Living Data

Wake Up, Freak Out, then Get a Grip

COMMENTS

This film is a seriously old school direct transmission of information to the viewer, which constructs individual audience members in the Enlightenment model - as rational beings.

Sadly post-modern understanding of human behaviour shows that we are far less rational than we thought. Somewhat embarrassingly, it turns out that our behaviours and beliefs are actually determined by complex, invisible currents that flow beneath the surface of consciousness. These strongly influence us in ways that can result in behaviours which lead us in the exact opposite direction than would arise from a rational pursuit of our own best interests.

Leo Murray Royal College of Art

I'm not trying to persuade anyone that climate change is real. That's many rungs down the ladder of awareness. The implications of the most recent science are that there is a finite window of opportunity for effective action. After that window of opportunity we'll lose control. The biosphere will take over. I was concerned already but when I realised that, it changed the way I thought about the problem. Most people tend to think about it as a problem in the future that will be solved by people in the future. The reality is it's a problem in the future that can only be solved by us in the present. I had the realisation that if I was ever going to do anything about climate change I had to do it now.

Leo Murray, RSA Arts & Ecology interview

Read the fully referenced script and more.