"An Inconvenient Truth" resonating with red-staters.....

[marmar]

Gore Movie Reaching the Red States, Too
by Joe Garofoli

Since the Al Gore global warming film, "An Inconvenient Truth," opened in the Bay Area five weeks ago, approving audiences have left the theater murmuring a similar refrain: "I hope the people who need to see it, see it."


In the region's politically blue vernacular, that translates as "red state audiences." And so far, those audiences are seeing it. The film is playing in the nation's top 185 markets, getting off-the-chart audience recommendations in conservative bastions like Plano, Texas, and Orange County. "Truth" is the third-highest-grossing political documentary of all time, behind Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" (which grossed $119 million) and "Bowling for Columbine" ($21 million).

And a key to making "An Inconvenient Truth" accessible to a wide range of audiences started with the first conversation Gore had last summer with director Davis Guggenheim in San Francisco's Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Each had a demand.

Gore wanted the science to be handled correctly, not trivialized. Guggenheim, director of Fox's breakneck TV hit "24," wanted to tell the story through Gore's life.

The rest of the article is at: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0708-04.htm

[JNelson6563]

1. Rock on President Gore!!

:applause:

[chastitybeaverhausen]

3. I'll second that...

Our President Gore is incredible!

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Toots]

2. Gore spoke at Norquist's famous "Wednesday Meetings" and was very well

received. Don't quite no what to make of that since Bush* laughed out loud when asked if he would see the movie..Maybe there is an issue more powerful than politics, :shrug: who knows??

[Clark2008]

4. But red VOTERS still won't go see it.

The point is not that it's being shown in "red" states. Of course, it's being shown all over.

But, as is so oft misunderstood on this board, there are still between 37 and 44 percent of the voting populace in these "red" states who vote "blue" and it is these "blue" voters in "red" states who will go see the movie, thus making the movie a hit in the "red" states.

Red voters are already predispositioned NOT to go see the movie because they like to hide from the truth or really enjoy propaganda from Faux News.

[marmar]

5. I don't know that the point is "misunderstood" on this board...

I live in blue Michigan which has some of the reddest sectors you'll find anywhere. But even among recalcitrant Bushbots - there's one at work - there are a few who have seen the movie (like this crazy fundie lady at work) who've come back and said, "Wow, I had no idea." Whether or not that impacts how she'll vote remains to be seen. At least she's been exposed to a perspective she'd ignored up until that point.

[Clark2008]

7. I think the point that is misunderstood on this board

is that it's assumed that EVERYONE - or nearly EVERYONE - who lives in a red state voted for Shrub, which is patently untrue.

I still don't think an awful lot of red VOTERS will go see the movie, however. A handful, sure, like that lady you know, but not in vast numbers.

[tavalon]

10. The key is to get it into kids civics classes this fall

Make it a yearly requirement in the public schools and show it to 12-13 year olds who are just on the cusp of their desire to volunteer. We'll take this out of the hands of the Bush administration and into the hands of the children who will be the ones most affected and the ones who must find the answers. In other words, make an endrun around the red state voters and take it to the red state children.

[RamboLiberal]

14. Good luck on getting it shown to red staters in schools

Hope I'm wrong on this - but I can just see some of the Bushbots complaining that since it's an Al Gore movie it's propaganda and Dem politics and wanting to pull their kids.

I'm with you though, it should be shown in all schools, in science or civics classes.

A couple of other movies I think should be shown in high school or college are:

[UncleSepp]

19. Can we please not use schools for propaganda?

Look, I liked the film and agreed with its major points, but it's still propaganda intended to create a specific opinion and feeling in the minds of the viewers. Let's stick with the critical thinking skills and scientific reasoning. Teach the kids how to think, not what to think.

[tavalon]

36. When has school ever been that?

We had thousands of films in science classes and civics classes that were propoganda and there is next to no critical thinking taught now (not saying it wouldn't be a fine idea to implement some). This is important information and the red state adults are not very receptive but their kids might be. Change always starts with the kids.

So, in short, I disagree with your point of view on this.

