Saturday, December 30, 2006

Al Gore's Personal Battle to Save the World

aka

"An Inconvenient Truth"


(Alycia, watch this movie if you haven't already)


Last night I watched the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth". The film was more or less footage of Al Gore giving a slide show presentation about the dangers of global warming, interjected with footage of him giving speeches, conducting research and doing field work. I was quite looking forward to this film, hoping that it would present the issue in a very concise, informative, and professional manner. After having seen it though, I felt sold very very short.

I agreed with most all of the points brought up in the film, and believe strongly in the need for the global warming problem to be seriously addressed and dealt with, but honestly, this film probably was detrimental to the cause.

There are two reasons that I think this:

First off, the way in which information was presented was done in an overtly shocking way: scary images of glaciers receding; graphs that showed no numbers, only dramatically bold red lines steadily raising higher and higher, floods, droughts, hurricanes. Just shock images. The amount of information actually presented was minimal. Also, a lot of the information they were giving was based mostly on speculation, and not neccecarily fact. This struck me as the kind of tactic that their opposition would take. Now, I can understand why they'd want to do that. They're trying to reach a very very broad audience, and let them know there is a growing problem. Most people wouldn't look at statistics and absorb it, but when you see a flooded city, it has a more lasting impression. So, I guess this was cleverly strategic.

But the biggest vice I had with this, is the entire film was presented in a very bitter and personal manner from Gore's point of view. Even though it had a ruse of being an environmental exposé, it had overtly political overtones. Now don't get me wrong, I realise this is a very heated political issue, but Gore turned it into a bitter reprieve of the 2000 Presidential Election. He seems to try and imply that had he "fairly" won the election, that global warming would have ceased. That as president, he would have single handedly saved the world. Now I don't doubt that he would have tried to make some changes that Bush obviously isn't doing, but given his present situation, it's very very easy for Gore to talk big, and not have to worry about following through.

The film just wreaked of self righteousness. It made me very dissapointed in Al Gore. He always struck me as so respectable, but now he just seems really bitter and childis. Given, what happened to him was pretty unfair, but the entire film was just an attempt to glorify himself.

Yet, I'm still torn. The issue he's trying to help is very heated, and it's good of him to try, but still, it just doesn't sit well with me. I actually found watching it incredibly discouraging. I seriously doubt there are actually fool proof solutions to fix what we've already done. It makes me more compelled to stop caring, and start engaging in more self destructive behaviour. Oh well. I sleep well thinking that when we're done killing ourselves off with our own behaviour, the plates will turn over, and the only trace of human's will be a thin layer of carbon in some sediment deep below the surface of the earth.


CHEERS!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is why I so rarely watch documentaries, and never watch big league Hollywood documentaries. If they presented all the facts of all sides and didn't with hold information then I would be all in. But that is never the case. This is just another movie I won't watch for quite a while, if ever.

Castrati said...

the only good al gore is a dead al gore!!

She said...

HAHAHA, Oh I so did already, and I swear you hit it right on the nail. You gotta remember Al Gore is American, and in America politicians "identify" with their public, you know, show them around "Pappy's farm" and that b/s.

But yes. Inconvenient Truth was a load of crap. "If this glacier were to go..." then we'd have plenty of warning what with the water level getting higher over the years.

Global warming is quite possibly a figment of political creation. Just watch Dennis Miller's new stand up, he explains it quite nicely.

However, I gotta say the storm thing did freak me out. Between "Katrina" and the hurricane that hit the southwest coast this year (which never happens apparently) I'm inclined to think Mother Nature is fighting back...

...global warming, or not.

Anyhoo. Watch the Corporation, if you haven't already. You would love it.

Naomi said...

I have seen the corperation, it's a very well done doc.

jamie bell said...

The notion of using shock pictures to stop global warming is the best thing I have ever heard.

"Hey guys, have you seen goatse?

Yeah.

Carpool, motherfucker."

T.R. said...

No matter how many times I watch "Al Gore Summons Fire Spirit" it never gets old.

 
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