Kayden Cowan

Eng 145-09

April 23, 2007

Politics > Environment [CS1]

There are many ways in which people express their opinions: fundraisers, articles, presentations, protests, and documentaries. The key to a convincing argument is a clear and concise presentation of facts to persuade skeptics to take action. An Inconvenient Truth is Al Gore’s means to share his concern about global warming, in hopes of persuading Americans to conserve the environment. Throughout the film there are several distractions to Gore’s true argument. His claim is clear, but the unnecessary political and personal references deter viewers from reacting to his true purpose. The political innuendos that exist in the movie result in Gore’s self-promotion, diversion from the central theme of global warming and result in [CS2] an unsuccessful portrayal of the problem with the environment.

The political references throughout the film suggest that Gore is also using the opportunity as a self-promotion for the upcoming election. Approximately two minutes into the film Al Gore says that he “used to be the next President of the United States.” This remark sparks the political tension in the film, which eventually becomes very apparent. Several critics of the movie insist that the film is more so [CS3] a promotion of Al Gore than a documentary on global warming. According to the World Socialist Web Site, journalist Joe Kay believes that “the production and distribution of the film are clearly bound up with Al Gore’s political ambitions—specifically, his feeling about the possibility of seeking the Democratic nomination for president in 2008” (Kay). By releasing such a controversial film in the years approaching the next presidential election Gore will gain more popularity in the media, which will increase his support in the coming election. Gore puts much of the responsibility on the current administration for the lack of response to the global warming issue. As the credits roll, the film suggests to “vote for leaders who pledge to solve this crisis” – obviously referring to Al Gore (chapter 32).[CS4] After telling the story about his grade school teacher that told his classmate that South America and Africa never fit together, Gore explains that the teacher went on to become “the Science Advisor in the current administration” (chapter 2). He is stating his opinion that the science research going on in the White House is not legitimate and if he were in office there would be a more efficient response on the environmental issues of today. Overall, the film’s underlying objective is to expose Al Gore as a superior candidate for the 2008 election.[CS5]

Although Al Gore does present several accurate scientific facts, the political essence of the film distracts from the true science behind global warming.[CS6] Nineteen of the top climate scientists said “Gore conveyed the science correctly” but the overall impression that I was left with after the film was not how Gore presented the facts, but how he used his political position to try and further his credibility (Wikipedia). Al Gore will automatically attract attention from his democratic supporters, but what about the republicans and the people against him? They will approach the movie with a great amount of skepticism even before watching it. Since they already do not agree with Gore they are more adverse to his opinions and it is harder to persuade them. One critic states that “you are persuaded to give your money, your time, your energies and, above all, your hopes and real demands into something that you may be skeptical and suspicious of, and you turn away from the one thing that could actually make a difference—a mass movement, society-wide, taking independent historical action” (Inconvenient – And Essential). It is more realistic to think of the prevention of global warming as an issue of humanity rather than politics. As it is presented in the movie, humans can reduce global warming by changing some of their daily routines. These changes are reliant on the amount of awareness that humans have and the initiatives that they take to improve the environment, not on who is the president. Since Al Gore is the main character in the film it automatically creates the opportunity for political response instead of the environmental response that the film intends.

A documentary, as defined by dictionary.com, is “a work, such as a film or television program, emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings, insertion of fictional matter, or interpretation” (dictionary.com). While An Inconvenient Truth claims to be a documentary, according to the previous definition, it is not. The presentation of global warming in the film is distorted with Al Gore’s feelings and personal experiences. Gore refers to his sons near death accident and how it changed his feelings about the environment. He does this to encourage proactive behavior, when it should be the facts that ignite change. His personal feelings about global warming are only used as bait to lure the pro-Gore viewers to change their lifestyles just as he did. Gore also includes political events that strongly affected his life, such as the 2000 election. He portrays the election as unfair and admits that he was very disappointed with the outcome. By expressing these feelings he is trying to get some supportive reaction from the anti-Bush viewers. Whether he likes it or not, Gore is getting political responses to the film. He cannot help the facts that he has had a long career in politics and by including these specific events it only boasts his role as a politician. Roger Ebert said, “Forget he ever ran for office. Consider him a concerned man speaking out on the approaching crisis,” but it is hard to forget that he ran for office when in the middle of the film is a long segment about the 2000 election (Ebert). Gore’s personal and political experiences that are represented throughout the film do not classify it as a documentary, it is hard to ignore Gore’s past and respond to the movie without political bias. [CS7]

Gore’s narcissistic attempt to advocate global warming in the film An Inconvenient Truth is discouraging[CS8] because it sways the viewer with certain political and personal experiences. Although the facts are believable and show that the environment needs improvement [CS9] , the political innuendo throughout the film distracts from the true global warming problems. If Gore were to present the facts with just scientific support I would have been more convinced to take action. Since the film appears to be political as well as environmental I can’t help but to judge Gore as a political figure. [CS10]

Works Cited

“An Inconvenient Truth.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 19 April 2007.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Inconvenient_Truth>

“Documentary.” Dictionary.com. WordNet 3.0. 2006. 19 April 2007.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/documentary

Ebert, Roger. “An Inconvenient Truth.” StopGlobalWarming.org. 2 June 2006. 19 April 2007.

http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_feature.asp?id=11

“Inconvenient—And Essential—Truths About Systems, Saviors and The Need for Action.”

Revolution. 16 July 2006. 19 April 2007. <http://www.rwor.org/a/053/goresaviors-

en.html>

Kay, Joe. “Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth: political posturing and the Democratic Party.”

World Socialist Website. 15 July 2006. 19 April 2007. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/jul2006/gore-j15.shtml