[chastitybeaverhausen]

30. Probably not going to happen...

Remember, some of the red states are the ones pushing for "creationism" to be taught in public schools. They are probably waiting for the rapture to come so they can be sucked up out of this mess. Or they figure god will wave his magic wand and make it all okay. After all, he did create the entire universe in less than a week. No way they will show this "propaganda" to their precious youngsters.

[bajamary]

40. And in public libraries, community colleges, high schools

Excellent idea and I agree completely that the DVD must be used in schools, elementary, jr high school, high schools and even colleges and universities, especially community colleges.

Let's not forget to get the movie into as many public libraries as possible.

Maybe local environmental groups could help get these DVDs into these institution?

I know, dream on Mary, dream on.

<>

[tanyev]

6. Yep. It may be doing well in Plano, but it's only at one theater,

and that's the one that shows indie and other "artsy" films. My guess is that all the liberals in a 30 mile radius are the only ones going to see it.

[Clark2008]

8. Yes - it's only being shown at one theater in my town, as well

(in a red state).

And it's the same type of theater - the same one that showed Fahrenheit 911. And, as I recall, nearly all the cars in the lot for that movie on opening night had Democratic or liberal bumper stickers.

[Uncle Joe]

17. I believe mother nature will change their minds.

The continuous drought in the Mid West, the devastation of the gulf coast. We have more people moving up here to Nashville from Florida because they can't get property insurance. There is a perfect storm brewing out there and the people addicted to the propaganda spewed forth by FAUX News are about to go in to rehab one way or the other.

[TheFarseer]

32. I saw it in Omaha

there were quite a few people in the theatre for Monday. Of course Ihave no way of knowing if they were liberal minded or just curious and might have benefited from the movie. My girlfriend has been really fired up about this for a couple weeks now since we saw it.

[halobeam]

33. All true, and to add, some red voters want to see it, but won't pay.

Isn't that messed up!?! I've got red family members and couldn't believe those words coming out of their mouth. Some stubborn fools. Agreeing the issue is pertinent, although, not giving it a dime. Jerks.

[BlooInBloo]

9. Compare with the concern-trolls panning Gore as the narrator...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nick-seaver/an-inconvenient-spokesper_b_24350.html

"But the headline to Donnie Fowler's recent post ("Go See "An Inconvenient Truth" Because Bush Won't") sums up my one gripe: they cast (so to speak) Al Gore in the lead. Don't get me wrong. I voted for Gore. And, yes, he's excellent in this role and more approachable than we've ever seen him. And I know first hand that he's genuinely dedicated to this issue - he came and spoke to my freshman science class back in '89 on the same subject, with the same passion and depth of understanding. But the people who need to see this movie won't - in part because it's Al Gore."

[Uncle Joe]

16. Al Gore has always been in the lead on this issue,

so it makes perfect sense to cast him as the lead in this documentary. If I were to make a documentary about the rise of Hitler, and the people that tried to warn the west about the dangers of looming fascism, I would feel compelled to cast Winston Churchill in the lead. I have no doubt there were some people in 1930s Great Britain that did not care for Churchill either.

I also do not believe we should dumb our selves down just because some in the lemming population have been brain washed by the MSM as to who Al Gore is.

Al Gore is the perfect messenger warning about the upcoming perfect storm.

[Lisa]

45. Gore's been investigating this issue longer than some climate PhD's ....

Three profs on my grad committee only started looking into it in the late 1980s ... and by then Gore had already started holding congressional hearings on the topic. So Gore might not be a lab grunt or a modelling geek (and I know people in both those camps) -- but certainly in terms of global warming policy development, he's got plenty of background. After all, he helped write the Kyoto Protocol -- and even my supervisor, who's been working for the UN on developing international environmental agreements, doesn't have that on his resume!

That said, I hope that this is only one of many such movies on this topic, to come. For those who thought there was "excessive Gore", there will be other chances to view this issue as the environment and policies change. If it took someone like Gore to front this initial effort, I have no problem with that. (There have already been global warming documentaries, hosted by presenters like Edward Norton, or guys like Bruce Mohun whom hardly anybody outside of Vancouver has heard of -- and they haven't created as much interest as "An Inconvenient Truth".)

