MyDD review of "Inconvenient Truth"

[phantom power]

'An Inconvenient Truth' is one of the scariest horror movies I've ever seen. Technically, it's not a horror film really, it's a documentary. And that's precisely what makes it so horrifying. I was lucky enough to get a chance to catch an advance screening of the new global warming documentary last night in Manhattan and, while I tend to shy away from offers like this from PR flacks (really, what's the point of me getting a free advance copy of 'The Aristocrats' on DVD?), seeing 'An Inconvenient Truth' seemed relevant enough.

(...)

There's definitely a sense of one man screaming at a wall. Gore is shown sitting in the back seat of cars, in airplanes, in hotel rooms, and in vacant conference rooms, diligently working on his Mac laptop, building and refining his presentation on global warming. And of course, he's shown giving the presentation, really the backbone of the film. It's a presentation full of shocking and heartbreaking statistics about the reality of the problem. But there's also a good deal of humor in the mix, as well. We've all seen that Al Gore, when he's comfortable, can be a pretty funny guy. Talking about the environment, he's at the top of his game. (A short Matt Groening cartoon, a key part of the presentation, certainly doesn't hurt.)

http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/4/19/112450/878

[longship]

1. Al Gore, our past and future President.

Too bad he wasn't allowed to serve. In 2008, he'd sweep into power.

[PublicWrath]

2. But if this ice in the Arctic ocean doesn't melt............

Bushco wants the ice to melt. So the oil and gas companies can get to the huge caches in the Arctic ocean. They need the ice cover to retreat. USGS is sending a scientific expedition up there, supposedly to investigate global warming and find a way to tackle it. BP and Statoil are involved. It's turning into an expedition to map the oil and gas deposits which will be available as the ice continues to melt. Some British scientists are protesting.

1/4 of the earth's oil and gas deposits are thought to lie in the Arctic.
As the Arctic ocean's ice cover melts, there is expected to be rush to capitalize on it.

So there you have it. They WANT the ice to melt.

[Viking12]

3. A Trailer is available here

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount_classics/aninconvenienttruth/trailer/

[phantom power]

7. That's a pretty compelling trailer.

[depakid]

4. I was afraid of this:

"There's a great deal of biographical footage in the film -- Al Gore's college years, Al Gore in the House, Al Gore in the Senate, Al Gore as Vice President, Al Gore on his family's farm, Al Gore's childhood home in Washington, Al Gore with his children, Al Gore during the 2000 election nightmare -- which helps ground the story."

I have a bad feeling that people are going to have trouble separating the source from the message. Kinda like what happens on DU when Nader writes something that's demonstrably true.

[phantom power]

5. I had the same reaction. Hope we're both wrong :-)

[phantom power]

6. On the other hand...

To whatever extent Gore has a bad rep, it's 90% a campaign-2000 media construction. So, maybe more people will get a dose of the real Al Gore, and they can ponder the difference between the real thing and the media version.

I know. I'm grasping at straws. But maybe.

[depakid]

9. Politics vs. an appreciation for reality and science

I thought of that too with respect to Gore- but under the circumstances, seems to me we have much bigger fish to fry.

Average Americans have a dim enough understanding of the magnitude of the problem(s) and the nature and validity of the science. Add to that a successful disinformation campaign by the "World Climate Council," the "Global Climate Coalition" -among others- and there's a lot of serious ground to be made up before we can come close to making any substantial progress.

Obviously, no one's ever going to convince the coal theocrats of anything- they could care less about intergenerational equity- but there are well meaning folks out there that can still be reached (I think...er hope).

Peppering the film with Gore's bio is probably not the way to do that- but, I haven't seen the film yet, so....

[Kolesar]

11. We have a huge educational challenge to teach global warming concepts

to the public. You would be perfect for the job. I just know it.

[Boomer]

8. How disappointing

I was under the (evidently mistaken) impression that this documentary was about global warming, not Al Gore.

>> "There's a great deal of biographical footage in the film..."

