'11th Hour' film screening encourages change
By: Courtney Hime and Matt Welch
Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: News
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Though the first half of Leonardo DiCaprio's "The 11th Hour" left students feeling dismal about the state of the environment, the second act was redeeming.
Wallace J. Nichols '89 warned the audience of the film's power before the screening.
"Do not leave halfway through, you may not survive," Nichols said. "It's really important to view this film as a whole."
The film, produced and narrated by DiCaprio, was brought to campus as part of this year's DePauw Discourse to increase the conversation around sustainability. Before the film's viewing, Nichols and environmental experts Bill McKibben and Greg Watson participated in brief discussion moderated by professor Jennifer Everret. They shared their thoughts on the message of the film.
"It's been called the ultimate horror movie, action flick and feel-good movie all wrapped into one," Everett said.
Watson highlighted the film's dual nature.
"The bad news is really bad. It's been bad for quite a while. The sense of urgency is real," Watson said. "But the good news is that a number of people have been working on addressing these problems for a long time."
Though he approved of the film's message, McKibben said the important thing to remember is that political action is necessary to enact change.
"Yes, screw in the new light bulb, but when you're done, screw in the new congressmen," McKibben said.
The film featured about 30 experts, including all three speakers, as well as physicist Stephen Hawking and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Experts discussed global warming at length but also spoke of other environmental problems: overuse of oil, deforestation and water and air pollution, among others.
These problems have collectively contributed, the film said, to flooding, acceleration of storms, melting of polar ice caps, contamination and deterioration of public water supplies, expedited extinction and many other problems the world currently faces.
Wallace J. Nichols '89 warned the audience of the film's power before the screening.
"Do not leave halfway through, you may not survive," Nichols said. "It's really important to view this film as a whole."
The film, produced and narrated by DiCaprio, was brought to campus as part of this year's DePauw Discourse to increase the conversation around sustainability. Before the film's viewing, Nichols and environmental experts Bill McKibben and Greg Watson participated in brief discussion moderated by professor Jennifer Everret. They shared their thoughts on the message of the film.
"It's been called the ultimate horror movie, action flick and feel-good movie all wrapped into one," Everett said.
Watson highlighted the film's dual nature.
"The bad news is really bad. It's been bad for quite a while. The sense of urgency is real," Watson said. "But the good news is that a number of people have been working on addressing these problems for a long time."
Though he approved of the film's message, McKibben said the important thing to remember is that political action is necessary to enact change.
"Yes, screw in the new light bulb, but when you're done, screw in the new congressmen," McKibben said.
The film featured about 30 experts, including all three speakers, as well as physicist Stephen Hawking and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Experts discussed global warming at length but also spoke of other environmental problems: overuse of oil, deforestation and water and air pollution, among others.
These problems have collectively contributed, the film said, to flooding, acceleration of storms, melting of polar ice caps, contamination and deterioration of public water supplies, expedited extinction and many other problems the world currently faces.
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