CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS IS NOT FUNNY (AND IT SHOULD BE)
Six common excuses against it plus four things to inspire you to do something about it
Jose Manuel Linares Felipe
Last year, Italian comedian, Beppe Grillo, converted his popularity in his home country into a political movement which went on to achieve a third of the vote in the general election.
The European elections on May 25th could see his “5 stelle” movement could become the second Italian political force, overtaking Berlusconi’s party in the process.
Luckily for us, renewable energies and reducing emissions are pillars of Grillo’s election programme. But that is not always the case.
The so-called “politically incorrect” comedy is being intelligently used against many progressive ideas achieved at very high costs and requiring constant vigilance: tolerance, historical acknowledgement, evolution-ism and climate change awareness.
I regard humour as the highest form of communication: whether intelligent, vulgar, technical, childish or dark; humour can cover all facets in order to connect with its audience. And its cathartic effect means you’re more likely to believe its message - whether as clear as day or hidden in a subtext. In other words humour can be the perfect ideological Trojan horse.
But are we completely neglecting a basic social awareness strategy by leaving it in the wrong hands?
We need look no further than South Park.
For the last 16 years, the kings of the politically incorrect, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have brought four crude and irreverent schoolboys to life. Each week we see at least one taboo or socially-accepted norm systematically massacred in 20 minutes of expletive-ridden, outrageous scenes.
The series has had a dig at every imaginable sensitive topic from abortion to racism, but one of its favourite targets has to be environmentalism.
In one episode, climate change is represented by the figure of the “ManBearPig”, a mythical creature that is “half man, half bear and half pig” that a frenzied Al Gore desperately tries to warn us against the dangers of.
It is doubtful that South Park considers itself a source of serious arguments, but nevertheless it is - providing a stream of “punch lines” on denial and piquing the curiosity of those that have still to form their own opinions on the matter.
It will be young people who will be forced to make decisions in the not too distant future, and climate change is set to be a long battle which they’ll be facing. However, those fighting to raise awareness about climate change have lacked a tool like humour to bring in those who are unsure about the science and what climate change really is and means.
My advice is to learn from your enemy. Luckily, South Park provides us with plenty of material.
climate change activists are lame: people fighting for the environment are old new-age hippies who listen to bad music and wear unfashionable clothes. They are naive and rather foolishly appeal to people’s kindness and appreciation of the beauty of nature to try and change our damaging habits.
climate change activists are smug: people who jump on the bandwagon, even if only for one single pro-planet cause (electric vehicles, separating rubbish, etc.) take on a moral superiority that they do not hesitate to rub in their neighbours’ faces. Awareness is nothing more than a status symbol, and if you don’t have it people will look down their noses at you.
climate change activists are nerds: people fighting for the environment are always wielding technical data and statistics that are boring and incomprehensible to the public in general. If you call them out on their being superior, they often revert to smugness, and should you try and lower the cultural level for everyone to understand, they start to use the same old romanticised arguments (lameness).
climate change activists are scaremongers: theories on climate change always jump to exaggerated conclusions and only ever try to fill everyone with fear. The effects can always be traced back to something much more ordinary, and those who can’t see it are doomsters.
climate change is humbug: it’s obvious that climate change is not real and those who defend it zealously are only representing a hidden economic or political agenda. This culture obsessed with ecology is just an invented conspiracy dreamt up by the more left-leaning sector of politics in their fight for power.
climate change activists are intolerant: accepting the reality of climate change has become institutionalised and an obligation - the latest in discrimination. Climate change denial is a perfectly respectable democratic position to take, and anyone who tries to silence this kind of thinking is a fascist.
Admittedly some of these opinions are contradictory, but that’s not the point - the idea is to make them all sound nothing more than populist junk. As a result, it’s important that people who want to bring and convince people that climate change is a real and present threat which we should be actively seeking to mitigate against, are aware of these potential weaknesses in their arguments.
It might also be a good idea to take action and give the deniers a taste of their own medicine.
Humour is a very legitimate form of getting our ideas across and we shouldn’t be afraid of making fun of something we believe is damaging our society and future of our planet. The very few comedians who have broached the subject have often found themselves falling into the traps we have just described.
It’s now time we saw talented and more aggressive artists who aren’t afraid of attacking dangerously contagious opinions head on. To paraphrase another famous fictional character: “Mocking is good. Mocking works”.
To serve as inspiration, here are some direct links to the four South Park episodes most closely related to climate change. So, if you think you can stomach it and want to get to know the enemy better... enjoy!
Season 9 Episode 8: Two days before the day after tomorrow
A global warming state of emergency is declared in South Park. The world’s largest beaver dam breaks and floods the adjacent town of Beaverton. As the victims wait for help to arrive, everyone in South Park tackles priority number one: Who is to blame? Only Stan and Cartman know who’s really at fault.
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s09e08-two-days-before-the-day-after-tomorrow
Season 10 Episode 2: Smug alert
Kyle and his family are moving to San Francisco. The only way Stan can get his best friend back is to convince everyone to start driving hybrid cars. Just as everyone starts to feel really good about what they’re doing for the environment, scientists discover a stormy, dark mass accumulating over the town.
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s10e02-smug-alert
Season 10 Episode 6: Manbearpig
Former Vice-President, Al Gore, speaks to the students of South Park Elementary about a serious threat to the planet: Manbearpig. Gore enlists the boys' help to search for the elusive creature and gets them all trapped in a cave-in.
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s10e06-manbearpig
Season 11 Episode 3: Lice capades
An infestation of head lice plagues South Park Elementary. When Mrs. Garrison refuses to name names, Cartman finds a way to detect who has lice so they can make fun of the unfortunate kid. Meanwhile, we follow a family of lice within the offending colony on their epic journey for survival… to a new homeland, if necessary.
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s11e03-lice-capades
Jose Manuel Linares Felipe is an architect, energy consultant and communicator. He was also a Pioneer into Practice in both 2012 and 2013 for Climate-KIC. He contributes regularly to www.architettolinares.blogspot.com “All I wanted to know about energy efficiency and everybody was afraid to talk about”.
Translation by Jason Shilcock