Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges wanted to avoid making a climate change documentary that only preached to the converted 鈥� he wanted to reach and speak to people who didn鈥檛 already care about the issue.
That鈥檚 why 鈥淟iving in the Future鈥檚 Past,鈥� produced and narrated by Bridges, deliberately avoids heaping guilt upon viewers or hammering them with warnings of impending doom, the 鈥淏ig Lebowski鈥� star said.
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鈥淚 think the fear makes you throw up your hands and feel like it鈥檚 too late, or think it鈥檚 going to trickle down from the government,鈥� Bridges, 69, said in an interview.
鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 think we can wait for the government to be enlightened with what our scientists are telling us. I think it鈥檚 got to trickle up, if it鈥檚 trickling anywhere. I think we all have to take action.鈥�
The film is part of a rising tide of documentaries that aim to wake up viewers to the realities of climate change. But as governments, companies and individuals remain reluctant to act, it鈥檚 fair to question how much of an impact movies can have.
Bridges wanted 鈥淟iving in the Future鈥檚 Past鈥� to take a fresh approach. When he first discussed collaborating with director Susan Kucera, he said he felt there were enough climate movies that pointed fingers and told audiences they were in dire straits.
The pair discovered they were interested in why humans as a species were responding the way they were to climate change. As a result, the film interrogates how evolution, history and psychology have shaped our reaction to the unfolding crisis.
Bridges likes to use a metaphor inspired by one of his heroes, Buckminster Fuller, who invented a small rudder called a trim tab that helps turn a larger rudder on a ship. The tab symbolizes how the individual is connected to society, he said.
鈥淲e all can make a huge difference, just like that little rudder on the big rudder,鈥� Bridges said. 鈥淲e can all do it in different ways. I鈥檓 in the movie business, so I make movies.鈥�
The film showcases a wide range of prominent scientists and authors. Yet one of the most refreshing voices is former Republican congressman Bob Inglis, who argues caring about the environment is not at odds with a conservative or religious identity.
鈥淗e has this idea that if you鈥檙e going to go to a group of people who are self-identified in one way, who better to talk to that group than someone from that group?鈥� said Kucera. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still kind of tribal that way, and so that鈥檚 what he does.鈥�
The beautifully shot film will screen this week as part of Elements Film Festival at Vancouver鈥檚 Telus World of Science. Also screening are local films including 鈥淐oal Valley鈥� and 鈥淧lastic Beach鈥� and international features such as 鈥淨ueen Without Land.鈥�
Carol Linnitt, who co-founded online news outlet The Narwhal and directed 鈥淐oal Valley,鈥� said documentaries allow storytellers to delve deeper into an issue and often the outlet鈥檚 films reach an audience far beyond its regular readership.
鈥淲e live in a fast-paced, attention-driven world these days. Often, the dry written word sitting static on a page may not be what鈥檚 going to do it for a lot of people,鈥� she said.
Of course, it also matters who sees these films. Bridges said he was excited to be working on a curriculum that would allow his movie to be taught in schools, where it would encourage kids to take action and use their imaginations to solve the problem.
Keith Scholey, series producer of the lush Netflix nature documentary 鈥淥ur Planet,鈥� said the filmmakers created a website, OurPlanet.com, to give viewers more details about solutions, and they鈥檙e also screening the show for global decision makers.
鈥淪o far, we have been able to present 鈥極ur Planet鈥� to the World Economic Forum in Davos and next week will do the same to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. We think we have already started to bring about change,鈥� he said.
Still, humans are so notoriously apathetic about climate change that one environmental psychologist has catalogued all the reasons people don鈥檛 take action. Robert Gifford of the University of Victoria describes them as the 鈥渄ragons of inaction.鈥�
鈥淭he less polite word might be excuses or justifications,鈥� he deadpanned.
He said common 鈥渄ragons鈥� include: 鈥淚鈥檓 only one person. Why should I do anything if my efforts don鈥檛 make a difference?鈥� and 鈥淚t鈥檚 the government鈥檚 job, not mine.鈥�
Environmental films are more likely to make a difference if they are quiet and serious, such as Al Gore鈥檚 鈥淎n Inconvenient Truth,鈥� as opposed to over-the-top Hollywood fare that will just make viewers roll their eyes, Gifford said.
The most important factor in persuading people to care about climate change, however, is to demonstrate how it intersects with an issue they care about, such as their health, children or local community, he added.
鈥淭here is no magic message for everybody.鈥�
Laura Kane, The Canadian Press
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