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Edited on Mon Jan-22-07 08:48 PM by RestoreGore
And I do not normally even watch the Oscars because I see them of late as nothing more than an ego parade. However, this year could change that for me should An Inconvenient Truth rightfully be nominated and win the Oscar for best documentary. As someone who has had the environment in my heart since I was a child, the thought that this important movie could have such an effect on our world to inspire people to finally get up and do something enmasse to address this moral issue gives me much hope. And this movie should win because if it does, it will be put in front of people on national television who may not even know this movie exists yet (and believe me there are those who do not know about it because I talk to them all the time.) It has the chance to bring out the curiosity in more people who will then watch it and become part of the solution to the most challenging crisis this civilization has ever faced: Our continued existence in a sustainable world.
This movie is also very special for me not only because of the content, but because of the great man who is the missive in it: Al Gore.
And I can describe this movie in two words: a journey. It is Al Gore's journey of heart, soul, spirit, and mind through a lifetime of stewardship and also growth. For as much as this movie is a clarion call to all of us to now take our own journey for our planet, ourselves, and our children, it is also Al Gore's reckoning with himself. He lays his soul bare to warn us of the consequences of our inaction now regarding this crisis, because it relays to the events in his own life in the past that brought him to this point as well.
The scenes showing his early years in Congress, his son's car accident, the 2000 election (yes, I cried here,) and the very poignant scenes of him with his sister Nancy who died of lung cancer revealed to me a man not doing this out of any selfish political intent, but of a man who is telling you, the viewer, that even he has had to experience loss and near loss in his life in order to realize what he lost and how much of a part he played in it. I think those scenes were shown in direct correlation to this climate crisis and his message that we must not make the same mistake now with our planet.
Will we look back years from now regretting that we continued the very behavior that is contributing to this crisis even knowing what it is doing to our planet? Or will we take the necessary steps to change our ways and heed the warnings before it is too late? That is the question of this movie and there is no alarmism whatsoever in the presentation of the solutions we have at our disposal. Mr. Gore relays the facts starkly, calmly, and at times humorously, and clearly lays out what we can do to mitigate this crisis. And the scientific consensus cannot be denied that we as a species are contributing to it and it is having a definite effect on our world.
His statistics on Co2, invasive species, species loss, ice cap melting, population growth, etc., intertwined with footage from around the world showing the effects of the statistics he showed was all very well presented and backed up. I also never got the impression that any of this is about him in any other sense than him using himself as an example of someone who had to reach the bottom in order to reach for the top.
I laughed, I cried, and I saw before me on the screen a man who has surely come full circle with who he is and what his mission is, and that is handing that mission and truth to us. He says he is not a hero and that this is not about him, and frankly, I didn't see a hero in this movie and that is a good thing because heroes have a tendency to be placed on pedestals and forgotten. I saw something much more. I saw a prophet, a missive, and a trailblazer who has full faith in our abilty to save our planet. And we must not let our planet down, and that also includes those in government and the corporate world whose indifference to this issue can no longer be tolerated by us.
This is a movie that will make you see the world in a whole new light. And you must see it. And you must make sure those you love see it, especially your children. My teenage son watched this movie with me, and after it I asked what he learned from it. He said it told him that it was time to wake up and do something. I say, amen to that. Any movie that can move people of all ages, all backgrounds, and all political persuasions to take action is a movie worth this recognition and so much more.
So thank you Al Gore, Davis Guggenheim, Laurie David, Lawrence Bender, Jeff Skoll, Paramount Classics, and Participant Productions for giving us this journey to now guide us on the greatest challenge we will ever face. And we will face it, because we must. And whether you even like Al Gore or not is not the point, for this in no way is a partisan political movie. The point is that this world belongs to all of us, and unless we learn to see the slow boil we will surely reap the consequences. It truly is a moral issue.
Good luck as the Oscar nominations are read tomorrow, and thank you so much Mr. Gore for being the incredible and visionary environmental advocate and leader I have waited a lifetime for.
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