[Uncle Joe]

46. It seems Tom Brokaw is getting in to the act now too Lisa,

with his special on global warming on the Discovery Channel, and I believe it was Dateline that did a segment last night.:)

[Lisa]

47. the more the merrier!

This is the ultimate "big tent" issue, I think! There have been other issues in the past century, where only a few people were concerned (e.g. atmospheric nuclear testing, asbestos, pesticides, acid rain, smog) -- then more and more authorities raised the alarm, until it was no longer perceived as "weird" to want to do something. It sure is a lot easier to do something about a problem, once enough people see that it IS a problem! This is what seems to be happening with global warming now.

As you've pointed out, more people are starting to examine these issues in the media ... definitely it's something which needs a lot more attention, as Gore only scratched the surface in terms of the science going on now, and most important, the types of approaches we'll need to deal with the problem. We are still adjusting to the idea of having to adopt a long-term comprehensive strategy to cope with environmental change (and resource management or land use planning in general) -- just passing a couple of laws here or creating a new park there is not enough anymore. So building long-term public interest and awareness is crucial.

[Orangepeel]

20. how silly. No one "cast" Gore. It's his slide show.

It wasn't a movie that the producers chose to put Gore in. Gore was doing presentations that someone chose to make into a movie.

"People who need to see this movie won't ... because (of) Al Gore." Ridiculous. Without Al Gore in it, there would be no movie to see.

[Clark2008]

27. While I have no love lost for Donnie Fowler, I completely

agree with his assessment.

It's too bad, really, though. :(

[Vyan]

11. Seeing it, and GETTING IT...

are two different things. "Fahrenheit 9/11" had a ton of play in the Red States too, but they simply played the denial and divert game with it.

Vyan

[adnelson60087]

15. There will always be the 30% or so we cannot reach

but I suspect that films like F-911 and Al Gore's film reach a significant portion of the middle folks, who can still be swayed. I've seen this firsthand at my school, where once-firm Bush supporters have viewed F-911 and begun listening to Air America, and changing their opinions. It is a slow process, Education. But it can happen with an open mind.

[progressivebydesign]

12. In the article was the poll result that people found Gore "untruthful"!

You know.. when it comes down to it, the MSM did their job is destroying one guy in Washington that IS actually TRUTHFUL!

Glad to see the film is diong great...

[rosesaylavee]

13. Not sure how many republicans are seeing it

but just anecdotally, I am aware of two that have seen it and have been deeply effected by it. One is a family member who has been changing his political stance slowly from solidly behind *co to "anyone but" in the last several months and the other is a just a random customer of a friend's shop I was in yesterday - both freely and openly admit they are repubs. Both were extremely surprised at how relaxed Gore was (and I think how much they liked him) and the environmental message really hit home with both of them.

I live in the Chicago suburbs - we only have two theaters playing it outside of Chicago that I know of. The movie has been running here going on three weeks. Pretty good for a documentary in a predominantly republican set of counties.

Just saying we don't really **know** how its playing with the republicans. I don't underestimate the power of 'word-of-mouth' with them.

[Pirate Smile]

22. I took a Republican (who I thought was a moderate Repub) to see it and

he knew it was a documentary on global warming.

When it started, I found out he didn't know it was Al Gore talking about global warming. He threw a fit and left the movie. He could handle the slide show-science part but the segments on Gore and his life just flipped him out and he walked out.

So, so depressing. It killed a bit of my hope for the future. My hope that Republican voters could hear the truth. The RW spin machine has done a good job of smearing Gore.

I need to go see it again so I can actually hear the entire thing. He completely screwed up the first 20 minutes or so for me.

I gave up a bit of hope for the future after that. I didn't post about it on DU because I didn't want to share my despair. I'll get over it. I always do.

[gorbal]

28. I heard some irritating audience member saying something like that...

They were annoyed about the autobiographical content. Ok, that's fine; if they have their own opinion, but could they keep their opinion quiet while I'm trying to watch a movie that would be nice:(

[Uncle Joe]

29. I imagine it could be a Brooks Brother type neocon,

sent in solely to disrupt. I would not put it past them.

[LoneWulf]

31. What Red States?

It may be showing in some red states but the numbers of theaters are so limited that it is very difficult to see unless you live in a major metropolitan area. Those who demean the success of this film haven't taken into account the limited audience spectrum. If it were shown even in half the number of theaters that most major motion pictures are shown, the results would be astonishing.

