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| The Power of Film "The Fastest Way to Convey an Idea" |
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| If you think about it, there is no denying that a reasonably well made film can pass along concepts far quicker than any other form of communication. A Perfect example would be "The Inconvenient Truth" which precipitated a global shift in consciousness that is unprecedented. Before The Inconvenient Truth, global warming was considered a debate (with the bulk of the media leaning away from the 'greenies') ... now after the film (almost) everyone agrees that man-made global warming is a reality. by Mark Fox 15th Feb 2007 Consumer Power (Vote-with-your-Wallet) Online Activism (Point-and-Click Activism) >> Cinema Power << Media Convergence Save the Internet! Advertising vs. Education ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "The Inconvenient Truth" & Education Following the issuing of the IPCC report into Climate Change on February 2, 2007 and following on from the The Stern Review into the economic effects to the UK from climate change, the UK Government announced that it would be issuing a copy of the DVD of An Inconvenient Truth together with further reading material on this subject to every secondary school in England and Wales to increase educational awareness of the issues raised in the movie. (This is currently subject to a challenge in the High Court on the basis that schools are legally required to provide a balanced presentation of political issues.) 50,000 free copies of the film were offered to the National Science Teachers Association, which declined to take them. Laurie David, one of the film's producers, said in a Washington Post op-ed piece that the NSTA wrote her in an E-mail that the DVD's would place "unnecessary risk upon the [NSTA] capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters." Supporters of the NSTA include companies like Exxon Mobil. In public, the NSTA argued that distributing this film to its members would have been contrary to a long-standing NSTA policy against distributing unsolicited materials to its members. After a father had complained that "the Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD", the Federal Way School Board in Federal Way, Washington voted 3 to 0 requiring an approval by the principal and the superintendent for teachers to show the film to students. The teachers must include the presentation of an approved "opposing view". After two weeks of being derided in the national and local press, the moratorium was repealed at the subsequent meeting on January 23. Following Federal Way's lead, the Environmental Club of Eisenhower High School in Yakima, Washington was prevented from showing the film until it could be reviewed by the school board, teachers, principal, and parents. The school board called the film a "controversial issue" and indicated it would require presentation of an opposing viewpoint if it approved the showing. The film will be science curriculum for fourth and sixth-year students in Scotland, as a joint initiative between Learning and Teaching Scotland and Scottish Power. |
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