The Age of Stupid #3: Beautiful, but Blatantly Base (finally, the essay)

ACADEMIC FILM REVIEW OF
THE AGE OF STUPID

"BEAUTIFUL, BUT BLATANTLY BASE"

BY YUBIN SUL

It's splendid. It's stunning. 

It's shouting.  

The melody is there, and it's wonderful, but it's being sung in shrieks. That's what The Age of Stupid feels like. It's stupid.

The Age of Stupid looks into the problem of climate change from the perspective of a post-apocalyptic archivist in 2055, asking the question, "why didn't we save ourselves when we had the chance?"

I would like to ask why the filmmakers didn't save this movie when they had the chance. 

POINT ONE
IT'S OVERLY MOVING

             The whole thing is utterly shocking and very motivating. It uses the modes of persuasion very well. 

             Pathos is one of the most dominant themes of the movie. Many appealing effects are used: including strong scenes like kids knowing what they shouldn’t. However, what I found interesting was the frequent switching of videos. It works with the chaos of 2055, and helps the developing of negative thoughts about the causes of climate change.

But it's so moving it gets uncomfortable. It starts to feel as if the filmmakers are injecting their thoughts into you by means of sympathy and horror. I felt repelled from the video as I realized how  manipulatively persuading it was. The creepiness goes so far as to start stimulating the idea that global warming is a hoax. 

a sort of a documentary about global warming being nothing but a hoax 

why the global warming agenda is wrong 

But global warming is real enough. Evidence is everywhere. 

(click on images)

what NASA has to say about evidence of climate change

facts about global warming 

             

The creators of The Age of Stupid knew that all too well. I think they knew it so bad they had to get the absurd seriousness through to people, and ended up producing a very vivid video.

             But it’s designed to kidnap opinions. Some spectators recoil because it's so blatant. If the delivery had been just a degree slighter of anguish, it would’ve been much easier to accept.

POINT TWO
THE WORLD IS CONNECTED

But one thing's true for sure. The world is one and we individuals in it are all connected. The film shows the links across oceans and the irony that occurs in this world of joint responsibility.

Al Duvernay works in the oil industry. But oil plagues the world with catastrophes. One is Hurricane Katrina, which reaped him of all his possessions. Then there’s the unexpected result: the Iraq war, which destroyed the lives of Jamila and Adnan, Iraqi siblings.

Piers Guy is cutting down the carbon footprints and energy consumption levels with his family. He states air travel the single most energy wasting activity an individual can do. Meanwhile in India, Jehangir Wadia is promoting air travel in an affordable price so everyone can fly.

The consumerist Americans are using up more and more oil. Shell excavates some of that oil from Layefa Malemi's hometown in Nigeria, driving her into a state of poverty and danger. She wants nothing more than to live like an American.

Fernand Pareau, the aged guide of Mont Blanc, has been witnessing the demise of great glaciers: the accumulative consequence of the pollution and fever the entire human population is generating.

In this perspective, every single person is exceedingly important in halting climate change. We must all act. If we don't, something happens to the life of an individual somewhere on Planet Earth: that person could easily be you and me.

a video that sheds some more light into how we are all connected

POINT THREE
WHAT ARE WE TO DO

             The sad thing about the movie is that it doesn't offer detailed solutions, except perhaps the life of Piers Guy. At the end, the audience is left awkwardly gaping thinking, 'Woah. So... um...?' The film gives only the start. People have to find out more for themselves on how to deal with the crisis at hand.

             I find this intriguing. It's like there is a segment of the film left blank for the audience to fill in. We have to complete the story with a narrative of our own: the film is really a patchwork of seven different fabrics, not six. But people don’t really do that.

             The video could have gone further, and it should have. The oomph was focused only on delivering the shock, which disappears behind screens soon after the ending credits roll up.

this cute animation shows some of the things we could do

             The video turned out rather stupid, but the message it was meant to convey is not. In this giant web of a world that is about to dissolve, the time to act is now. We are not stupid.

The Age of Stupid #2: Outiline (not the essay, either)

GENERALLY,
BEAUTIFUL, BUT BLATANTLY BASE

It's awesome. It has strong impact. But it's shouting - shouting too much to the point where it gets slightly unconvincing. But there is definitely a truth in there: the world is knitted into one web. However, it doesn't suggest a sufficient amount of specific solutions. So in the end, the audience is left in a sort of awkward state. I want to do something but I end up staying in my seat because I don't really know what to do at this moment.

