James Cameron and Elvis Mitchell discuss the environmental message of Avatar (part 2)
Summary
TLDRThe speaker discusses the human struggle with arrogance and impotence, particularly in the context of climate change. They highlight the collective impact of human activity on the environment and the need for individual and group action to effect change. The conversation also touches on the real-world application of the film 'Avatar,' where it was used to raise awareness for the indigenous Schwar people of Ecuador, emphasizing dialogue over violence as a means to address environmental exploitation. The speaker critiques the film's message, advocating for a technological and social solution to global challenges rather than a return to a romanticized past.
Takeaways
- π The speaker discusses the dual issues of arrogance and impotence among humans, particularly in relation to the vastness of the world's environmental challenges.
- π€ There's a noted difficulty in accepting human responsibility for climate change, despite the consensus among climate scientists.
- π The speaker emphasizes the importance of individual and collective action, suggesting that change is possible through group efforts and organizations.
- π¬ The movie 'Avatar' is used as a metaphor for real-world issues, with the speaker recounting how it was used to raise awareness for the plight of the Schwar people in Ecuador.
- π³ The Schwar people, despite living in one of the most biodiverse areas, face threats from oil extraction, highlighting the conflict between environmental preservation and industrial interests.
- π£οΈ A tribal elder from the Schwar community critiques 'Avatar' for promoting violence as a solution, advocating instead for dialogue.
- π€ The speaker argues against the movie's message of returning to a simplistic, Edenic lifestyle, recognizing the complexity and population challenges of modern society.
- π‘ The need for a technological and social solution to environmental issues is highlighted, suggesting that sustainability and smart energy are part of the answer.
- π The speaker acknowledges the global nature of environmental challenges, noting that they are not limited to any one country or corporation.
- πΏ There's a call for a better message in media and entertainment, one that promotes dialogue and sustainable solutions rather than violence or escapism.
Q & A
What is the main issue the speaker identifies with humanity's approach to the environment?
-The speaker identifies a dual issue of arrogance and a sense of impotence. People believe they can't affect something as vast as the ocean or the atmosphere, leading to debates about human-caused climate change, while also feeling entitled to exploit the environment.
How do climate scientists view human impact on climate change according to the speaker?
-The speaker states that climate scientists around the world have largely agreed and are united in their stance that human activity is indeed causing climate change.
What does the speaker suggest as a solution to environmental issues?
-The speaker suggests that individuals cannot make a significant impact alone and that collective action within groups and organizations is necessary to effect change.
How was the movie 'Avatar' used in a real-world context as mentioned in the script?
-The movie 'Avatar' was used for fundraising purposes in Quito, Ecuador, to draw global media attention to the plight of the Schwar people and their struggle against oil exploitation in their biodiverse rainforest.
What is the significance of the India suni preserve mentioned in the script?
-The India suni preserve is noted for being one of the most biodiverse rainforests on the planet, with a significantly higher number of species per acre compared to even the Amazon basin.
What was the reaction of the Schwar tribal elders to the movie 'Avatar'?
-The Schwar tribal elders found a parallel between their situation and that depicted in 'Avatar', but they disagreed with the movie's message of solving problems through violence, advocating instead for dialogue.
Why do some critics focus on attacking the movie 'Avatar' rather than its message?
-Some critics, particularly right-wing bloggers, avoid addressing the specific issues the movie raises, such as corporate exploitation, by instead criticizing the movie as a whole, calling it 'stupid', 'fatuous', and 'godless'.
What is the speaker's stance on the role of corporations in environmental issues?
-The speaker believes that while people running corporations are not inherently evil, the way corporations operate, influence governments, and lobby for policies that harm the general population is wrong and a global issue.
How does the speaker view the future in terms of addressing environmental challenges?
-The speaker is optimistic, believing that humans are resourceful and have overcome many challenges historically. They suggest that technological advancements and social rearrangements are key to future solutions.
What does the speaker think about the message of 'Avatar' in terms of returning to a more primitive lifestyle?