I like Al Gore, but I have zippo interest in watching a documentary about him, with bits and pieces of global warming thrown into the mix.

Guess it's back to the Hatrack Hit Parade of articles instead. Sigh.

[Dead_Parrot]

10. Nader wrote something demonstrably true?

Damn, I missed that thread. ;)

[NNadir]

12. Me too.

I cannot think of one example of a true statement made by Ralph Nader in his modern career.

The last true remark I recall from him is that the Corvair was a sucky car.

If you look back to 1992 or before, the last major American politician to tell an inconvenient truth was Al Gore.

I don't believe that Al Gore will ever serve in the office to which he was elected. We have fallen too far into the abyss of stupidity for that to happen - 2000 was our last best shot. As a country, we blew it.

[depakid]

13. I rest my case.... n/t

[NNadir]

14. That would be easier than producing a true statement, I bet.

Lots of people rest their cases after producing no evidence. Usually it is because they have no evidence.

Have you know examples of the case?

I really cannot think of an example of a true statement by Ralph Nader. Not one.

Granted, I don't pay much attention to what he says, since from fluoride (he agrees with Jack T. Ripper) to nuclear power (including the famous "Plutonium is the most toxic substance known,") to "Bush is the same as Gore" I think he's certifiable, but we would love to have an example, if you can provide one.

[depakid]

15. All you have to do

Is search the archives over at commondreams.org

Not everything he says pertains to the Democrats- and a few things I bet you'd find spot on- both in terms of facts and analysis....

ps: you may not remember, but we used to go at it about that on the Smirking Chimp years ago- both my screen name and yours are contractions of the ones we use on that board....;-)

Mostly, I'm just making a point about perceptions- Nader could read the exact same script as Gore in that film, and for various reasons people on DU wouldn't get past the fact that it was Nader talking.

It's hard enough getting people to clue in to energy and climate change issues- there's a feaking consensus trance out there- adding that element into the mix- I dunno. I'm now almost wondering whether Gore's going to come off looking sort of like "I told you so."

A common enough sentiment for many of us on the E&E forum as events unfold- but not necessarily very attractive or persuasive.

[NNadir]

16. Oh, I have to search for a true statement by Ralph Nader?

I don't think I really want to wade through the crap, and I merely note that you have not produced a true statement by Ralph Nader, but simply asked me to do so by asking me to go to some website.

I can't be bothered.

Nader is a nutcase on the shitheap of history, mostly notable for his distortions and for his demonstration of how pernicious big lies can be. For a brief moment, some people took him seriously, but mostly now he's known for being what he has always been: A seriously deluded person.

It is true that I used to post at SmirkingChimp. I'm sure that we may have interacted on SmirkingChimp, but to be perfectly honest, I don't recall a single detail about any of a previous interaction we may have had.

I note that while Ralph Nader is prattling on about Terrell Owens, Mr. Gore has been at the forefront of the issues that truly matter, hence this film. While Nader was complaining about NBA officiating, Al Gore was making a major speech in San Francisco - one of the first from a major politician, and this when the idea of war was popular - calling the proposed war wrong.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/transcripts/gore_text092302.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/06/05/SP147361.DTL

Fuck Ralph Nader. I can't believe anyone would ask anyone else to look into what that piece of shit says.

[depakid]

17. We don't need to get into Nader on E&E

Not really surprising about the chimp exchanges- it's just a message board- and I have an unusually long memory, so I'm used to recalling details like that that everyone else forgets.

Not to belabor the point, but- I'm sure that there are people who have similar reactions to Gore to various degrees- so all the Bio footage may well "ground the story," though not in the way the reviewer implied.

A good dramatic film- using solid science and not a bunch of hyberbole and hollywood bullshit would go a long way. The End of Suburbia wasn't bad, but it was a little funky with all it's 50's themes and dry interviews- and not very many people cared to watch it. Kind of a dilemma when putting together this kind of thing.

[Odin2005]

18. Nader is a blowhard buffoon.

He should of stayed in the consumer advocacy field where he actually did some good.