Today, we should all be having a 90-minute conversation with British actor, Pete Postlethwaite. In the eco-documentary “The Age of Stupid” – premiering today, September 21^st, in the US and tomorrow worldwide, Postlethwaite takes on the role of an aging archivist looking back on the error of our ways from the year 2055. He is, in some ways, the voice of Mother Nature who is galvanizing us into action to put forth substantial climate change reform. And timing is everything. Filmmaker Fanny Armstrong hopes that premiering the movie in 550 cinemas spanning over 45 different countries will create the necessary momentum to push the important planet-saving climate treaty that is due to be discussed at the UN summit in December in Copenhagen.

“The Age of Stupid” takes on the feel on a fast-action futuristic thriller, but the special effects are based purely on scientific fact of what could happen to our world if we don’t curb our unsustainable lifestyles. The film follows the lives of an impoverished med student from Nigeria, a young businessman starting up a low-cost airline in India, a pair of Iraqi child war refugees, a French mountain guide who has watched the glaciers slowly recede, and Piers Guy, a man at war with a wind farm. Recognizing the importance of climate change is not a new argument, but this documentary makes it an even more compelling one. On more than one occasion, Postlethwaite stares morosely out from the screen and asks us powerful questions:

“We wouldn’t be the first life form to wipe itself out, but what would be unique about us is that we did it knowingly. What’s that say about us? Why didn’t we save ourselves when we had the chance? Is the answer because…on some level…we weren’t sure if we were worth saving?”

The New York premiere at Winder Garden is scheduled to be a “green carpet” event (made of recycled plastic bottles) and Former UN Chief Kofi Annan is one of the confirmed attendees and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke will wrap the evening with an acoustic performance of the documentary’s title track. Guests are expected to arrive in an eco-friendly manner – solar car pool, rickshaw, bicycle, sailboats, or other low carbon methods. The electricity for the event is powered completely by renewable resources and concessions will be organic and locally sourced.

Armstrong is hopeful that her documentary will have a powerful impact. “Our response to climate change will define our generation, in the same way that ending apartheid, overturning slavery, or landing on the moon defined earlier generations,” she says. “At the moment, we are in the age of stupid, but there is still time to turn things around.”

You don’t have to “believe” in global warming to appreciate this movie. Whether we’re headed for a world catastrophe or not, you should still cultivate a level of environmental responsibility. What’s interesting to me is that sustainability is often pitched under the guise of global warming as “if you do not do this, we’re all going to die” when in reality, the words “because you are so gluttonous, millions of other people in other nations cannot meet their basic needs” should carry the same weight. But they don’t. People only worry about tragedy when it directly affects them. So is it the age of stupid or the age of indifference? Hopefully neither, as long as we continue to grow the kind of people we profile on Social Earth. See you in 2055!

Contributor Profile: Ashley

Ashley is a friend of anyone who is fighting the good fight for social change. She currently resides in Bilbao, Spain where she is teaching English and researching the history of the Basque conflict. Personal blog
Twitter: @socialearth

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