POINT ONE
IT'S OVERLY MOVING

• the whole thing is utterly shocking and very motivating 

• it is so by using the modes of persuasion: ethos, pathos, logos 

• ethos: a seemingly real character from the future (as if he's telling experience), interviews from renowned people

• pathos: uses many appealing effects, strong scenes, kids talking about things they shouldn't be, a definite tone, confusing organization

• logos: a lot of data and evidence, many people's logic, show connections

• it's so moving it gets slightly uncomfortable (it's too strong)   

• it feels as if the creators are injecting their thought into you with the video

• then it starts sounding really childish, as if it's knocking only on sympathy and horror

• once the thought that the content might just seem true right now when it actually isn't (it was manipulated to be presented to evoke emotion and immediate reaction) gets imprinted in your brain, nothing can get to you - you just end up painfully watching every scene with doubt

• after some time, ironically, it starts stimulating the idea that maybe global warming is nothing but a hoax after all

• the sad thing is that global warming is real enough, alright 

• evidence 

• the creators of The Age of Stupid knew that all too well 

• the way I see it, they knew it so bad they had to tell people the absurd seriousness of the issue: they got the most shocking footage, they took advantage of all the methods they thought would help reach out to the public, they worked really hard and produced a very powerful, a very vivid video 

• but so it went a little overboard; to the point where slightly sensitive spectators like me recoil a bit because it's too blatant 

• if the issue was delivered with a just a degree slighter of anguish and a degree more of objectivity, it could've been accepted much more easily by people like me

POINT TWO
THE WORLD IS CONNECTED

• the film's too harsh in delivering its message about climate change

• but one thing's true for sure   

• the world is one and we individuals are all connected 

• the ripples are large not only in terms of distance, but also in the intensity 

• basically, the film shows how actions on this side of the world can kill millions on the other  

• Piers and Lisa Guy who are cutting down their family's carbon footprints and energy consumption levels recognizes air travel as the single most energy consuming activity an individual can do, while a guy in India is talking about promoting air travel in an affordable price so everyone can ride airplanes 

• the consumerism of Americans is using up more and more oil; Shell excavates some of that very oil from Layefa Malemi's hometown in Nigeria, driving her into a state of poverty and danger; but she wants nothing more than to live like an American

• a resident of New Orleans, Al Duvernay, has worked a large proportion of his lifetime in the oil industry - but oil affects the world in catastrophes: Hurricane Katrina (destroying his own home), the Iraq war (on the opposite side of Earth, destroying the lives of a pair of Iraqi siblings that never had anything directly to do with oil)

• the aged guide of Mont Blanc has witnessed the demise of great glaciers all due to the rise in temperature: not a result of local problems but the accumulative consequence of the pollution and fever the entire Earth is generating 

• water from the bottle tastes much better than the tap

• in this perspective, every single person is exceedingly important in halting climate change as well as in reversing the direction we're going in 

• we must all act: if we don't, something happens to the life of another individual somewhere on Planet Earth: that person could be me

POINT THREE
WHAT ARE WE TO DO

• the sad thing about the movie is that it doesn't offer detailed solutions (not everybody can be Piers Guy)

• well, it is structured so it would be awkward if a specific list of things to do suddenly popped out out of nowhere 

• but it's also structured so the audience is left awkwardly gaping thinking something along the lines of: 'Woah. OMG. So... um...?' 

• it is a great way to get people's attention and get them engaged in the idea 

• however, it's only the start 

• people have to find out more for themselves on how to deal with the crisis at hand 

• that's the intriguing part: it's like there is a segment of the film left blank so the audience can fill it in - we have to research what solutions there are and complete the story with a narrative of our own 

• but people don't really do that 

• the video could have gone further, and it should have: it was pushing people very effectively throughout the hour and a half and the energy could've gone to some real changes had they been suggested in the film

• find solutions

The Age of Stupid #1: Free flow of thoughts (not the essay)

Here are a few developed versions of the thoughts that popped into my head while/ soon after watching the film (it's about the video and only about the video:

POINT ONE

REALLY?