[rosesaylavee]

39. Welcome to DU, LoneWulf!

:hi:

[rosesaylavee]

38. Go see it again... it really does speak of hope for the

future. Your friend has missed out on many things other than Gore's presentation. He's jeopardized a friendship - what he did was not something a friend would do.

:grouphug:

[Pirate Smile]

41. Thanks, rosesaylavee. I needed that.

:grouphug:

[Faygo Kid]

18. You Grand Blanc types always get it.

How 'bout them Tigers, anyway? I have spent lots of time in Grand Blanc, although more in Flint and Frankenmuth. Man, I still miss Auto World (not!). Youse guys are all good looking in the Flint area. Take Michael Moore, for instance. . .

[marmar]

37. LOL...

:hi:

[ourbluenation]

21. I finally saw it yesterday....there is no way anyone can deny it.

:kick:

[bobby911]

23. cmon

Depps new movie made more in one day than this movie has made since it came out.

The red state hardcore arent being swayed by this movie...they aren't watching it.

[Beelzebud]

24. There are not Blue states and Red states... Why do we play their games??

I'm so sick and tired of the myth of the Red and Blue states.

I know this is shocking, but in "red" states there are actually liberals and democrats that live in them! Wow, what a concept..

[ourbluenation]

25. If you read the article they're talking about conservative areas, not

really red "states".

[Cha]

26. I'm betting Michael is

thrilled that Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" is 3rd now. This helps everybody on our Planet.

I can't wait to see it. They left the joke about the bushco in!

[Horse with no Name]

34. I bought the book

And have read it.
I have some friends who are Republicans, but not rabid Republicans, that I have been trying to make them understand my politics.
I have several of them who want to read the book and I am passing it around.
One person at a time--if that is what it takes.
After all, that is how President Gore initially started getting his message out there.

[a la izquierda]

35. It's only at...

one theatre here in the Oklahoma City Metro area. And it's not playing in Norman, the blue center of Oklahoma City. But that it's doing well in red areas (particulary Orange Co., CA) is a good sign. Global warming and climate issues should not be a partisan issue. Period. We all have to live on this planet.

[mnhtnbb]

42. Took our 19 and 16 yo sons to see it this afternoon.

We're in blue Chapel Hill, blue Orange County (yes, there is a BLUE Orange County!) surrounded by very red NC. My husband and I had seen it
when it first came to town.

Our 16 yo came away, saying, "what can I do? I'm just a kid". We had a discussion about influencing friends and the parents of friends; carpooling;
taking the bus; turning off lights and computers; walking; etc. Because of a vision impairment, this son will never drive--so he was kind of dismissing
the effect he could have himself or on others.

It was remarkable to see EVERYONE sit all the way through the credits.
People are just stunned at the end of the movie.

I found it just as interesting the second time as I did on first viewing.

[howmad1]

43. What "Political baggage"?

Read the following paragraph:

"In an analysis of Gore's unsuccessful 2000 presidential campaign, the Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research firm found that many voters believed Gore could do a better job than George W. Bush on the economy, health issues and the environment. But many voters had "trust" issues with him, according to the study. Most were related to "his exaggerations and untruthfulness" and "his being too close to Bill Clinton," it said".

If anything, the book and movie should dispel this phony crap about "his exaggerations and untruthfulness". Good lord, compared to todays' moron-in-chief, Al is truthiness personified. And lets never forget, Gore did win the general election -- without any help from Clinton! If ever the time was ripe for an Al Gore presidency, it is now. Fuck the red states, they'll come around in a few months when the minimum wage is not raised, gas goes to $4.00/gal., hurricane season arrives, the US death toll in Iraq hits 4000, and seniors reach their donut hole; among a host of other bad news for rethuglicans.

[peabody71]

48. Where can I find those free tickets, for a religious friend.

I can't help but want to give some tickets to my good Christian friends.
The ones offered by those churches would be great.
I can't remeber where I read about them.
Can you help me out?

[rosesaylavee]

49. Here's the link

http://inconvenientchristians.org/