> all right. so we got a shaker. we got an umbrella, champagne. you let the train pour for you. >> right. >> this is the leechee. >> that smells good. >> darren woke early and hit the hotel kitchen and made the leechee puree for festive cocktails. >> wait, wait, wait. all right. >> oh, yes. it's not bad. it's not bad at all. >> okay. it's a nice summery drink. >> the leechee makes it. >> the leechee makes it, yes. >> what do we call it? the golden lemur. >> the golden lemur. ♪ >> flashes of everyday life, the struggle to live, to eat, viewed from a moving train, then gone. >> it's plumes of different areas of madagascar burning everywhere you can see. >> after seven hours or so -- >> we're coming into a town. >> -- the imperatives of food, any food, become ever more urgent. >> this is it. this is the food stop. i am starving. >> i am so with you. look, this kid is wearing a banana like a yamaka. >> the wonderland of fresh papaya salads with tasty train station treats we were told would be here, it is somewhat suboptimal. >> little did i know there would be a feeding frenzy. there's no papaya salad. everything's gone. here are some bananas. >> yeah, a few of those. >> yeah, merci. >> we get what we can. >> that's quite a scene. >> yeah, pretty insane. it's hard to complain about the lack of food options when you look around. >> lots of kids. want some? yeah, it's hard. >> this is nice. >> this is the way to travel. until a palm leaf comes flying at you. watch it, watch it, watch it. ♪ ♪ chevy silverado has what it takes to do it all. with up to 13 camera views. and the z71 off-road package. ♪ you ok? yeah. any truck can help you make a living. this one helps you build a life. chevy silverado. we, the moms who have lost our children to social media harms. we, we, we have had... enough. our politicians have failed. working for lobbyists, not us. we need your voice to pass the kids online safety act this fall. join us. join us. join us. join us. ♪ let's lead the way. meet the portable blender we can barely keep in stock. blendjet 2 gives you ice-crushing, big blender power on-the-go. so you can blend up a mouthwatering smoothie, protein shake, or latte wherever you are! recharge quickly with any usb port. best of all, it even cleans itself! just blend water with a drop of soap. what are you waiting for? order yours now from blendjet.com before they sell out again! lowe's knows that fall's shorter days call for bigger deals. get the most out of your projects by getting the most out of our fall savings now. shop labor day deals under $90 now, in store or online. >> this is what it's like to wake up at the end of the world. beyond here to the east nothing but thousands of miles of indian ocean. ♪ morning, and fishermen return with their catch. >> have you felt how wobbly that boat was coming over? >> yes. >> imagine going out into the serious chop with that thing and fishing? >> manacara was a major port back in the day, a major transportation hub, but now it's a sleepy beach town. that is a disturbingly large spider. i would be unhappy if i saw that coming across my pillow. dude, it's a chicken or rooster. >> i know. we're talking about spiders and chickens are jumping around. i tell you, that lobster is smelling good. >> no, they're disgusting. they're like giant insects. what do they eat? >> corpses. >> corpses. >> dead things. >> right. >> you are such a debbie downer. you are such a downer. >> you were born here. you're parents are from here. >> from here. >> how far do they go out? >> about 50 miles. >> he goes out 50 miles in a little canoe? >> yes. every day, every day. >> awesome. >> this is typical dish. green leaves, egg plants, some spices. then zebra meat. >> it should be pointed out, we bought a lot of food. this sort of spread is not an everyday meal in these parts. >> there's your veggie platter. >> beautiful. there you go, man. >> now we have a piece of shark. [speaking foreign language] he says before 2000 more fish, but since then... >> smaller fish? >> smaller fish and the quantity as well. >> that's a papaya salad. >> it's one of those days where the artifice of making television threatens to move dangerously into cruelty. >> what are you guys eating over here? who gets to eat and when becomes a pressing concern to the two of us. >> can we get the kids eating? can we hand out the food? >> in a local village like this, first ladies serve the men. >> right. >> and then the kids. they will eat later. >> right. i got you. >> it's like a caste system. >> it's not like our system but it's a system. >> the kids are gettin' ready for theirs over there. >> and it becomes clear that, yes, everybody will eat. >> there we go. >> come to daddy. >> that's good, dude. you picked a bad time to become a vegetarian. not bad. the food is amazing. there's some really good cooks at work here today. it's really amazing. >> and then the music starts and the dancing. ♪ >> and as so often happens the not so spontaneous made-for-tv party becomes a real party. >> and we all for a little while anyway forget about where we came from and where we might be tomorrow. [cheering] at the alzheimer's association walk to end alzheimer's, this is why we walk. ♪ they're why we walk. ♪ we walk in the alzheimer's association walk to end alzheimer's because we're getting closer to beating this disease. join us. yes, i need a trim. i just want to be able to cut the damage. we tried dove instead. so, still need that trim? oh my gosh! i am actually shocked i don't need a haircut. don't trim daily damage. stop it with dove. i just found the biggest weight loss hack for ya'll! ♪ the truth is there is no quick fix... ...but there is a more effective way to lose weight and it isn't what you think. it's actually noom. it's two times more effective than doing it on your own. get started right now by taking the noom quiz. let me be direct... you're watching football wrong! what do you call a guy in face paint that can't get the game? ...a clown! sorry, what app was it again? no, no. just give me a second... amateurs. ohhh! sorry, everybody. directv sports central gives you access to every game... ...so you never have to compromise on gameday. eh...was that necessary? i was just illustrating a point. access nfl sunday ticket on us, get a $400 reward card. okay... here's why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch, it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. >> hallelujah. >> hallelujah. >> hallelujah. praise the lord! [speaking foreign language] >> you are blessed today. >> amen. >> hallelujah. >> hallelujah. >> the book of revelations say what if ever we do god can see and he take notes. [speaking foreign language] i will destroy the city because all of the people are sinners. amen. >> amen. >> hallelujah. [speaking foreign language] >> the camera is a liar. it shows everything. it shows nothing. it reveals only what we want. often what we see is seen only from a window, moving past and then gone. one window, my window. if you had been here, chances are you would have seen things differently. >> whoa! >> whoa! >> you lived it now. looking back, if you were editing this show, how would you tell this story? this is it. this is the food stop. i'm starving. >> i am so with you. >> that is quite a scene. >> lots of kids. >> want that? this is really f**ed up. >> you always want a simple answer to everything to make it all make sense, and it seems to, i don't know, it's just constantly surprising. >> what can you see everywhere you go? in the office, in the market? people are sinning, making sin. >> as a kid i always wondered if i was good enough to get on the ark so i always sort of empathize with the people who didn't make it. >> god, make all of the animals come inside the big ship, and all of the people dead, but noah's family saved. it is on our ship. >> god decides to destroy creation ten generations after he created everything. so it must have hurt tremendously. >> god will choose us like he choose noah. he saved... he brought the ark. he will save us too. hallelujah! >> hallelujah! >> pray for madagascar. pray for yourself. pray for your family. pray! god will save madagascar. ♪ a warm welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm paula newton.