The Age of Stupid

Franny Armstrong, whose previous documentary, Maclibel, looked at the unacceptable face of corporatism, has given us an in-your-face look at the most pressing problem facing the world today. Starring Oscar winner Pete Postlethwaite as The Archivist, the film tells the stories of a disparate group of individuals around the world and their understanding of the climate crisis.

Using a sci-fi base to string the stories together Armstrong shows us an octogenarian French climbing guide bemoaning the disappearance of his beloved glaciers; a Nigerian woman from the richest oil producing area of Africa selling black market diesel because there is nothing in the gas stations; an English wind turbine designer battling suburban “greenie” protesters; an Indian entrepreneur setting up another cheap airline; and an unrepentant oil executive forced to confront his losses, and responsibilities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

All of the characters tell their own stories. The only comments come from Postlethwaite's sad-eyed survivor. By interspersing the stories with news clips such as the American Secretary of State stating that climate change is real and and futuristic clips such as London under water, Armstrong forces us to look at the very real possibility that as the Archivist says "we weren't the first species to drive ourselves into extinction, but we were the first who knew what we were doing". The obvious comparison for this film is Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. But this documentary is punchier and less down home folksy than the genial Mr Gore. The Age of Stupid assumes that we are all aware of the facts that have been shown to us over and over again for the last decade at least. It accentuates the huge differences in consumption between the first and third worlds. But most of all it asks the question :

What are you going to do about it?

And that perhaps is the most frightening part of the movie. It is obvious that when the oil companies use the same lobbyists that the tobacco companies used that we cannot expect the governments of the world to do much. The Copenhagen climate talks will be more of the same old stuff we have been watching since Kyoto. Some of the world's leaders will make noises about voluntary reductions which will be ignored by most countries, especially the worst polluters. Governments will continue to line their own pockets and those of their corporatefriends.

It has become the job of the people to make changes in their lifestyles. Buy your food from local suppliers. Reject overpackaging and the non-recyclable. Develop the skills that you will need to survive when the system on which we all rely devours itself. Take the healthier and cheaper options. Walk or take the bus whenever possible. Grow your own food as much as you can. Reduce your imprint. Our children deserve a world to grow up in.

http://www.ageofstupid.net/