-The speaker disagrees with the idea of reverting to a primitive lifestyle as portrayed in 'Avatar', citing the practical impossibility of such a change for the global population and the current state of the environment.
Outlines
π Human Impact and Collective Action
The speaker discusses the dual issues of arrogance and impotence that humans face in addressing global challenges like climate change. They highlight the difficulty in accepting human responsibility for environmental damage and the concurrent belief in individual powerlessness. The speaker emphasizes the importance of collective action, citing the example of the movie 'Avatar' where the protagonist unites various groups to effect change. They also recount a real-life event where the movie was used to raise awareness for the plight of the indigenous Schwar people in Ecuador, whose rainforest home is under threat from oil exploitation. The speaker contrasts the movie's message of violent confrontation with the Schwar people's preference for dialogue, suggesting a need for a more nuanced approach to problem-solving.
π Facing Challenges with Technology and Social Change
In this segment, the speaker expresses optimism about humanity's ability to overcome civilizational challenges, citing our history of resilience and innovation. They critique the simplistic message of the movie 'Avatar' that suggests a return to a pre-industrial Eden, arguing that such a solution is impractical and unrealistic given the planet's limited resources and the current population. The speaker advocates for a future that combines technological advancements with social reorganization to achieve sustainability. They stress the need for smart energy solutions and imply that societal structures must evolve to support these changes, suggesting a more complex and integrated approach to environmental and social issues.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘arrogance
π‘impotence
π‘climate change
π‘individual action
π‘corporate influence
π‘sustainability
π‘dialogue
π‘biodiversity
π‘lobbying
π‘technological answer
Highlights
The speaker discusses the dual issues of arrogance and impotence in the industrialized world's approach to environmental issues.
There's a debate about human activity causing climate change despite a consensus among climate scientists.
Individuals struggle to accept their impact on vast systems like the ocean or atmosphere.
The importance of collective action over individual effort in addressing environmental challenges.
The story of Jake from the movie 'Avatar' uniting clans is used as a metaphor for collective action.
Anecdote about the 'Avatar' movie being used for fundraising to support the Schwar people in Ecuador.
The Schwar people's comparison of their plight to the narrative in 'Avatar', highlighting the need for dialogue over violence.
Criticism of the movie's message by indigenous leaders, suggesting a need for a better approach to problem-solving.
Discussion on the historical ineffectiveness of negotiation for indigenous people facing corporate interests.
Right-wing bloggers' critique of the movie, focusing on its perceived lack of intelligence and morality rather than its message.
The speaker refutes claims that 'Avatar' is anti-American, arguing it critiques corporate behavior globally.
Corporations are criticized for their influence over governments and prioritizing profits over public good.
The speaker expresses optimism about humanity's ability to overcome challenges through intelligence and resourcefulness.
The speaker argues against the idea of returning to a simplistic, pre-industrial lifestyle as a solution to environmental issues.
Emphasis on the need for technological advancements and social rearrangements to address sustainability.
The importance of smart energy solutions in moving forward is highlighted.
