Review: "An Inconvenient Truth"

by Jeff McGinnis, Lead Usher

100 minutes, Now Showing

There is a certain level of irony that “An Inconvenient Truth” widens its release so near to the opening of “Superman Returns.” Not merely because it will not draw probably even five percent of that film’s total box office take in its opening weekend (we love our summer blockbusters), but also because watching the film made me think of the opening of the original “Superman.” Jor-El, standing before the council at Krypton, informing them coolly but firmly that the planet would self-destruct, soon. The rest of them standing idly by, firm in their belief that he was a paranoid reactionary. Sure, Jor-El was proven right, but he didn’t do anything, and he got fried, too.

Al Gore, on the other hand, is trying to do something with the new film “An Inconvenient Truth.” The former vice president and passionate environmentalist has been giving a speech about the impact of global warming on our planet for years, basically ever since he left office, and the lion’s share of the film is little more than him talking. It is surprisingly involving and polarizing. It has been written more than a few times that if he had shown this kind of fire in the election, he would have won. (We’ll set aside for another day the fact that in many respects, he did.)

What I rather think we see in the film is a man with a great passion about an issue, in a situation where the gloves are off. Gore no longer has to cow-tow and tone down his fire for fear of alienating some of his constituents. We’re seeing a man who is simply trying to share a deeply held belief with others, and trying to get us to join him in that belief, or at least think a second time about it. The nebulous concept of “global warming” has been batted about in pop culture so long that it has doubtless had its impact dulled. Gore’s words and images force us to confront it head-on.

We are shown images of snow-covered mountains taken years ago, and marvel at how much less snow covers them today. We see ancient glaciers cracking and shrinking. We view the polar ice caps breaking off and taking new shapes…smaller than before. Beyond the statistics, charts, graphs and countless studies Gore offers up as evidence, these images stick in the mind. The ice that was there clearly isn’t anymore. What’s happening?

Gore outlines the basic concepts behind global warming, its causes and cures. It comes at us in a blizzard of facts that is never once disorienting or confusing - at every point we understand what we are being told and why. Yes, the global climate index is steadily increasing. Yes, the scientific consensus is that human-based CO2 emissions are the reason why. And yes, there are things we can do about it.

So why aren’t we? Why is society so far from a consensus on this issue? Gore argues it has less to do with the science involved than with the public relations arms of the businesses which would stand to lose the most from more broad public awareness on the issue - namely the oil companies. Gore accuses them of trying to confuse the public by blurring the definition of “theory” and by misrepresenting what the issue is really about. As if on cue, these lobbyists have commissioned a whole new set of ads in response to this movie, one of which extols the virtues of CO2: “Carbon Dioxide. They call it pollution. We call it…life.” (Watch it here: http://streams.cei.org/ ) It’s so ludicrous you’d swear a Daily Show staffer somehow snuck onto their writing staff.

There is debate going on about global warming, no doubt, as there is debate involved in all scientific theory. (For a good public forum for the discussion of the issue, be sure to check out http://www.realclimate.org/.) Gore does not claim there is complete agreement on the issue. What he points out is that a recent study compiled nearly 900 peer-reviewed works on the subject, and all of them agreed that global warming was happening. By contrast, he offers the point that in a recent media study, a sample of media reports related to global warming was compiled, and nearly 50 percent treated the matter skeptically. The incongruity, he argues, is PR at work. (Want another example? Look up how media outlets, as a matter of political expediency, treat evolution as a quote-theory-unquote as well, despite the fact that legitimate scientific debate on that one was closed a long time ago.)

What’s astounding is the way that the tone of the film is not maudlin or even terrifying, as the ads will have you believe. The real, definite feeling at the end of the film is one of empowerment. Yes, this is happening. Yes, we are largely responsible. But we also have the power to do something about it. During the credits, a series of titles appear detailing actions both big (buy a hybrid car, if you can) and little (turn off lights if you’re not using them). Gore states in the film how the human animal has a tendency to go from a state of denial to a state of panic. What’s missing in the middle is the moment where we decide to take action. And the ability to perceive and act based upon intellectual analysis is a big part of what makes us human in the first place.

You may have noticed that I did not assign a star rating to the film. That’s because this is a case where I can’t help but feel one is utterly unnecessary. This film cannot be rated, ranked, in any traditional manner. It comes across more like a document, an argument, a plea. The true test of its value will be in the impact it has, both on the individual and on the culture. I will only say this - no matter what your political or social views, you need to see this movie. As a cultural event, it is important. As a film, it is remarkably involving and moving. And as a passionate plea to instill action and investigation, it is utterly inspiring.