The Age of Stupid

A message beamed into space from a dying planet as a warning to whoever intercepts it: that’s the closing image of this colourful documentary about climate change.

Armstrong (who also directed McLibel, a documentary about two British activists who took on fast-food juggernaut McDonald’s) is no stranger to agit-prop. But with The Age of Stupid she takes the ‘medium as message’ format to a new level of hyperbole.

Set in 2055, the film opens with shots of a flooded London and Sydney in flames. Footage of real-life disasters – firestorms, drought, floods and hurricanes – draws attention to the fact that humanity knew of its impending fate in 2009 but failed to act before it was too late. These clips are intercut with a series of contemporary interviews with individuals across the planet, from a would-be British wind farmer battling the ‘not in my backyard’ brigade, to an Indian airline magnate unconcerned with flight’s contribution to the world’s rising carbon levels, in order to present the complexity of changing our interdependent and oil-dependent lifestyles.

The film’s melodramatic tone and broad scope unfortunately detract from its serious message; and the only real solution presented – a global carbon cap – is given short shrift. A more sober approach would have been more educational, but its dramatic tone taken should help find a new audience.