Transcripts
he's trying to force his way that
arrogance I'm talking about that
industrialized world arrogance see I
think that our problem has no as humans
on this planet right now comes from from
simultaneously arrogance and a sense of
impotence we also don't believe kind of
intrinsically that human beings can
actually affect something as vast as the
ocean something as vast as the
atmosphere something as as big as the
world is so it's that's why there's
still debate about whether whether you
know it's human activity that's actually
causing climate change even though all
this you know the climate scientists in
the world have pretty much locked arms
on this thing and said no guys this is
this is us that's doing this we have a
hard time accepting that and we also
have a hard time accepting that we as
individuals can make a difference at the
same time you've got that that arrogance
that sense that it's all there for us to
take we're not just individuals and
we're not just individuals as a whole we
can affect change and that's really key
Hume the way that it hasn't been
anything you've done before yeah well no
I it's that that's true I mean Jake Jake
knows that he can't do anything by
himself so he goes you know he goes out
and unites the clans and and and so on
you know and I think that's that's true
we're not going to do as individuals we
have to find ways to work within within
groups
and with organizations you know like
like the NRDC to to affect change I want
to tell you an interesting story because
I was thinking about what Jake does in
the movie he raises an army and they
they have they have a violent
confrontation the the avatar was used
for fundraising purposes in Quito in
Ecuador capital city of Ecuador to draw
attention draw global media attention
there's not done by me this is done by
by others I only heard about it after
effect to the plight of the Schwar
people who in in the Sunni preserve
which is the most biodiverse rainforest
still remaining on the planet I mean you
have you have you know sort of an order
of magnitude more species per acre in
the India suni preserve than you do
anywhere else even in the Amazon basin
let alone the rest of the rest of the
planet and these people have lived there
you know it since forever and it turns
out of course that they're sitting on
million barrels of oil and the
Ecuadorian government is opening it up
for oil leases so they had this
fundraiser and they brought in these uh
Schwar people there's some tribal elders
and it was the most amazing photo I ever
saw they're all lined up with their
glasses on they'd never been to a movie
theater before and they must think that
all movies look like this and you know
they had their kind of feathered
ornamentation and stuff you know and one
woman said who was a tribal elder
basically the kind of the equivalent of
Mowatt in the movie said these people in
this movie are like us they have the
same problem we have but they solve
their problem through fighting and we
don't believe in that we believe that we
need to solve our problem with dialogue
so this movie needed a better message
wow I've been I've been schooled if she
sees monsters vs. aliens your mind about
them exactly yeah I mean historically it
hasn't worked out that well I mean yeah
epically indigenous people try and
negotiate their way out of this and it
doesn't work
it never is historically never worked by
the way you know they always get screwed
even right wing bloggers that have seen
the movie the funny thing is they don't
actually attack the specific issue they
don't attack the fact that that you know
the the you know kind of the enemy in
the movie is this corporate enterprise
which is which is devastating this place
because how do you attack that it's the
truth it's what happens here on our
planet it's happening in thousands you
know thousands of examples all over the
world right now so the one thing they do
is they call the movie stupid and
fatuous and God written and godless yeah
they'll go there as well you know but
it's almost kind of like criticized the
movie outside of the of the specific
thing that upset them in the first place
a part of this if they can't get their
hands around because as an entertainment
it works so they can try and say all
these things but it's not deterring
audiences from and and their own
constituency in fact is going to it
right right now you know I mean there
are things I do I would argue against
you know saying that the film's
anti-american it's not it may be anti
corporate and Americans tend to be kind
of hard on themselves you know what I
mean see them see themselves in
movie but that doesn't mean that I was
trying to make an anti-american
statement I think every developing or
developed nation that has industry and
has corporations is equally sort of
guilty of this all over the world it's
not just it's not just America I don't
think the people that run corporations
are evil I think that the way
corporations do business as these kind
of super organisms in influencing
governments having undue influence over
governments and doing things for you
know you know spending billions of
dollars in lobbying to get governments
to do things that are against the good
of the of their general population I
think that's wrong and I think that's
happening in this country and all over
the world you know we've got some major
major challenges ahead of us as a
civilization but you know we're smart
resourceful people we've we've survived
amazing things through throughout
history we're gonna figure this out and
you know I think it's a wrong message
from Avatar that I'm saying you know
everybody should just rip off their
clothes and go back to the Garden of
Eden first of all we bulldoze most of it
it doesn't exist that much anymore
you know secondly we wouldn't know how
to live there anyway and thirdly you
know how are six and a half billion
people going to do that it's not going
to happen I mean we're right at the
sustainability threshold of the carrying
capacity of the planet as it is some
would say that we've gone gone beyond it
but the answer going forward is is it's
going to be a technological answer and
it's going to be a social rearrangement
and those two things have to go together
we need smart energy you know
and that's probably a perfect Ascended
so let's bring thanks to joy
thank so much Jason
you
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