According to the National Academy of Sciences, the earth is the hottest it's been in 400 years, and probably longer. This rise in temperature is a direct result of human activity and, what’s more, this is the one of the biggest threats our planet has faced since the threat of mutually assured nuclear destruction.
If you read the paragraph above and nodded in agreement, you've probably already seen An Inconvenient Truth, former vice-president Al Gore’s film about the growing impact of global warming on the earth. If you read the paragraph above and snorted in disgust, you probably haven't—and you probably won't. And therein lies the fundamental problem with this movie.
An Inconvenient Truth is well made and surprisingly interesting. I say "surprisingly" because no matter what your political leanings, most people would assume that watching a two-hour movie starring Gore, the man the Secret Service nicknamed "Sawhorse" because of his wooden personality, would be a half-step above a colonoscopy in terms of recreational value. And not only is it Al Gore, it's Al Gore giving a PowerPoint presentation. You're thinking to yourself, "Isn't that what the government in Soylent Green made people watch to encourage them to kill themselves?"
So imagine my surprise when I found myself in the screening room thinking, "My God, this is actually interesting." And it is. Gore has ironed out the wrinkles in his presentation, having given it over 1,000 times during his career, and he puts on a fascinatingly good show. His movie combines science, introspection and a little bit of humor to effectively communicate his essentially terrifying message, which is, in a nutshell, "if we don't do something, we're going to destroy civilization."
It's an important message, and an important film. I don't mean "important" in the way most people do when talking about Martin Scorsese’s films. I don't mean that the movie is groundbreaking cinema either, because, quite honestly, it’s not. An Inconvenient Truth is important in a far more fundamental way. This movie is important because it contains information that could, if acted upon, save the planet. Try saying that with a straight face about Taxi Driver or Good Fellas.
To me, this is why it's so disheartening that realize that very few people in positions of power or people who actually need to change their behavior to slow the warming of the planet will see the film. This isn’t a specific criticism of the film itself—you can’t fault Gore for continuing to try to open people’s eyes to this problem—but it’s largely an act of preaching to the choir. Will the CEO of Exxon/Mobil see this movie and start pushing for new environmental restrictions? Will the guy down the street who owns two Hummers watch Gore and decide to get a couple of hybrids? Not likely.
Should everyone see this movie? Is it interesting and well made? Yes to both. Will it make a damn bit of difference? Of course not.
matt rainson
yes, it's true: If the earth's average temperature goes up by 6 degrees, that means it may have only risen a degree at the equator, but it rose 11 degrees at the North and South Pole.