Is climate change that serious?  Are we going extinct by 2055? I sure hope not. And it's not that plausible either. The movie offers a lot of evidence in its own way, but one can't help but remain dubious. The Age of Stupid seems to carry the message that that's exactly what's wrong. It says we're stupid. We just can't see how serious this all is. We're too dumb to realize the predicament we're in. Wait, are we? This will require more research.

POINT TWO

WHY DIDN'T WE SAVE OURSELVES WHEN WE HAD THE CHANCE?

Let's suppose climate change is really as much of a critical problem as the video says.

The archivist keeps on asking "Why didn't we save ourselves when we had the chance?" 

The archivist

Why didn't we? Why don't we? 

Well, firstly, do we even still have the chance? The movie was made in 2009, and it says that emissions of greenhouse gasses must halt and start to wane by 2015 if we are to survive. It's 2013 now. We have two years. It doesn't seem like anything's going to happen in two years.

Why doesn't it? So why are we not doing anything to save ourselves? Is it really because we're not sure if we're worth saving? Of course not. Well, personally, that was the thought that arose in me after watching the film, but humanity generally doesn't think so at all. We think we're so very awesome that we don't even pause to look around and see that we've become so obese we can't stand on our environment of life anymore. Just take a look at the Indian guy that runs the airplane business. He's so full of himself and so focused on his work; his success. He doesn't know his doom, the whole world's doom, is nearing when his work is going well. Anyway, the point here is that people value themselves very highly, and also as a race. 

So why, oh why, are we confidently striding towards suicide? I believe the reason is that people are very unaware. They think they're aware, as this woman states. According to her, she is "of course worried about global warming!" Does she sound worried? She just turned down a plan to start saving the dying Earth and she thinks she's worried. 

She says that "if you look at all the facts -if you do it fair and with balance- you can get a good outcome. A good outcome. She is so shockingly unaware. She knows not. She's just outrageously unaware. This is the problem.

POINT THREE
IT'S AMAZING. IT'S SHOCKING.

It was intense. it was alarming. The story, the facts, the visual effects and the narration all approached me in a very creepy way and swooped down on me in all their might, leaving a mouth gaping and a mind shivering.  

What it was wasn't very clear to me. But I got what it was trying to say. The problem's as intense as the movie is. And we've got to start acting RIGHT NOW.   

Here are some strategies the movie used that I found effective. (click images)

            1. Special Effects

2055

            2. Animation

MANIPULATION OF OIL COMPANIES

HISTORY OF CORPSES  WHO HAD STH WORTH STEALING

ENERGY AND RESOURCE WASTE 

CONSUMERISM

ONLY MASS PROTESTS CAN MOVE THE GOVT 

 CAP ON FOSSIL FUELS

            3. The most quaking scene

THIS IS WRONG
THEY'RE KIDS AND THEIR IDEA OF 'HOUSE' IS THROWING GRENADES

POINT FOUR

THE WHOLE WORLD IS ONE.

It's not about the man in New Orleans that lasted through Hurricane Katrina.  

It's not about the guy who's starting up the affordable airline company.

It's not about the Iraqi children who fled from the war presumably caused by oil.

It's not about the guide of Mont Blanc who has to stop trucks from coming in.

It's not about the family reducing carbon footprints and organizing a wind farm.

It's not about the Nigerian woman in an oil stained village. 

It's not about the individuals.

It's not even about the environment, maybe.  

It's about how all those individuals can be placed under one context. And it's about how events and people that seem completely irrelevant actually in cause-and-effect relationships. It's all about how one action a guy makes on this side of the world is going to affect the lives of a million people he doesn't know. It's actually about how we have come to live in such a world: a world in which everybody is connected. 

I realize there's a common name for that. Globalization. It's as much of a cliché as global warming is, and I know that. In fact, I'd turned my back on the word 'globalization' long ago; a lot of people I met were rather fanatical about the idea and how it could be applied to the bright little youngsters of Korea; the rest treated it a child's play and laughed or grimaced of using it seriously as an idea or as grounds for an argument. So I grew not to like the word at all.  

But it had never been so real and right up in my face before as it was in the movie. It was new, and it wasn't crazy or childish. It was lain out subtly in the story, but at the same time imprinted in bold. Once I took a step back after the I was done with the film, it suddenly started screaming out in all pitches. I may never be able to determine if global warming is real or not until the effects take full force, but I felt like the movie was right about one thing at least: that the whole world is all connected. 

One person may be all it takes to kill the planet.

One person may be all it takes to save the planet.