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Dream on

14 comments on Dream on

Dream on
: In a case of chronic wishful thinking, The Guardian thinks that this summer’s disaster flick The Day After Tomorrow — from the creator of Independence Day and Rupert Murdoch’s studio — will unseat George Bush because it’s about global warming and, of course, that is Bush’s fault. Yeah, sure.

The flick’s official site includes this bit of tree-hugging:

At some point during the filming we looked around at all the lights, generators and trucks and we realised the very process of making this picture is contributing to the problem of global warming.

Yeah, those lights do get hot.

[No, I know that’s not what they mean, but you can’t begrudge a guy such an easy punchline, can you?]

To which The Guardian hopefully responds:

Whether this is the typical hype that surrounds a Hollywood blockbuster or the heartfelt statement of a tortured artist does not really matter. What seems certain is that the film will help to propel global warming and the environment high up the political agenda.

Hmmm. If the UN and the EU and scores of nations and millions of scolding liberals couldn’t propel global warming high up the political agenda, I have my doubts that an flick shown to a testosterone-rich crowd of action fans and daters will do that.

But The Guardian can dream, can’t it?

It sounds unlikely, but this summer might just see an alliance of commerce, populist entertainment and feel-good concern combine to weaken President George Bush and hand votes to his expected Democrat rival John Kerry.

14 responses to “Dream on”

  1. capt joe Avatar
    capt joe

    For all the hand wringing over Kyoto, only the UK and Denmark (I think) are on target for meeting Kyoto goals. Neither France, Germany or any of the others have been able to keep to their bargain.
    But then for the EU, it is style not substance that matters.

  2. Bill Avatar
    Bill

    Watching the “Day After Tomorrow” for scientific accuracy is like watching “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth” for a lesson in evolutionary theory and linguistics.
    Great real. Watch TDAT for the special effects of LA getting whooped by a gazilion tornadoes at once and NY by a way-kewl tidal wave. Watch WDRTE for Victoria Vetri in a fur bikini (Akita! Baby!).

  3. Sandy P. Avatar
    Sandy P.

    Why is it when the world is against us, it makes me more determined to vote W?
    Must be that little revolutionist bone in my body, I have a problem w/authority.
    That and I want to see them drive off the cliff.
    Where’s the popcorn???

  4. Junior Avatar
    Junior

    “If the UN and the EU and scores of nations and millions of scolding liberals couldn’t propel global warming high up the political agenda, I have my doubts that an flick shown to a testosterone-rich crowd of action fans and daters will do that.”
    Although, what the scolding liberals always lacked was any powerful imagery – The Day After Tomorrow won’t be the difference-maker, but it’ll add to the arsenal.

  5. Mara Avatar
    Mara

    I saw the trailer at Quicktime and found it really disturbing. Seeing lower Manhattan destroyed just isn’t my view of entertainment anymore. They’ll probably do find without my $10.50, but I’d rather see “Spiderman” swing on Wall Street than this.

  6. M. Simon Avatar
    M. Simon

    I’d like to see Osama swing from a lamp post.

  7. Andrea Harris Avatar
    Andrea Harris

    Disaster movies are so Seventies.

  8. Tom Grey Avatar
    Tom Grey

    If, I mean *IF*, global warming is a real threat, those folks thinking that should be saying: “increase gas taxes”.
    (I actually think they would be better than more income tax, but…) It ain’t gonna happen.

  9. Jabba the Nutt Avatar
    Jabba the Nutt

    This has already been done. Remember “Waterworld”? The world was covered with water, because of global warming. We all know the political effects of that, don’t we.

  10. david Avatar
    david

    Might be an interesting disaster flick – but I certainly don’t and won’t buy into the “man-made” aspect of the producers.
    And on a separate note: the website is horrible – like most “blockbuster” movie sites. Even on cable-modem, some aspects of the site drag and take too long to load, and you’re never quite sure which button to push, which options lead to what, etc. Simplicity is where it’s at, man.

  11. Doc Rampage Avatar
    Doc Rampage

    Remember The China Syndrome? It ruined America’s chance for energy independence in the twentieth century.

  12. hey Avatar
    hey

    waterworld was so believable…. the only land being the top of mt everest…
    um guys, there just ain’t that much water… especially as volume of a sphere = (4/3)*pi*r^3
    so the volume goes up at the cube of the radius, meaning that for the difference of 8km in sea level (waterworld used Kauai as a stand in) you would need an additional 4.1×10^18 cubic meters of water which would weigh 4.1×10^21 kg, or about 3 times the water in the oceans which the jpl gives as 1.4×10^21 kg, from http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/phys_props_earth.html
    and… no movie this unbelievable is going to affect the election

  13. JorgXMcKie Avatar
    JorgXMcKie

    Boy, hey. You’re assuming waaaaay more mathematical literacy among the American public (especially those who actuall go to movies) than I am willing to. But, then, I have a hard time getting social science grad students to understand and use statistics.

  14. Lurk Avatar
    Lurk

    Here’s a better disaster movie: After a politician eager to please endorses a wildly irrational environmental plan, America descends into chaos as hundreds of thousands of now-unemployed union manufacturing workers riot because they can’t afford to feed their families. A band of survivors could try and hole up in a Mall somewhere in Iowa.